2024 the best biographies review

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The author of the acclaimed best sellers Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, and Steve Jobs delivers an engrossing biography of Leonardo da Vinci, the world's most creative genius.

Leonardo da Vinci created the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and engineering. 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 of Vitruvian Man, made him history's most creative genius.

Now Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life, showing why we have much to learn from him. His combination of science, art, technology, and imagination remains an enduring recipe for creativity. So, too, was his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His relentless curiosity should remind us of the importance of instilling, in both ourselves and our children, not just received knowledge but a willingness to question it - to be imaginative and, like talented misfits and rebels in any era, to think different.

Reviewer: Robert P Gelms
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: da Vinci He Be Duh Man
Review: The Smartest Person Who Ever LivedBy Bob Gelms In my “it does not count” opinion, the smartest person who ever lived was, unquestionably, Sir Isaac Newton. An awful lot of people disagree with me. The preponderance of their opinions puts Leonardo da Vinci in the number one spot. For the purposes of this issue we will confine our investigation to da Vinci as number one. Mostly because America’s number one biographer, Walter Isaacson, has just published Leonardo, the best biography I have ever read on Leonardo da Vinci. When I was in 4th grade in St. Thomas Moore grade school on the south side of Chicago, we had a series of biographies written for grade school kids. Most of the series was taken up with the saints. They had, however, a few biographies of famous people in history. The bookcase that housed this series was right next to my desk. One day, as was usual, I was bored so I reached over and pulled out the book on da Vinci. It didn't take long before I was hooked. The term “Renaissance Man” was new so I asked the kindly, ever so patient, Dominican nun who was only interested in the welfare and intellectual growth of her students. (sarcasm) She pronounced it for me and told me what it meant. Up to that point in my life it, for sure, was the coolest thing I had ever heard. From that point on I was fixated on Leonardo da Vinci. There were a lot of surprises in store for me because the biography I read in that Catholic grammar school of course didn’t mention that da Vinci was vegetarian, gay, illegitimate, left-handed, a heretic who produced some of the finest religious paintings in history and the world’s leading procrastinator. When I heard that Walter Isaccson was publishing a new biography, Leonardo, my first thought was, “Does the world really need ANOTHER biography of Leonardo da Vinci? After all there are only about 32,000 of them!” My second thought was that if there was any writer who could bring something fresh, exciting, and surprising to the subject of da Vinci's life, it was, without a doubt, Walter Isaccson. Mr. Isaccson does not shy away from difficult subjects. He has written about Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and Benjamin Franklin. His biography of Leonardo da Vinci is dazzling. In Leonardo, Mr. Isaccson gives us a superb scrutiny of of the master's paintings. It is to our everlasting benefit that the author seems to possess an extraordinarily discerning eye for these works in addition to an erudite mind capable of critical analysis. This brings a whole new aspect to the career of Leonardo da Vinci. According to Mr. Isaccson, da Vinci looked at the world around him and saw that everything was related to everything else, something of a theme during the High Renaissance. Da Vinci, however, took it to regions unknown. For example, he didn’t see that there was much of a difference between science and art or between art and the study of nature. All you need to get an idea of the relationship between art and science is to take a look at his breathtaking rendition of Vitruvian Man. The sensitive viewer will see a spectacular work of art but also the ideal of human proportions and geometry. Sfumato is a painting technique invented by da Vinci to give depth to the edges of his subjects. It gives a sense of three dimensions. Coupled with the glazes he used, he got that smoky hazy feeling that seems to pervade his paintings. Mr. Isaccson points out that da Vinci got this effect by carefully smearing the paint. It has been thoroughly documented that on a few of his works, Leonardo da Vinci inadvertently left his fingerprints, which have been used to confirm that he painted a few that weren’t, at first, attributed to him. This book is filled with little gems like that. The amount of detail Mr. Isaccson provides is prodigious. Buy Leonardo, if for no other reason than to read the chapters on the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. They are just riveting and well worth the price of admission. I can’t fit all of da Vinci's interests in this review but the eminent art historian Kenneth Clark’s comment on Leonardo da Vinci seems to encapsulate his whole personality. Clark called him, “the most relentlessly curious man in history.”

