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Historical Leonardo da Vinci by Sherwin B. Nuland $13 / Penguin Books / 2005 Most people today know Leonardo da Vinci as an artist, scientist, engineer, architect, and an anatomist. But how much do we know about da Vinci the man? In Leonardo da Vinci, Sherwin B. Nuland seeks to uncover many of the mysteries surrounding this influential yet enigmatic figure. Nuland starts at a disadvantage, as there is little known about the first 30years of Leonardo's life. We know he was born on April 15, 1452, that he was the illegitimate son of a prosperous landowner and notary, and was apprenticed to the artist Verrocchio when he was between 15 and 18. But we know nothing about his home life or even where he was born. (Nuland even opens his book with an amusing anecdote about his pilgrimage to Leonardo's birthplace and his subsequent discovery that there were several "Birthplaces of Leonardo" in the region, each of which claimed that the others were fraudulent). Nuland notes that Leonardo spoke and read only Italian, not the Latin, Greek, and Arabic which would have been expected of most intellectuals of his day. But rather than hindering da Vinci, this forced him instead to rely on observation and experience. Combined with his keen, burning curiosity and thirst for knowledge, thi smeant that da Vinci was able to make startling discoveries that would not be repeated for centuries (such as his description of arteriosclerosis, at a time when physicians believed blood circulated via the liver). Of course, this curiosity also led, at times, to inconsistencies.Leonardo's interest in science and mathematics occasionally led him to abandon painting commissions. As a result, he became as notorious for his unfinished works as he was for those he finished. A Yale professor of Clinical Surgery by profession, Nuland has a scholar's restraint. When he can, he lets the facts speak for themselves; when they are insufficient, he clearly labels his speculation as such. But while he may be a scholar, he is no pedant. This volume may not answer all your questions about this towering renaissance man but it will certainly help readers to appreciate his unique genius. —Kevin Filan

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