Leonardo

Michael White weaves the life of Leonardo da Vinci through the life and times of Renaissance Italy, relating him to the other events and personalities that changed the history of Europe. Possessing a mosaic of skills, Leonardo conducted the first scientific experiments and deduced principles from them. His mental speed and diversity impeded dedication to a single project for very long. White's chatty approach to fact and an abundance of speculation make for robust reading. Christopher Kay's British English keeps things tame most of the time, but his German and Italian accents sound comically inauthentic. Still, Kay enunciates every word. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

July 31, 2000
It's not easy writing a biography of a legendary figure like Leonardo da Vinci, one whose life has already been well chronicled by numerous others. White (Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science, etc.) takes on this task to demonstrate that, in addition to his artistic mastery and engineering acumen, Leonardo boasted scientific advances and insights that qualify him as the first scientist. Born more than 100 years before Francis Bacon--who for his work in defining the scientific method is generally credited with this designation--Leonardo wrote about experimentation in a surprisingly modern manner. He focused his attention primarily on optics, human anatomy, flight, geography and geology, making significant advances in each field. "Quite simply, if Leonardo had chosen to concentrate upon only one of the areas of research he tackled and had even then come up with the results he did, he would still be remembered today for his genius and imagination," writes White. Sadly, virtually none of Leonardo's scientific work was published during his life and much was lost over the ensuing generations. In his scientific endeavors, as with most of his other areas of interest, Leonardo was a very private person and one who seemed unable to fully finish tasks. Although there's not much new material here, White does an amiable job of presenting Leonardo and his times in a fresh manner. 35 b&w photos.