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Rich detail of Da Vinci, Deepening the Mystery.
Review: Issacson managed to journey into a feverish domain of curiosity bringing perspective to the man behind the veil. It turns out he gets bigger, when you fall back, more complex as you dial in, more brilliant, more varied, more troubled, more sensitive and extraordinary than anyone could have imagined. The story congeals in the perfectly curated quotes selected by the author , peeled from the obscure margins of Da Vinci's notebooks to highlight greater truths. For instance, a comment presenting a theory on the craft of painting, becomes a way to perceive the workd. I've devoured everything I could find on Leonardo since I was a child, and it gets more intriguing. There are people who spend their lives studying the man, and I'll wager the best of Da Vinci historians we're knocked sideways by his scope when Issacson offered this take. Vasari's accounts somehow still need to be used as a disclaimer for poor academic practice, but further examination comfirms that his hyperbole may be understated. Issacson just made it clear that he's as deep as the deepest ocean, and as lovely too.Issacson is such a gifted biographer and storyteller, yet this brings him into new territory as an author. It's by a long mile his finest writing, and such a fitting portrait for Leonardo in the 21st century. To do this subject justice, and inspire us with Da Vinci's story was a Herculean effort. He managed to do it! It's not as if there's was a new trove of material unearthed to cast more light on the world's most beloved genius. Issacson found a way. He clearly worked his ass off. He tells this story with tenderness and deft clarity. The writing is elegant and suspenseful. He draws you in with a brief quaint scene in Italy. A young precocious Leonardo enjoying the company of his lazy uncle in their modest country home; WHAM... he's growing up, absorbing everything around him, faster and faster, he's muddling but growing, and ravenous for knowledge, accelerating in skills and synthesizing them into new one's, seeing into worlds beyond his time, and further still, into our present, and again beyond in insights. You think there's relief but Da Vinci is still going, his ideas still skating and sketching the fabric of the unknown.Leonardo has a spark that never went out. Hundrerds of years later he is inspiring innovations in art and science and all the while breaking down the illusion that they are separate. Thank you Walter Issacson for breathing life into the man. Thank you Leonardo Da Vinci for still filling me with such wonder.

Reviewer: Joe
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Helpful Info on Isaacson's "Leonardo"
Review: STRENGTHS:~Physically, this is a beautiful book. The high quality paper make the book impressively heavy, but the printed images do great justice to Leonardo's art--as just as you can get in a book.~Biographically, this book is well-researched and well-written. This is the goal of the book, to give you, the reader, an insight into Leonardo's life and genius.WEAKNESSES:~For as big as a book as this is, I thought there would be more about the politics of the Italian city-states. The Medici, Sforza and Borgia are all included in this story, but they're peripheral rather than contextual. The historical background of 15C Europe I felt could have been enhanced. But maybe that's been done enough and Isaacson simply wanted to give his treatment of Leonardo a different focus.WEAKNESS AND/OR STRENGTH?!~Lots of art history! Why is this book so gosh darned long? Well, every work of art that Leonardo made is given a comprehensive evaluation. Quite simply, you may love that, or hate it. Personally, I enjoyed it. But, it's a bit like being in the Louvre: when you have all this incredible art, how can you possibly appreciate it all? However, this quality can make the book a good research tool if you just want to read about one of Leonardo's works.THE AUDIOBOOK:~A PDF of all the images in the physical book are likewise included with the Audible book. So, don't worry those of you who prefer to listen to the book! I both listened and read, and it was fun for me to listen to the book, as the narrator read Isaacson's descriptions of Leonardo's works, while I could look and study each in real-time with the book. That was quite an enjoyable experience!

Reviewer: Sarah alafandi
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Todavía no lo termino pero cada página es mejor que la anterior. Si eres fan de da Vinci, no dudes en leerlo porque te hará todavía más fan.Está muy fácil de digerir y súper bien explicado, sientes que te sumerges en el mundo de Leonardo

Reviewer: Lista de Palavras
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This book is a true masterpiece. Very well written and the hardcover edition is great, high quality paper and print. One of the finest books I've ever read.

Reviewer: Anna
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I enjoy it thoroughly and don't want it to end.

Reviewer: Christina Smirnova
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very well written. I am not very much into biograpfies, but after this book I decided to read other books of this author.

Reviewer: Lengyel Stefania
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: You can tell when someone writes a book out of love for the subject. Now, that is the case here. Isaacson is everything but dry or academic. I read the book twice and did not run out of excitement. It might not be hundred percent accurate or authentic, but it is a book that represents a delightful journey into the mind of mental giant. A book that does not try to be more than what it is. The 500 pages feel like a gentle breeze if you thoroughly immerse yourself in it, do not be scared of its size. Well done...