The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance by Fritjof Capra

by Fritjof Capra

Leonardo da Vinci’s pioneering scientific work was virtually unknown during his lifetime. Now acclaimed scientist and bestselling author Fritjof Capra reveals that Leonardo was in many ways the unacknowledged “father of modern science.” Drawing on an examination of over 6,000 pages of Leonardo’s surviving notebooks, Capra explains that Leonardo approached scientific knowledge with the eyes of an artist. Through his studies of living and nonliving forms, from architecture and human anatomy to the turbulence of water and the growth patterns of grasses, he pioneered the empirical, systematic approach to the observation of nature—what is now known as the scientific method.

Leonardo's scientific explorations were extraordinarily wide-ranging. He studied the flight patterns of birds to create some of the first human flying machines. Using his understanding of weights and levers and trajectories and forces, he designed military weapons and defenses, and was in fact regarded as one of the foremost military engineers of his era. He studied optics, the nature of light, and the workings of the human heart and circulatory system. Because of his vast knowledge of hydraulics, he was hired to create designs for rebuilding the infrastructure of Milan and the plain of Lombardy, employing the very principles still used by city planners today. He was a mechanical genius, and yet his worldview was not mechanistic but organic and ecological. This is why, in Capra's view, Leonardo's science—centuries ahead of his time in a host of fields—is eminently relevant to our time.

Enhanced with fifty beautiful sepia-toned illustrations, The Science of Leonardo is a fresh and important portrait of a colossal figure in the world of science and the arts.

Genres: Science, History, Nonfiction, Biography, Art, History Of Science, Philosophy

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Fritjof Capra (born February 1, 1939) is an Austrian-born American physicist. He is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California, and is on the faculty of Schumacher College. Capra is the author of several books, including The Tao of Physics (1975), The Turning Point (1982), Uncommon Wisdom (1988), The Web of Life (1996) and The Hidden Connections (2002).

Reviews

[أحمد الدين · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب مميز جدًا عن عقلية مرعبة التعقيد والتنظيم والفضول، ليوناردو دافينشي ليس مجرد فنان أو مخترع أو ذكي لدرجة لا يتخيلها أحد، بل رجل فضولي بأفضل طريقة ممكنة، ومن خلال الكتاب الرائع الذي قدمه كابرا فضل المؤلف أن يتناول سيرة دافينشي برحلة في عقله فقدم في نصف الكتاب الأول سيرة ذاتية تقليدية بذل فيها مجهود ضخم جدًآ لفهم مذكرات دافينشي وربط الأحداث السياسية والتاريخية المختلفة بفصول السيرة، ثم خصص في كل فصل من فصول الجزء الثاني علم من العلوم التى عمل عليها دافينشي ليقدم أولًا التنوع الرهيب في انجازات دافينشي وانجازه الحقيقي في كل فروع العلم التي عمل عليها بطريقة لا أظن أن أي إنسان آخر قد حققها، فلا يوجد علماء مكتملين ومنظمين بالطريقة التى حدثت مع دافينشي الذي سخر عقله فقط للتبحر في كل فروع العلم وعبر ملاحظاته اليومية كان قادرًا على استنتاج ملاحظات احتاجت لقرون بعده حتى تتحقق أو يدركها الإنسان، ربما أسؤأ ما حدث لنا كبشر هو ضياع الكثير من مذكرات الرجل العبقري الذي سطر كل ملاحظاته بدقة وتفصيل لا مثيل له وكأنه بنفسه كان يحضرنا لرحلة داخل عقله، شكرًا دافينشي على الرحلة

[William2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a slog for me.

[Erin Cadwalader · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about the various pursuits of a brilliant mind. The first half focuses on his general biography, the second half the science itself. Capra takes more of a systems dynamics approach to the science, basing it more on what was known during Da Vinci's time, rather than examining the physics from a Newtonian perspective because that is not the type of physics background with which he would have approached these questions, though it is often how it has been interpretted since his notebooks were discovered. A litle repetitive and a little dull at times if you've already had a lot of physics, but definitely worth a read if you're interested in learning about Da Vinci and very accessible, I think, if you haven't had much science training as well.

