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readandlisten's review
5.0
A masterpiece. Brilliantly written and expertly narrated. While I generally prefer to read than listen, I don't believe my inner voice could have made this nearly as pleasurable.
lavinia_speaks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
emilieanderson's review against another edition
4.0
This book was too long and repetitive, however, I really enjoyed the loving care Isaacson put into depicting Leonardo as both a man and a genius. The small anecdotes, like Leonardo threatening to use a nagging priest as a model for Judas, or his penchant for buying birds and releasing them, were really lovely and painted a great picture of his eccentric nature. It’s a really respectful and insightful look into a truly amazing figure.
foofers1622's review against another edition
5.0
Don't let the size of this book fool you. It is an "easy" read for a subject with so much information. Throughout the book are pictures of Leonardo's work from early in his life to his last days. The author also compares his work to artists at the time and you can see how far ahead Leonardo really was.
aditusmaximus's review against another edition
5.0
I am not usually into biographies, but this book was fantastic! Walter Issacson takes us through the life of da Vinci from the beginning through the end. We learn about his beginnings as an artist and painter, and see how his sense of curiosity and observation allow him to grow and develop his craft in fantastic ways. From there, Issacson shows us how da Vinci continues to take that curiosity, observation, and creative imagination forward into other areas of the world. Observing birds and looking into engineering for flying machines. Taking his engineering and observation into learning and understanding the anatomy of the human body. Taking his learnings from nature and anatomy and mechanics and applying it to more machines, hydrodynamics, and endless more inventions, ideas, notebooks, and even more art, all against the backdrop of Renaissance Italy. This book was very well organized, easy to read, and above all fascinating. I couldn't put it down. Walter Isaacson's research and knowledge on the subject are extremely thorough and detailed. Above all, he doesn't just tell us about da Vinci, rather, Isaacson seems to be able to take us into da Vinci's mind. By the end, I felt I could really understand how da Vinci's mind worked, driven by his endless curiosity, intense observation, and limitless imagination. This book was fantastic and I would highly recommend it. I may have to read some of the other biographies by Isaacson.
jderv's review against another edition
3.0
overall good... but way too much deep-diving into the intricacies of all da Vinci's varied interests.. i found the math sections particularly boring...