The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Vol. I: Volume 1

Leonardo's curiosity and inventiveness are on display throughout this work. I cannot judge the quality of the translation , or how good the Richter edition of the Notebooks is. I can say that this is a tremendous amount of interesting observation and thought regarding the subjects from anatomy to perspective in painting, questions of architecture and aeronautics, that concern the Renaissance Man of Renaissance Men. All of this is in a way too much for another mind certainly one like my own who simply does not know anything about many of the areas Leonardo was interested in to real take in. But I think every person who takes an interest in the human mind and the way it works, in creativity and genius would do well to have and read these works.

This 2-Volume collection published by Dover wonderfully exhibits Leonardo's works with his sketches, designs and ideas. If you ever wondered what Leonardo thought, then these are the books to get. The book is set up with the text in two columns; the left in the original Italian, and the right side in the translated English. In those words are written of Leonardo's philisophical ideas, lives of where he lived and his surroundings, his theories on color, perspective, proportion, architecture, foliage, physiology and so many other things that the Great One was curious about. Througout the book and amidst the text are Leonardos sketches, thumbnail sketches, workings of famous pieces such as the Last Supper, some anatomical drawings - and in those pages you can see Leonardo's handwriting which he tended to write backwards. The value and reference is endless, especially for the artist. This edition is reprinted from the 1833 version originally entitled "Literary Works of Leonardo Da Vinci." This is a 2-volume set, which is sold seperately, but for the price, it is so worth the money. Highly reccomended!

Leonardo's notebooks are a staggering monument to the human intellect and Jean Paul Richter has done a remarkable job of editing and compiling Leonardo's various writings on so many subjects into a readable and unified whole. In all, Mr. Richter has done a marvelous job. His efforts have helped to bring the genius of Leonardo to an even wider readership.

I have read both this one and volume two and I believe this is the book I have been searching for on Leonardo. It is a direct translation and if you don't believe it you can translate for yourself because the Italian is to the left of the English. The book has over 700 illustrations but only about 50 have been photo copied from the actual books, the rest are re-drawn. Overall I would buy both books and start reading.

I can not do this book justice by attempting to describe it in words. Far be it from me. All I can say is that if you are a Da Vincian at heart, this book should already be in your collection. If it's not, then by all means get it.