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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
I finished this book with hours to spare in 2017 and it may just be the best book I read this year. I bought the hard cover book and I'm glad I did. This is just a beautiful book, with 144 images of Leonardo's paintings and drawings all on high quality paper. The writing is just fantastic; it doesn't read like your typical history book. I was riveted to Leonardo's story from page one. He was an amazing person, and successfully combined art and science like no other person of his time.
I think most people are familiar with who Leonardo was, and have a basic understanding that he was one of the notable people of the Renaissance. This book takes a close look at Leonardo's life starting with his out-of-wedlock birth to his death in France after a long life, probably one of the most interesting lives I've ever read about. He was one of the smartest men of his time, not because he was born a genius, but because he had an insatiable appetite for knowledge. He wanted to understand the world - from anatomy, to astronomy, to engineering, to geology, and everything in between. Some of his scientific theories and inventions were centuries ahead of their time. Amazing, just amazing! We know all this because he left behind 7,200 pages of notes which survived over the last 500 years. Oh, and he was a notable painter, too. Have you ever heard of The Last Supper or the Mona Lisa?
My favorite parts of this book were his scientific discoveries and theories. There were a lot of "wow" moments for me. I had no idea that Leonardo dabbled in so many of the sciences. I also really liked the in-depth analysis of some of his paintings and sketches, and the accounts of his encounters with Michelangelo. The parts about Michelangelo paint him as a 15th century crab-ass who was no fan of our hero. They had little in common outside of being the best artists of their time.
I can't recommend this book highly enough, especially to history buffs. I'm glad I bought the hard cover over the audiobook as I was able to see the images of Leonardo's drawings and painting while the author described them. There is an extensive description of The Last Supper and a number of his other famous paintings, and a whole chapter describing the Mona Lisa. The book also includes a cast of characters, notes, and an index.
Ten stars.
On to 2018.......
I think most people are familiar with who Leonardo was, and have a basic understanding that he was one of the notable people of the Renaissance. This book takes a close look at Leonardo's life starting with his out-of-wedlock birth to his death in France after a long life, probably one of the most interesting lives I've ever read about. He was one of the smartest men of his time, not because he was born a genius, but because he had an insatiable appetite for knowledge. He wanted to understand the world - from anatomy, to astronomy, to engineering, to geology, and everything in between. Some of his scientific theories and inventions were centuries ahead of their time. Amazing, just amazing! We know all this because he left behind 7,200 pages of notes which survived over the last 500 years. Oh, and he was a notable painter, too. Have you ever heard of The Last Supper or the Mona Lisa?
My favorite parts of this book were his scientific discoveries and theories. There were a lot of "wow" moments for me. I had no idea that Leonardo dabbled in so many of the sciences. I also really liked the in-depth analysis of some of his paintings and sketches, and the accounts of his encounters with Michelangelo. The parts about Michelangelo paint him as a 15th century crab-ass who was no fan of our hero. They had little in common outside of being the best artists of their time.
I can't recommend this book highly enough, especially to history buffs. I'm glad I bought the hard cover over the audiobook as I was able to see the images of Leonardo's drawings and painting while the author described them. There is an extensive description of The Last Supper and a number of his other famous paintings, and a whole chapter describing the Mona Lisa. The book also includes a cast of characters, notes, and an index.
Ten stars.
On to 2018.......
Men of lofty genius sometimes accomplish the most when they work least.
-p521, quoting Duke Ludovico Sforza
Leonardo listed painting as the very last (and the uninitiated would think least) of his skills, when applying for a job at age 30.
He perfected techniques of sfumato (smokiness/haziness at the borders of objects, instead of distinct outlines) and chiaroscuro (interplay of light and shadow).
The reader gets the impression that LDV was both a genius but distractible, or at least able to quickly move on to the next item of study, and once perfecting it he might not linger to complete a painting or piece of art, because his interests were so diverse and fast-moving. This way of thinking and investigating is like the Dirk Gently idea that all knowledge is connected, if we could only know how to look at it, and not be worried about the stiff adherence to the boundaries of individual disciplines.
He had a geometrical appreciation for (and creativity in) mechanical engineering. Flying machines, pulleys, perpetual motion machines (he would correctly deem them impossible), rendered in vivid detail. The mechanics of light, optics, water, human anatomy – all fascinated him.
Didn’t want this to end. Learned much. Good read. Fascinating guy, maybe the most curious human ever. Put really well:
He enjoyed the challenge of conception more than the chore of completion.
-p518
-p521, quoting Duke Ludovico Sforza
Leonardo listed painting as the very last (and the uninitiated would think least) of his skills, when applying for a job at age 30.
He perfected techniques of sfumato (smokiness/haziness at the borders of objects, instead of distinct outlines) and chiaroscuro (interplay of light and shadow).
The reader gets the impression that LDV was both a genius but distractible, or at least able to quickly move on to the next item of study, and once perfecting it he might not linger to complete a painting or piece of art, because his interests were so diverse and fast-moving. This way of thinking and investigating is like the Dirk Gently idea that all knowledge is connected, if we could only know how to look at it, and not be worried about the stiff adherence to the boundaries of individual disciplines.
He had a geometrical appreciation for (and creativity in) mechanical engineering. Flying machines, pulleys, perpetual motion machines (he would correctly deem them impossible), rendered in vivid detail. The mechanics of light, optics, water, human anatomy – all fascinated him.
Didn’t want this to end. Learned much. Good read. Fascinating guy, maybe the most curious human ever. Put really well:
He enjoyed the challenge of conception more than the chore of completion.
-p518
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Detailed and interesting. Probably more informative as a hard copy book so you can see the images.
Good, not great. I started off loving it, about halfway through realized I only liked it, then near the end felt like a homework assignment that wouldn't end. The book is half traditional biography using da Vinci's own journals as source and half fan boy critique of his artistic works, including a chapter or two tangent about modern "discoveries" and the debate if they are authentic or not. Preferred the former over the latter. One of those books that I'm glad I read, but also glad to finally finish...
Not quite the 5 stars of Irving Stone's The Agony and Ecstasy, about Michelango, but nevertheless very educating while being enjoyable. There are many similarities between these peers, working in the same times, places and sometimes mediums. Leonardo takes things one step further as a multi-talented genius always questioning everything his eyes saw. The amount of drawings, he left behind, and the breadth of his work is mind boggling.
I love biographies and Walter Isaacson never disappoints.
I love biographies and Walter Isaacson never disappoints.
“Be open to mystery. Not everything needs sharp lines.”
Abandoned. As much as I enjoy learning about Leonardo da Vinci as well as reading Walter Isaacson's previous works, I could not finish this book. I'm beginning to realize I enjoy autobiographies far more than biographies. Reading quotes after quote about a person from some 3rd party gives me an idea of how they were perceived, not how they perceive. I think it would be far more rewarding to learn about Leonardo by looking at examining his works for yourself rather than read some words on a page about him.
I'm struggling with this and I'm going to DNF it for a while, maybe forever. I've read Isaacson's books on Steve Jobs and "The Code Breaker". I can't get into this one. I feel I'm reading about some nerdy tech bro.