[Nahla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mind-blowing!
الترجمة جيدة، الكتاب فيه أجزاء كثيرة محتاجة حد متخصص يفسرها وكأنه كتاب أكاديمي مش عام لأي قارئ. لكنه كتاب ممتع ودسم جدًا، وملهم على المستوى الشخصي. ومش لازم الشخص يكون مهتم بالفن عمومًا عشان يقرأه، لأن ليوناردو كان عالم موسوعي وباحث أكثر من كونه فنان، الفن كان الأسلوب الأنسب بالنسبة له للتعبير عن أفكاره بوضوح ودقة. والسبب ال خلاه معروف كفنان أكثر من عالم، هو أنه مذكراته العلمية كانت محفوظة في المكتبات ومهملة لقرون في حين أن لوحاته كانت معروفة ومنتشرة.

[Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hábilmente articulado, conjuga una biografía de Leonardo con un estudio sistemático de sus cuadernos de notas, con la intención de destacar la clara anticipación de sus trabajos a su tiempo.
Se lee fácil, se aprende... y se constata la importancia de la publicación del trabajo científico para su divulgación.

[Al · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was very excited for this one, yet, it disappointed. Very interesting information, yet disorganized, unclear thesis and subtopics and blindly misogynist in its prose and description. I started to get distracted by the adoration and deification of Da Vinci. I don’t think one female is as named in this entire depiction of his life, learnings, work and teaching.

I would not recommend.

[Aruna Tayi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg, what an amazing expert was Leonardo, an all rounder interested in anatomy of Humans and as well as Arts. A perfect example of being All-Rounder

[Marlies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this book up because I was interested in Leonardo's way of thinking, which was peaked by a lot of recommendations for Walter Isaacson's biography. However, that book has the size of an elephant! Decided to pick this average sized book instead which also has a comparable score here on Goodreads.

As I'm a Design Engineer I was mostly interested in Leonardo's sciency side, rather than the painter and I wanted to get some take-aways which I could implement in my own life. Luckily, Capra starts with the argumentation that more designers/engineers/scientists can learn a lot from (and should adapt more of) Leonardo's way of working (and that their current way of working is flawed).
I strongly disliked Capra's formulation of this statement, but did really enjoy how he explained the state of affairs during Leonardo's time and how he was different from other contemporaries at the time. It's a really compact read on Leonardo's life and work giving some great detail and context.

I would recommend the book to anyone interested in Leonardo da Vinci's life who wants to get a sizeable introduction, however would recommend other books for engineers etc. When I have the time I'm looking forward to dive deeper into the subject with Walter Isaacson's book.


What I learned from the book:
+Genius during the Renaissance was used to indicate the 'Gen', a sort of guardian spirit. If someone/thing was recognized as a genius than this was due to his/her/it's guardian spirit.
+ Signs of geniuses: 1) insatiable curiosity, 2) extraordinary concentration and focus, 3) ability to memorize lots of information.
+ During the Renaissance the world view changed where in the Middle Ages a person's characteristics where created by God (fixed mindset), where in the Renaissance they acknowledged that understanding and knowledge came from the person (growth mindset). The goal became to know of many fields of study (the universal man). Leonardo went one step further and not only knew of a lot of different fields, but also interconnected that information.
+ Leonardo had a way of drawing where he sketched a line numerous times until he was satisfied with its perfect shape and than retraced that one. Makes me think of generative design, but then in sketching. **I should try this technique more, focusing on really lightly drawing until I know the end shape for certain.
+ Leonardo spent his childhood outside in the fields and hills of Vinci. I've heard this from other recognized people and do think that this is best for your development; you learn to observe and really experience the world (street wise?) compared to only observing if you sit behind your computer for example.
+ **Leonardo kept a notebook with him AT ALL TIMES and recorded everything. Even simple thoughts, Latin words he wanted to learn, etc.
+ During the Renaissance a lot of the 'old knowledge' (Greek & Roman) was rediscovered. Arguably this was due to Christianity where the focus was on God and his creation and there was no room for Science. (In contrary, Islamic culture focuses more on practicing compassion, social justice and wealth and therefore offers more room for scientific exploration). During the Renaissance again came room for scientific exploration, but most of this was focused on re-reading the old texts and not on doing new discoveries (what Leonardo did do).
+ Middle-ages + Renaissance; worldview is nature based. During Scientific Revolution (from the Renaissance onwards), this view shifted to one where the earth is a machine. In a machine everything can be measured, you have clear inputs and outputs, components can be replaced etc. However, Leonardo thought, as well as current scientists, that everything is indeed more like a living being; everything is connected and complex. You cannot measure everything, but you can give a description of proportions for example. **Can you explain something, but you cannot use man-made definitions like length, time and weight?
+ Leonardo always planned to convert his notebooks into treatises/books and publish them. Some texts are therefore also written like; "if you want to paint this scene, you shall do this and that". I think this is a great way of also getting to understand a subject, its similar to the Feynmann technique.

