This is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to learn about Leonardo. Specifically, if you aren't a historian but just want to learn. It is written in a manner that is interesting and understandable to those of us who don't spend our time in the dark libraries of the world researching for a living. ( )

This is a comprehensive portrait of the life of Leonardo. The author displays a passion for his subject that invigorates the presentation while never descending into hagiography. From the workshop of Verocchio to his own working quarters in Florence, Milan, and beyond we are presented with the details of a life of curiosity and wonder that all too infrequently leads to completed masterpieces.
I appreciated the thoroughness of the biography while also enjoying its objectivity and the wealth of references and notes that provide the ballast needed to come to some understanding of the life of a Renaissance man. If you can read one book about Leonardo da Vinci this should be the one you read. ( )