The Renaissance burst forth in all its glory around 1500 and spread throughout Europe. This period of great creativity and productivity in the arts and sciences is illuminated in this book through the lives of more than ninety of its illustrious intellectuals, artists, literary figures, scientists, and rulers. Included are such major figures as Lorenzo and Catherine de' Medici, Leonardo da Vinci, Charles V, Luther, Columbus, Copernicus, and St...