[Douglas Summers-Stay · Rating 4 out of 5]

In order to be an artist, you need to observe carefully. What is under the skin that makes part of the neck bulge like that when a person turns their head? How do reflections on rippled water relate to the rest of the scene? Leonardo was hundreds of years ahead of his time in many of his scientific observations. This books points out what he got right and what he got wrong in optics, geology, physics, mechanics, anatomy, wave theory, and on and on. What he tragically didn't understand about science was that in order to grow it has to be shared. In his time scientific knowledge was mostly kept as a secret.
One of the most interesting points was Leonardo's use of the word "spiritual." When he used that word, he meant something like "not made of matter." so light, for instance, is a spiritual entity. When light hits the eye, he guessed, a spiritual influence travels through the optic nerve to the brain, where it harmonizes with other spiritual waves to form perception and memory. It made me understand a little about how other people before the modern era have talked about light and matter and spirit.
There's also a biography in the first half of the book, but it seemed pretty much the same as other biographies of Leonardo.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leonardo Da Vinci is a most fascinating person to read about. His extremely curious mind, amazing, almost superhuman powers of concentration, and his ability to memorize and synthesize huge amounts of information led to a level of genius in both science and art that has been rarely surpassed. As I was reading, I often wondered to myself, what could he have accomplished in our day and age? He would have absolutely loved the technology we have access to.

Probably the most fascinating part was reading about the innovative art techniques he developed that were quite radical and awe-inspiring in his day. One technique he invented and mastered was "sfumato" - the delicate art of blending and melting shades into one another, creating more of a 3D effect. He also was a master at creating light effects in his paintings. I was amazed by the length of time and amount of thought and concentration that went into his works of art (some took several years to finish).

This particular book was well done - a bit dry in parts - but informative and evenhanded.

[Ezzat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leonardo yang kita banyak tahu sebagai pembuat lukisan Monalisa menyimpan sisi-sisi jenius lain dari dirinya. Tidak hanya sebagai seniman, di buku ini juga digambarkan Leonardo sebagai seorang saintis, kisah hidupnya dari awal hingga akhir hayatnya. Pemikiran-pemikirannya yang jauh melampaui zamannya. Ketertarikannya dalam bidang matematika, geometri, optik, anatomi tubuh manusia, gejala-gejala geologi. Disertai dengan gambar-gambar dari hasil eksplorasi ilmiahnya yang sangat mendetail.
Cara Leonardo bereksplorasi dalam pengamatan-pengamatan ilmiah yang dilakukan. Seperti kata-kata Leonardo dalam buku ini, "Mereka tidak mengetahui bahawa observasiku lebih berharga karena diturunkan langsung dari pengalaman, ketimbang dari kata-kata orang lain, dan alam adalah kekasih bagi mereka yang telah menulis dengan baik."

Seperti yang Capra tulis di akhir bukunya bahwa sulit ditemukan lagi seorang saintis dan seniman jenius yang akan lahir dalam satu tubuh manusia.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice treatment of an aspect of LDV's genius not often considered at length - the extremely integrative, systems-level nature of his intelligence and practice. Not a Descartian divisionist at all - art, science, engineering, anatomy - all related, all part of what he 'did' in the world. He would take up one, realize the need to know about another - take that up to, and on and on. And his contribution was significant in every field he entered. Loved learning and experimentation as ends in themselves....really cool book. Only quibble I have is I think Capra over-extends 'Cognitive Psychology' to make it fit his thesis....I disagree that CP incorporates all he says it does. But other than that-very enjoyable and educational.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a look at the biographies of Leonardo da Vinci at the library after watching the first season of Davinci's Demons. I was intrigued by the fact that Fritjof Capra had written what is essentially a scientific biography of da Vinci and checked it out.

