text: I forced myself to finish this book before I reviewed it, and being through with it now, I feel as though I've learned very little.  I had so many problems with this book, or rather the way of writing, mostly stemming from the completely pompous arrogance of the author, that this was a difficult read.  In his defense, he is, in MOST things, very thorough.  My main and overwhelming problem with this book was that the author was arrogant enough to believe that he could relay what Leonardo was (or as he sometimes put it "must have been") thinking or feeling.  While I give Mr. Bramly credit as a man very much versed in his subject, in my opinion, that still gives him no right to use what I understood to be a faithful biography as a place to put forward his own views.  Since he himself stresses that Leonardo's famous notebooks contain little to no personal thoughts or feelings, he has no basis for those statements and they are only his overconfident postulations.  In the instances that there is a controversy over some area of Leonardo's life, the author is very good about stating that there is a dispute regarding the matter, but only puts forward his OWN opinion, and his reasons why he believes what he does, without explaining the opposite side of the matter.  In this manner, he forces his thoughts on the reader without leaving them any choice in the matter.  Sentences beginning with "I think" or "In my view" are not uncommon.  He also makes certain assumptions about the reader, referring often to other artists' works with the assumption that the reader is as knowledgeable as he is about them.  Also, he occasionally goes into great detail regarding a painting or drawing of Leonardo's, often drawing attention to coloring or texture, without ever showing it, though the book has many drawings and paintings throughout.  The author is an undoubtedly intelligent, well-learned man, very erudite where Leonardo da Vinci is concerned, but entirely overbearing in his writing.  Overall, unless you are well versed in the Renaissance artists and don't mind being pulled out of a book by the author's VIEWS, then I would HIGHLY suggest staying away from this one
  