Synopses & Reviews
No one more completely embodies the notion of the Renaissance Man than Leonardo da Vinci. His lifetime (1452-1519) frames the heart and soul of the Italian Renaissance, one of the most remarkable periods in history. In its sweep, Leonardo's genius touched on nearly every aspect of human endeavor. Yet as Michael White argues in this fascinating and forceful new biography, da Vinci, mythic though his stature, has never been fully appreciated as one of the most remarkable scientific minds not merely of his age but of any age.
Leonardo: The First Scientist makes clear that this imbalance is due in part to an accident of history, and in part to Leonardo himself. During his lifetime Da Vinci patiently assembled a vast collection of notebooks, consisting of over 13,000 manuscript pages and containing some 1,500 exquisite anatomical drawings, in which he tirelessly detailed his observations and experiments. Suspicious of others and fearful that his ideas might be stolen, he kept his research hidden even from those closest to him. After his death, the notebooks were dispersed to private collections and libraries throughout Europe. In essence, they disappeared for over two centuries.
Those notebooks that eventually resurfaced contain Leonardo's now-legendary reflections and drawings concerning flight, optics, anatomy, astronomy and weaponry-a staggering, almost unthinkable range of subjects and interests. Indeed, as White proves, da Vinci's fifteenth-century discoveries predate and prefigure the work of later scientists, including Galileo, Johannes Kepler, Francis Bacon, and Isaac Newton. Had they not been lost for so long, the notes might have altered the course and pace of scientific discovery. Far more than priceless artifacts and historical curios (Bill Gates bought one notebook, the so-called Hammer Codex, for $30 million in 1994), Leonardo's notebooks illuminate a mind capable of both rigorous procedure and soaring flights of imaginative thought.
Weaving together the elements of da Vinci's life and his times-his unhappy childhood, his homosexuality, his relationship with everyone from Machiavelli to Cesare Borgia to Michelangelo-White has produced an illuminating portrait of the first genius in modern science.
Synopsis
The author of celebrated biographies on Newton, Einstein, and Stephen Hawking brings to life in this fascinating new work the figure behind them all--and behind all modern science--Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo's fame today rests on his artistic achievements, yet White shows that the artist's scientific discoveries dwarf anything else he did in his remarkable life. 35 photos.
Synopsis
Celebrated as a painter and engineer during his lifetime, Leonardo da Vinci was the very embodiment of the Renaissance Man. But few guessed at the extent of his scientific investigations and experiments. In a vast collection of notebooks (over 5,000 pages), Leonardo meticulously detailed his research on optics, mechanics, astronomy, and anatomy. He kept his findings hidden for fear his ideas would be stolen. Had they been shared or published, they might well have changed the course of scientific discovery, for they prefigured the work of Newton, Galileo, and Kepler. Instead, after Leonardo's death, his papers were lost to the world for nearly 200 years; some were never recovered.
Using newly available documents, Michael White illuminates Leonardo's groundbreaking achievements and weaves together the elements of his life and times-his unhappy childhood, his homosexuality, his relationship with everyone from Machiavelli to Cesare Borgia to Michelangelo. Leonardo: The First Scientist restores to this Renaissance genius the place he deserves in the pantheon of modern discovery.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 343-357) and index.
About the Author
Michael White is a former science editor for British
GQ who has taught science at d'Overbroeck's College in Oxford. His other books include the international best-seller
Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science (with John Gribbin), the award-winning
Isaac Newton: the Last Sorcerer, Life Out There, and
Weird Science. He is currently working on a book about scientific rivalry from Newton to Bill Gates. White lives with his wife and family near London.