The book is beautiful and full of images from da Vinci's sketchbooks. Capra provides a brief biography of da Vinci, an overview of his artistic career and then an overview of his scientific and mathematical studies. I found all of it very interesting and well written. I like that Capra made an effort to place da Vinci and his research in his own time and place for the most part, I didn't like Capra's attempts to connect da Vinci to modern ideas like deep ecology or James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jakkoli vymýšlí lidský důmysl nejrůznější vynálezy, nikdy nestvoří nic krásnějšího, jednoduššího ani účelnějšího, než vytváří příroda; neboť v jejích výtvorech nic nechybí a nic nepřebývá." (Leonardo da Vinci) Shrnutí nejen Leonardova živata ale i díla. Doporučeno.

[Ev. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in high school when I had a huge crush on Leo da Vinci. Yeah. Don't judge me.

[Yennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leonardo Da Vinci was a man that I really can feel inspired by. Leonardo was a man who had a curiosity of learning (that transcended his art) until he died; he was always trying to understand the world he lived in (and all of its mysteries). He kept his scientific discoveries, explorations, and observations in his thousands of Notebooks, which he kept hidden while he was alive and the majority of which were not understood in their entirety until many hundreds of years after his death. In them, Capra argues that Leonardo's science was brilliant and systemic, compared to the more mechanical view of science espoused by Descartes, Newton, and Galileo. Capra argues that Leonardo was in fact the first "systemic thinker," viewing the world as holistic rather than as divided into modular and separate pieces. He found connections and patterns in the many different fields he studied (geometry, optics, mechanics, light, wave patterns) which aided his learning and led him to the conclusion that everything in nature is connected.

"He always looked for patterns that would interconnect observations from different disciplines; his mind seemed to work best when it was occupied with multiple projects" (86)

I found Leonardo's love of learning inspiring. He never had a Classical training and so he spent most of his adult life teaching himself geometry and Latin (which he started learning at age 40!) and anatomy and so many other fields. (This actually reminded me of Abraham Lincoln, another self-taught genius who never had the opportunity to engage in a rigorous Classical education in his childhood).

One of the funniest anecdotes was when Leonardo was asked to build a giant bronze statue of a horse (3x the size of a normal horse) for the Duke of Milan. Leonardo spent so long planning and doing his research (including a full treatise on horse anatomy, and methods to improve the sewage system for the horse stables) that by the time he was ready to build the horse, the project ran out of money because Milan got into war and the Duke used the bronze that would be used for the horse on cannonballs!

I think for Leonardo, his main goal in life was lifelong learning rather than the "final products." Capra argues similarly, that for Leonardo, the final product of the art was never the end goal ... the process was what mattered most for him.

"In his art as in his science, he always seemed to be more interested in the process of exploration than in the completed work or final results. Thus many of his paintings and all of his science remained unfinished work in progress." (165)

In general, I thought the arguments made by Capra about Leonardo's life were really interesting, trying to take a holistic approach to viewing Leonardo as an artist and scientist. However, I found the second half of the book ("Leonardo the Scientist") felt more like a list of his accomplishments and notes and dragged on a bit near the end.

[Steven Kaminski · Rating 4 out of 5]

My main takeaway from this book? Man I wish I was smarter. This book gives a great breakdown with reproductions of Leonardo Da Vinci's actual drawings from his notebooks. It went through his life through the notebooks and the evolutions of his interests. Da Vinci contributed over 300 inventions to the world. And because he was an honest researcher who wanted to learn about everything he went from being 'unlearned' (he never got a formal education) to creating studies of anatomy, fluid dynamics, mechanical engineering, painting, sculpting, botany, aerodynamics! The list goes on and on...

- He was a pacifist yet advised many rulers as a military engineer.

- He created the design for canal locks which in modern day form are used on everything from dams to the Panama Canal.

- Pattern recognition was the key to his idea about universality. In many ways everything was connected. He held painting as one of the highest culminations of art and science because that was what he made to be. The ideas of depth perception, perspective...he modernized those.

- He was a naturalist and a vegetarian which was rare in those days. He recognized that animals could feel pain and this led him to be more compassionate.

- I his study of birds he laid out the foundations for gliders and attempts for human flight. Far greater was his knowledge than previously known because after his death his notebooks were scattered all throughout Europe and even in the modern day people like Bill Gates have been piecing them back together to see his genius once again.

