Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

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‘To read this magnificent biography ofLeonardo da Vinciis to take a tour through the life and works of one of the most extraordinary human beings of all time in the company of the most engaging, informed, and insightful guide imaginable.Walter Isaacsonis at once a true scholar and a spellbinding writer. And what a wealth of lessonsthereare to be learned in these pages.’David McCullough

Based on thousands of pages fromLeonardosastonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work,Walter Isaacsonweaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardos genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.

He produced the two most famous paintings in history,The Last SupperandtheMona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and technology. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive,he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing ofVitruvian Man, made him historys most creative genius.

His creativity, like that of other great innovators, came from having wide-ranging passions. He peeled flesh off the faces of cadavers, drew the muscles that move the lips, and then painted historys most memorable smile. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives inThe Last Supper. Isaacson also describes how Leonardos lifelong enthusiasm for staging theatrical productions informed his paintings and inventions.

Leonardos delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity. So, too, does his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His life should remind us of the importance of instilling, both in ourselves and our children, not just received knowledge but a willingness to question itto be imaginative and, like talented misfits and rebels in any era, to think different.

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Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

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