LEONARDO DI VINCI By Walter Isaacson and Audio Book (14 CDs)

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I’m a big fan of Walter Isaacson’s biographies. Steve Jobs and Einstein manage to give the reader a tour of these complicated lives. The same goes for Leonardo Di Vinci. I can’t imagine how much research Isaacson had to do in order to tackle the life of Di Vinci. Isaacson not only gives the reader insight into Leonardo’s painting, but also his turtle-like tanks, human-powered flying machines, and perpetual motion machines. Di Vinci was curious about EVERYTHING! He studied the human body by conducting dozens of dissections. He was fascinated by mirrors. Di Vinci devotes pages and pages of his notebooks to the ways water swirls. Leonardo was as much an engineer as a painter. He wondered why the sky was blue (and then provided an explanation–later Einstein would ask the same question and provide the equations). Diane and I started listening to the 14 CD audio book alone. But, wonderful narrator, actor Alfred Molina, kept referring to illustrations in a PDF. We bought a hardcover edition of Isaacson’s Leonardo Di Vinci just so we could look at the lovely illustrations as we listened. Highly recommended! Do you have a favorite Di Vinci work? GRADE: A (for both the book and the audio book)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Acknowledgments p. ix
Main Characters p. xi
Currency in Italy in 1500 p. xiii
Note Regarding the Cover p. xiii
Primary Periods of Leonardo’s Life p. xiii
Timeline p. xiv
Introduction I Can Also Paint p. 1
Chapter 1 Childhood p. 11
Chapter 2 Apprentice p. 23
Chapter 3 On His Own p. 68
Chapter 4 Milan p. 91
Chapter 5 Leonardo’s Notebooks p. 105
Chapter 6 Court Entertainer p. 112
Chapter 7 Personal Life p. 129
Chapter 8 Vitruvian Man p. 140
Chapter 9 The Horse Monument p. 160
Chapter 10 Scientist p. 170
Chapter 11 Birds and Flight p. 181
Chapter 12 The Mechanical Arts p. 190
Chapter 13 Math p. 200
Chapter 14 The Nature of Man p. 212
Chapter 15 Virgin of the Rocks p. 223
Chapter 16 The Milan Portraits p. 236
Chapter 17 The Science of Art p. 260
Chapter 18 The Last Supper p. 279
Chapter 19 Personal Turmoil p. 293
Chapter 20 Florence Again p. 299
Chapter 21 Saint Anne p. 315
Chapter 22 Paintings Lost and Found p. 325
Chapter 23 Cesare Borgia p. 335
Chapter 24 Hydraulic Engineer p. 347
Chapter 25 Michelangelo and the Lost Battles p. 355
Chapter 26 Return to Milan p. 380
Chapter 27 Anatomy, Round Two p. 394
Chapter 28 The World and Its Waters p. 425
Chapter 29 Rome p. 444
Chapter 30 Pointing the Way p. 463
Chapter 31 The Nona Lisa p. 475
Chapter 32 France p. 495
Chapter 33 Conclusion p. 517
CODA Describe the tongue of the woodpecker p. 525
Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Sources p. 527
Notes p. 533
Illustration Credits p. 571
Index p. 573

16 thoughts on “LEONARDO DI VINCI By Walter Isaacson and Audio Book (14 CDs)”

    1. george Post author

      Patti, the audio book worked for us. Each CD is about an hour. Diane and I listened to about a half hour during lunch and finished up listening to the disc at dinner. It took two weeks to listen to the whole book.

      Reply ↓
  5. maggie Mason

    I’ve always been in awe of inventors and innovators. (not a good result, but for example who would have thought to light a plant and inhale it??)

    I enjoyed the DaVinci series on Starz

    audio is the way for me to read this, but it would take too long for a library rental copy

    Reply ↓
    1. george Post author

      Maggie, the audio book version of LEONARDO DI VINCI retails for $49.99. AMAZON has it for $35.48. Used copies are even more inexpensive. Our Library allows for a 2-week Renewal on audio books.

      Reply ↓

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