Great book and his images are astounding to see...

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an excellent and easy read. It illuminates an interesting topic: the underrated and less well-known scientific achievements and discoveries of Leonardo da Vinci. The first several chapters, focused on a short history of Leonardo's life and placing him and his endeavors in the context of Renaissance science and art, are by far the most interesting and compelling passages. The writing gets repetitive and overly argumentative when it digs into discussing the science in question. The basic hypothesis is that Leonardo essentially broke ground in a panoply of scientific disciplines that did not exist until hundreds of years after him. This may be true--it certainly sounds like it is--but at times it feels as if the author is so intent on confirming this hypothesis that I worry he may overstate his evidence. Instances of speculation on his part about what Leonardo meant, intended, or was trying to convey may be accurate, but they are still speculations. I gave this book three stars both for this reason stated above and because--as I feared--those sections actually devoted to explicating Leonardo's science quickly grow tedious for those not familiar with geometry or calculus. The author does a fair job of explaining things, but it is still a slog for the novitiate or mathematically disinclined. That said, I would still recommend at least the first 150-200 pages for someone looking to understand a different aspect of da Vinci's unquestionable genius. I thank Mr. Capra for bringing this fact to a wider audience.

[Sara Hossam · Rating 4 out of 5]

l'umo universale 💙
" اقرأ لي أيها القاريء إذا وجدت البهجة في كلماتي، لأنه من النادر في العالم أن يولد شخص مثلي مرة ثانية " لم أجد في كلماته البهجة فحسب، بل وجدت شخصًا يتعلم كيف يعيش، باستغراق حد العبقرية، على أن العبقرية هاهنا موطنها الاستغراق في السؤال والتقصي عنه
وجدت في كلماته ما يفوق البهجة حيث ثمة دروس حياة لا تقدر بثمن عن الأصالة والخروج عن المألوف والإيمان بأن ثمة شيء ما في النفق، وأنه ما من نفق مظلم بقدر ما أن هنالك أنفاق لم يتم اكتشفاها بعد، ووجدت دروسًا أعلى في تناغم الطبيعة والعلوم والمعرفة، على أن السؤال الذي جال في ذهني هل كان ليوناردو شخصًا سعيدًا؟ وبطرح سؤال تقدمي بعدما أثبت العلوم اختلاف المخ البشري في التكوين و ما يتبع ذلك من أثر في السلوك فإني ولطول ما أمضيت مع هذا الكتاب، أحسست أنني جالست أو تلصصت على دافنشي، لا أدري حقًا هل عاش كشخص سعيد أم أن عقله المرعب والفريد كان من نوع آخر.
وما أهداه لي الكتاب ولروحي فهو أن على أن أؤمن بالتفكير العلمي، وأن ثمة متعة فائتة في الفضول المنقطع، وأن العبقرية تعني الاستغراق والصبر، والمناهج العلمية في الأسئلة والإجابات وإن طال الزمان وتعددت الصعاب.

[Amr Adel · Rating 4 out of 5]

with no doubt that the life of leonardo de vinci was full of lessons for us to learn and to amuse us with his amazing capabilities. In this book we learn how he was eager to learn more and never stop trying or searching for the right answer. In the first chapters when the author discusses his life and what he made throughout it,i think this is the entertaining part.However in the last couple of chapters the author try to put the scientific achievements of leonardo and here comes the boring part due to couple of reasons that -though it was revolutionary discoveries on its time- its boring to know that a person was good at every aspect of his life and also boring to read an obvious discoveries that is granted for us to know at our nowadays again!, the second reason that the author put them in an academic way as he was going only to put them just for the sake of them to be putted.
Eventually i think it almost the first seventy percent of the book it was truly a Journey in the mind of Leo.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fica claro que o livro foi escrito por alguém que, antes de tudo, é um admirador de da Vinci. E eu discordo do comentário de alguns leitores de que isso tenha se refletido negativamente no texto, assim como também discordo que o autor tentou justificar erros de da Vinci. Acho que ele na verdade contextualizou as dificuldades e limitações de alguém com uma mente muito a frente dos recursos e conhecimento científico da época. Erros com certeza foram cometidos, mas isso aconteceu porque da Vinci não se limitou devido ao medo de errar. foram cometidos, mas isso aconteceu porque da Vinci não se limitou devido ao medo de errar.
A segunda parte, mais cientifica, tem alguns trechos não tão interessantes para mim, mas muito bem contextualizada. Livro excelente, com um belíssimo epilogo traçando um paralelo entre a visão de mundo de da Vinci, o futuro da ciência, e o mundo e momento atual em que vivemos.

