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Leonardo da Vinci

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Leonardo da Vinci

By: Walter Isaacson
Narrated by: Alfred Molina
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Now a docuseries from Ken Burns on PBS!

The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life” (The New Yorker).

Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson “deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo” (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s 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 Supper and the Mona Lisa. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history’s most creative genius.

In the “luminous” (Daily Beast) Leonardo da Vinci, Isaacson describes how Leonardo’s 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 to be imaginative and, like talented rebels in any era, to think different. Here, da Vinci “comes to life in all his remarkable brilliance and oddity in Walter Isaacson’s ambitious new biography…a vigorous, insightful portrait” (The Washington Post). Art & Literature Artists, Architects & Photographers Historical Professionals & Academics Science & Technology
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This biography should be read by anyone. Not only the genius of Leonardo is brillantly described and perfectly demonstrated, but the story is an inspiration for all. The best of what humans are capable to produce appears here luminously.
The parallel with Steve Jobs was expectable and proves that science cannot ignore beauty.
Great book indeed!
Luc Delfosse

Brillant and Luminous

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insightful, introspective, vivid and captivating account of probably the most brilliant and creative human mind ever.

Fascinating

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It's a pity that out of such an incredible person one can do such such dull biography. Isaacson doesn't manage to tell the story of the person and his time but rather chronologically describes his artworks.

Disappointing

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