Quotes on "Leonardo"

"A really accessible, wide-ranging discussion of just how amazing Leonardo Da vinci was and what it means for us today" – Tim Harford, Financial Times

"Leonardo da Vinci has so long been sanctified that it's easy to forget he was human. Fortunately, Stefan Klein paints a fresh portrait rather than further gilding an already blinding lily" – The Washington Post

“Leonardo’s Legacy tracks the many creations of Da Vinci, and parallels them with key events in Leonardo’s life, weaving a tapestry of inventive motivation for the ultimate Renaissance Man, all while posing thought-provoking questions…The book has some exceptional moments…it will provide an enjoyable look at the mind of an icon.” – San Francisco Book Review

“Truly encompassing (...) A must read for anyone who has even the slightest interest in the intellect of Leonardo da Vinci.” – New York Journal of Books

"Klein is considered one of the most influential science writers in Europe" –  Foreword

"A perfect examples of great subject meeting great telling." – The Bookbag read full review

"Klein masterfully connects Leonardo's tangible work (for example, paintings) to his ideas in his notebooks within the political and economic world where he functioned. What is most amazing is Klein's ability to show readers how Leonardo's powers of observation could make up for his lack of mathematical knowledge or engineering training. (...) Highly recommended and required reading for history of science scholars and enthusiasts." – Library Journal

"For even the most casual science buff, this book will both inform and entertain. Once I began reading about the ways in which Da Vinci studied water, observing and testing his hypotheses, I was hooked. My mouth dropped open when I read about a retired engineer in Minnesota who built a robot using Da Vinci’s design. There is much to learn in Klein’s book, not only about Da Vinci but also about broadening one’s own thinking to include all of the infinite possibilities of which the human mind can conceive.” – Internet Review of Books

"With my Leonardo library that would require a truck scale to weigh, how did I miss Ludovico Sforza using a remote mill in Mora Bassa for trysts with the Lady with Ermine/? The answer:  Leonardo’s Legacy's  author Stefan Klein took the trouble to track it down and talk to the natives.
Klein also recognizes Leonardo’s visuospatial gifts: his powerful problem-solving technique of thinking in analog, coupled with a determination that spanned decades, meant that he returned to problems over and over until they yielded up their secrets. Leonardo is not just a regular guy who worked hard to succeed, and no self-help book will turn you into him.
Klein concludes with an important question – why are there no modern Leonardos? He cites our modern education system as toxic to creativity and exploration, in contrast to Leonardo’s Old World mentorship with his master, Verrocchio.
Join Klein as he travels around the world to the castles, great libraries, canals and even the backgrounds of Leonardo’s paintings –– you couldn’t have a better or more fun guide." — Mark Rosheim, scientist, inventor, and author of Leonardo's Lost Robots