[Chris Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have *many* complaints about *what* Capra says in this book, but as far as *how* he says it, I did finding his style of writing shallow and very, very repetitive. He insists on making the same point again and again, giving the impression of trying to pad the book out to a reasonable length. His writing is also fairly stilted at times, looking like a list of statements rather than a flowing narrative.

With regards to what he wrote (rather than how), my biggest problem is with the way he draws equivalences on the basis of superficial similarities (something I thought he did to an obscene extent in 'The Tao of Physics'). I also took his heavy dependence on secondary sources and opinions to indicate that he wasn't overly familiar with the subject.

If you know nothing about Leonardo, this might be worth reading, otherwise maybe not ...

[Marc Marzabal · Rating 5 out of 5]

He disfrutado y descubierto al personaje artista y científico que fue Leonardo da Vinci. Me ha impresionado la actualidad de su ciencia, la integración de arte, método científico, intuición desbordante que supera los rudimentos de los medios de su época mediante una capacidad de observación y discernimiento capaz de visualizar y comprender la naturaleza mucho mejor que el enfoque mecanicista de la ciencia actual.
El rigor y habilidad del autor por mostrar este espíritu creador y científico de Leonardo me ha permitido conocer la profundidad del ingénio de Leonardo tan abanzada para su época y al mismo tiempo tan actual... insuperable!

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much about the great Leonardo. I knew about his art and his inventions, but he was so much more! A painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, anatomist, philosopher, civil engineer, mechanical engineer, city planner, optics, explorer & mountaineer, geologist, inventor, military expert, landscape artist, mathematician, writer, statics expert, theatre technician, set, costume, and lighting design, and fluid dynamics expert. I cannot even imagine anyone more talented and to think that he was self-taught with no formal training is incredible. I want to go back to Italy!

[Bruno Lorenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro hace un trabajo excelente por recopilar las mejores fuentes conocidas para describir la brillantez de Leonardo Da Vinci y el bagaje cultural y científico de su tiempo. Da Vinci rompió todos los moldes y fue un personaje adelantado en sobremanera a su era. Su curiosidad y talento no conocían límites, el genio más grande de la historia moderna investigó todos los campos de la ciencia y el arte conocidos y se aventuró en trabajos que no tenían ningún tipo de precedentes, tan sólo guiado por su genuina intuición y sus superiores capacidades. Apasionante trabajo de Capra.

[Marco Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overview of the life's work of Leonardo Da Vinci. He was an artist, and with an artist's eye he approached science and engineering. He studied everything that he could in nature and the human body. Leonardo was engaged as engineer for civil works due to his knowledge in hydraulics and mechanics.

Leonardo Da Vinci is the most prominent polymath known in human history. He is the prime example of someone who displays insatiable curiosity in almost any field of human endeavour. To the effect that his studies and inventions have shaped our design thinking to this day.

[Brian Darvell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the first half of the story (the more factual and biographical half) to be more enjoyable and interesting than the latter half. To me much of the book came across too pleading for the author's own scientific ideology as if by having Leonardo da Vinci following its order must make it that much more credible. Nonetheless, it was still overall a decent book and I enjoyed the overviews of many of Leonardo's more famous artistic works.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit repetitive at times but with enlightening insights. Such as reliance on Arabic translations of fundamental texts that has been lost in the original. And the reliance of contemporaries on reading the classical texts rather than first hand experience. I had viewed Leonardo’s achievements through a 20th century lens and this book removed my blind spot. It was also refreshing to read the author acknowledge other writers who had a different perspective.

[Brian Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I deeply enjoy Fritjof Capra's writing (The Web of Life, etc.), and The Science of Leonardo lives up to his intensive research and impactful writing style. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about the greatest Renaissance man of them all, and particularly about his thought processes, scientific techniques, and experimental innovations.

[Jeff Sibley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting analysis of Leonardo’s work through the lens of modern science.

I picked the book up in a used bookstore and was glad I did!

The author gave enough but not too much biographical information and devoted a good portion of the books looking at Leonardo’s notebooks.