adambwriter 's review for:

Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

4.0

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We toss around this word, genius, until its definition is meaningless. I thought I knew Leonardo da Vinci. Don't we all? We hear about him as children (in my case via The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, first, but nevermind) and then throughout our lives. Most of us recognize that he was a true genius, in the sense that is actually meaningful. We're awed by his art and inspired by his inventions. But it turns out, we knew nothing. I knew nothing. I had not a g-damn clue. I'm not sure I've ever finished a book, biography or otherwise, feeling so humbled. And a little bit enraged. What if Leonardo had published his papers? Who and where would we be now? A hundred years more advanced than we are? Two hundred? Jesus.

https://roofbeamreader.com/2021/06/25/mostly-history/