Leonardo da Vinci

By: Walter Isaacson

Narrated by: Alfred Molina

Length: 17 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

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.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2017 Walter Isaacson (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio

Remember to download the PDF!

Wonderful book, wonderful narration. The joy Isaacson has for his subject permeates the book. Alfred Molina is a fantastic narrator. The pdf is essential.

Avoid the audible

I was excited when I started to listen to the great narration until chapter one started and I realized the author had done the great intro. The book narrator was disappointing. A British narrator with fake italian pronunciation of Leonardo and every Italian word reminded me of the David Sedaris story about “nicarrrraaaggguuuua”. Annoying. Selective but not all words given their native pronunciation Isaacson should have narrated the whole thing. I’m sure it’s a great book. Will have to get a paper copy.

Still do not know Leonardo

Isaacson is a fine word smith and the performance was very good. But he spent so much time describing pictures and a couple science observations, that almost nothing was said about Leonardo himself. His other books (like on Franklin) did not have this problem- plenty of insight to the man and the stories & inventions just reinforced the vision. Perhaps it is the limitations of five hundred years, but I have come to expect more.

Great book. Interesting

Interesting to here the history of Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, etc, especially all the medical science he discovered 100's of years before anyone else.

A great read of a very good book.

Alfred Molina brings a strong and clear approach to his reading of Leonardo and in doing so enhanced the book where in many places a casual reader might have elided past some key dynamics because of complicated names or titles.
Isaacson’s account adds to my understanding of this great master but there are many areas where I wish we knew more. The addition of the interplay with the Medici families and the Holy See were particularly riveting given the recent interest in televised shows. I hope if the rights are sold that the author will be jealous with his work so that a great visualization can be made.

Brilliant Book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this excellently written book about a truly fascinating man. The narrator was equally brilliant in bringing life to the words. Highly recommended.

Very interesting indeed

Great story with fascinating aspects of his life. The only thing annoying is the speakers ‘Italian’ pronunciation of Leonardo and other people’s names. Highly annoying in fact until after hours of this you kind of get used to it. The story itself is very interesting and covers all aspects of Leonardo’s life and his works.

One of the most impressive humans to ever live

Leonardo Da Vinci is without a doubt one of the most impressive humans to ever live. He was 100's of years ahead of his time in numerous fields, but published almost none of his work. Even today we are finding areas of anatomy where modern medicine was wrong and Leonardo was right. Walter Isaacson does an incredible job showing us what life in renaissance Italy was like.

After reading the book all you can wonder is why isn't Leonardo Da Vinci as well known as Newton or Einstein? And the answer is because he hardly published any of his work. He made countless advancements in a number of fields not for the sake of advancements, but for the sake of curiosity. He was just simply curious. One example is that he wanted to know how the human body was set up, so he learned how the human body was set up. If we can all appreciate how curiosity can act as a fuel for learning we all might be able to be more well rounded intellectuals ourselves.

I knew Leonardo Da Vinci was more than a painter going into this book. By the end of this book I was blown away by what Leonardo discovered in his life. Had he published his works, we would not know him as just a painter; we would know him the way Leonardo wanted to be known: inventor, architect, scientist, musician, engineer, anatomist, geologist, astronomer, botanist, cartographer, sculptor, and painter.

I am also wholly convinced, in the area of virtual reality or gaming with virtual worlds, we will not create anything truly magnificent until we met our next Leonardo Da Vinci. The reason he was such a good painter was his depth of understanding regarding how the entire world works. Until we have a polymath on par with Leonardo, no digital world will be phenomenally impressive to the masses. The human eye catches these small inconsistencies with the real world, yet it is very hard to replicate them ourselves.

Pure genius

Walter Issacson has crafted a work of art about the world's greatest artist. Read beautifully by Alfred Molina, this biography on Leonardo brings you into the life and times of this preternaturally curious genius. I appreciated Issacson drawing parallels between da Vinci with the likes of Jobs. Bravo!

Great content but Molina left a little to be desired

Great book, just wish Molina did a better job of narrating, by catching his breath more and less strain in speech