Leonardo da Vinci: The Flights of the Mind

The book researches the life of Leonardo da Vinci in Tuscane and explores the reasons of his historic success.^[1][2] The author's main observation is that most of Leonardo's work was unfinished. Through a thorough research, the author dismisses most of the romanticized facts about da Vinci and concludes that a lot is unknown about the genius inventor.^[3] Leonardo is described as an engineer obsessed with natural designs.^[4] Washington Post writer Alexander Nagel criticized Nicholl's technical analysis of the inventor's paintings that lack insight and misses an opportunity to push deeper into the mind of Leonardo.^[5]

The author retranslates many of Leonardo's mirrorscript writings.^[6] Some guesswork is admittedly thrown in this biography:^[2] an old woman visiting Leonardo in 1493 becomes his mother; Freudian concepts are used to explain his probable homosexuality (Joseph missing from his representations of the Holy Family); His stay in jail is linked to his plans to reverse engineer locks...^[7] The author also argues that Leonardo's obsession with flying devices comes from his alchemical quest for a levitation technology.^[5]

David Gelernter criticized his interpretations around the hypothetical encounter of Michelangelo and Leonardo.^[4]

The release of Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind coincided with the release of another Leonardo biography, Leonardo by Martin Kemp.^[8]

• 2004, United States, Viking Adult ISBN 0-670-03345-6, Pub date 18 November 2004, Hardcover
• 2005, United States, Penguin ISBN 0-14-303612-2, 29 November 2005, Paperback