About the book
Walter Isaacson, a journalist, biographer and former CNN executive, bases his 2017 life of Leonardo da Vinci chiefly on the thousands of pages in the notebooks. He links the painter of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper to the restless investigator who studied birds, fossils, geology, the heart and flying machines. Isaacson shows Leonardo dissecting cadavers and drawing the muscles that move the lips, working out the mathematics of optics, and staging theatrical productions that fed his inventions. He also covers Leonardo's sexuality, his position as an illegitimate, left-handed outsider, and the disputes over whether La Bella Principessa and Salvator Mundi are his work. A closing list of lessons includes being relentlessly curious.
Bill Gates said Isaacson did the best job he had seen of drawing together the many strands of Leonardo's life. Satya Nadella was reported to be reading what appeared to be an advance copy, and Adam Grant endorsed it as a story of art, science, curiosity and discipline.
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This book has 5 recommendations
Satya Nadella (CEO/Microsoft)
On Satya Nadella’s The Books Top CEOs Are Reading This Summer
John Craig (Owner/John Craig Media)
Currently reading Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson: What am I expecting from it? The same things I expect from every book that I read: to change my life for the better.
Bill Gates (CEO/Microsoft)
I think Leonardo was one of the most fascinating people ever. Although today he’s best known as a painter, Leonardo had an absurdly wide range of interests, from human anatomy to the theater. Isaacson does the best job I’ve seen of pulling together the different strands of Leonardo’s life and explaining what made him so exceptional. A worthy follow-up to Isaacson’s great biographies of Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs.
Ryan Holiday (Media Strategist, Author, Founder/Brass Check)
Truly excellent book about one of history’s all time greats.
Adam Grant (Author)
A captivating narrative about art and science, curiosity and discipline.
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Appears in collections
Sources
- The Books Top CEOs Are Reading This Summer
- Interview with John Craig
- 5 books worth reading this summer
- The (Very) Best Books I Read in 2018
- Leonardo da Vinci book blurb