Leonardo Da Vinci
by Walter Isaacson
Date Published: October 17, 2017
Genre: Nonfiction | Biographies & Memoirs, History & Culture, Science & Technology
Page Count: 624
Audiobook Length: 17 hours and 1 minute
Audiobook Narrator: Alfred Molina
ISBN: 9781501139161
Publisher’s Description
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 importantly, 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 of being imaginative and, like talented rebels in any era, to think differently. 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).
About the Author
Walter Isaacson is an American writer, journalist, and professor known for his biographies of notable figures in history. He has written acclaimed biographies of individuals such as Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and Benjamin Franklin. Isaacson’s writing style is often praised for its accessibility and thorough research, providing insights into the lives and contributions of his subjects.
Our full bio and bibliography for Walter Isaacson can be found here.
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