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stevenyenzer's review against another edition
3.0
This one's hard to review. Isaacson did an incredible job of scouring Leonardo's notebooks for telling tidbits, and he provides terrific context for the artist's work. But there is strangely little biographical information about Leonardo himself, who remains almost secondary to his works. In addition, I did not really trust Isaacson's judgements about Leonardo's art, as he is far from an expert in that area.
diegolau's review against another edition
4.0
Todos hemos oído hablar de Leonardo da Vinci y de la Mona Lisa. Pero realmente no se escucha mucho acerca de lo que volvió tan grande a este personaje como para seguir siendo considerado uno de los grandes genios de nuestra civilización.
Este libro detalla muchas de sus creaciones pero también de las muchas obras que dejó inconclusas y del gran motivador de su obra, la curiosidad.
Leonardo fue un personaje que no dejaba de cuestionarse cosas que para muchos resultan triviales, no pocas veces me he encontrado con personas a las que se les hace tonto o innecesario cuestionarse cosas del día a día como la razón por la que el cielo es azul, misma pregunta que se realizó él.
Disfruté mucho este libro y resultó un buen medio para refrescar mi infinita curiosidad para conocer tanto como este mundo tiene para explorar y cuestionar.
Este libro detalla muchas de sus creaciones pero también de las muchas obras que dejó inconclusas y del gran motivador de su obra, la curiosidad.
Leonardo fue un personaje que no dejaba de cuestionarse cosas que para muchos resultan triviales, no pocas veces me he encontrado con personas a las que se les hace tonto o innecesario cuestionarse cosas del día a día como la razón por la que el cielo es azul, misma pregunta que se realizó él.
Disfruté mucho este libro y resultó un buen medio para refrescar mi infinita curiosidad para conocer tanto como este mundo tiene para explorar y cuestionar.
jbzar's review against another edition
4.0
Quite an interesting book. I learned many things from it. I listened to it which, while my preferred reading method in most case, ins’t the method I’d recommend. That’s because I found myself missing the opportunity to refer to the numerous pictures that it referred to.
nuthatch's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best biographies I have ever read. Isaacson brings Leonardo to life. He describes his genius and his faults (he was a terrible procrastinator).
margaretcampbell's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
The conclusion and epigraph tie all of the observations of Leonardo‘s life together wonderfully. Isaacson points out that the driving force in da Vinci‘s life and work was curiosity, rather than necessity. At the same time, as Isaacson records it, da Vinci‘s last written words were “the soup is getting cold”, which for me brings to mind so many of the stories I have found particularly inspiring: those which acknowledge the tension between infinite curiosity and practicality. For myself, the necessity of practicality has been such a driving force that it is both inspiring and a little heartbreaking to hear of all that da Vinci learned and explored in his life. At the same time, his inability to incarnate so many of his dreams makes me wish he had erred more on the side of creation than creativity. He did not have the power to push his insights in a way that could have transformed and ennobled humanity. Surely, it’s a difficult balance to strike.
bupdaddy's review against another edition
4.0
da Vinci sure was smart.
Isaacson does a good job of making him a real person - his reputation makes him almost like the hero in a steampunk Renaissance Italy. He had faults. He made mistakes. He procrastinated. If you google "da Vinci inventions still in use today" you mostly get stuff he imagined but never made. That's like saying Jules Verne invented submarines or Lucian invented the spaceship. He had one great invention - the ball bearing.
Still, he revolutionized painting, pushed anatomy ahead by leaps and bounds, and realized a lot of things nobody else would for...sometimes centuries. So he was brilliant.
So the book - like I said, Isaacson does a good job making him real - really brilliant, but also a mortal imperfect human. Great read.
Isaacson does a good job of making him a real person - his reputation makes him almost like the hero in a steampunk Renaissance Italy. He had faults. He made mistakes. He procrastinated. If you google "da Vinci inventions still in use today" you mostly get stuff he imagined but never made. That's like saying Jules Verne invented submarines or Lucian invented the spaceship. He had one great invention - the ball bearing.
Still, he revolutionized painting, pushed anatomy ahead by leaps and bounds, and realized a lot of things nobody else would for...sometimes centuries. So he was brilliant.
So the book - like I said, Isaacson does a good job making him real - really brilliant, but also a mortal imperfect human. Great read.
therogueslife's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Isaacson’s love for Steve Jobs aside, this is a fascinating read. Malina’s narration is wonderful & inviting to Leonardo’s renaissance world.