Towering across time as the painter of the Mona Lisa, forever famous as a sculptor and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest minds of both the Italian Renaissance and Western civilization. Dan Browns The Da Vinci Code and recent in-depth biographies have stimulated renewed interest in da Vinci and his complex and inquiring intelligence. This brand-new selection of sketches, diagrams, and writings from his notebooks is a beautiful and varied record of da Vincis theories and observations, embracing not only art but also architecture, town planning, engineering, naval warfare, music, medicine, mathematics, science, and philosophy. The notebooksa treasure trove of unparalleled ingenuity, curiosity, and creative energyhave inspired readers for centuries. This new selection is the perfect introduction to the mysteries of da Vinci.