About the Book
In Da Vinci's Ghost, critically acclaimed historian Toby Lester tells the story of the world's most iconic image, the Vitruvian Man, and sheds surprising new light on the artistry and scholarship of Leonardo da Vinci, one of history's most fascinating figures. Deftly weaving together art, architecture, history, theology, and much else, Da Vinci's Ghost is a first-rate intellectual enchantment."--Charles Mann, author of 1493
Da Vinci didn't summon Vitruvian Man out of thin air. He was inspired by the idea originally formulated by the Roman architect Vitruvius, who suggested that the human body could be made to fit inside a circle, long associated with the divine, and a square, related to the earthly and secular. To place a man inside those shapes was to imply that the human body could indeed be a blueprint for the workings of the universe. Da Vinci elevated Vitruvius' idea to exhilarating heights when he set out to do something unprecedented, if the human body truly reflected the cosmos, he reasoned, then studying its anatomy more thoroughly than had ever been attempted before--peering deep into body and soul--might grant him an almost godlike perspective on the makeup of the world.
Written with the same narrative flair and intellectual sweep as Lester's award-winning first book, the "almost unbearably thrilling" (Simon Winchester) Fourth Part of the World, and beautifully illustrated with Da Vinci's drawings, Da Vinci's Ghost follows Da Vinci on his journey to understanding the secrets of the Vitruvian man. It captures a pivotal time in Western history when the Middle Ages were giving way to the Renaissance, when art, science, and philosophy were rapidly converging, and when it seemed possible that a single human being might embody--and even understand--the nature of the universe.
About the Author :
Toby Lester is a contributing editor to and has written extensively for "The Atlantic." A former Peace Corps volunteer and United Nations observer, he lives in the Boston area with his wife and three daughters. His previous book, "The Fourth Part of the Wo"rld (2009), about the map that gave America its name, was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers Award and was picked as a Book of the Year by several other publications. His work has also appeared on the radio program "This American Life."
Review :
"An intellectual detective story. By using the [Waldseemüller] map as a lens through which to view a nexus of myth, imagination, technology, stupidity, and imperial ambition, Lester has penned a provocative, disarming testament to human ambition and ingenuity."--The Boston Globe
"Fascinating. Without Toby Lester's fine book, the Waldseemüller Map might remain an interesting historical footnote. Instead, one now understands the creation of the map as a world-changing moment, "a birth certificate for the world that came into being in 1492 -- and a death warrant for the one that was there before.'"--Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Lester pulls on the threads of Waldseemüller's map and finds an extraordinary braid of influences. [He] builds a cumulative tale of rich, diverse influences that he juggles with gathering speed and showmanship until the whir of detail coalesces into an inspired, imaginative piece of mapmaking."--San Francisco Chronicle
Praise for Toby Lester's Fourth Part of the World "Marvelously imaginative, exhaustively researched. . . . Guiding the reader Virgil-like through the Age of Discovery, Lester introduces a chronologically and conceptually vast array of Great Men (Columbus, Vespucci, Polo, Copernicus, et al.), competing theories, monastic sages, forgotten poets, opportunistic merchants, unfortunate slaves, and more. That he relates it all so cleanly and cogently--via elegant prose, relaxed erudition, measured pacing, and purposeful architecture--is a feat. That he proffers plentiful visual delights, including detailed views of the legendary document, is a gift. This map, Lester writes, 'draws you in, reveals itself in stages, and doesn't let go.' Nor does this splendid volume."--The Atlantic
"Da Vinci's Ghost is both a beautiful and a brilliant book. After reading Lester's account, you will never be able to look at Leonardo's Vitruvian Man the same way again."--Howard Markel, author of An Anatomy of Addiction
"Da Vinci's Ghost is as ingeniously crafted as one of its namesake's famous inventions. Like Leonardo himself, Toby Lester can take a single sheet of paper--in this case, the most famous drawing in all of art history--and make it teem with stories, characters, insights, and ideas."--Adam Goodheart, author of 1861: The Civil War Awakening
"Compelling ... allows us to see how a group of European Renaissance scholars 'managed to arrive at a new understanding of the world as a whole.' Mr. Lester bravely ventures where few have gone before."--The New York Times
"Erudite, elegant, enthralling. This is a wonderful book. Toby Lester understands, and makes us understand, the unique intensity with which Leonardo saw the world. He saw it not only in its infinite diversity but also as an impression of his own self, an explanation of what it means to be human. Hence Vitruvian Man."--Sister Wendy Beckett, author of The Story of Painting
"Every once in a while that rare book comes along that is not only wonderfully written and utterly compelling but also alters the way you perceive the world. Toby Lester's "Da Vinci's Ghost" is such a book. Like a detective, Lester uncovers the secrets of an iconic drawing and pieces together a magisterial history of art and ideas and beauty."--David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z
"In reconstructing the forgotten story of Vitruvian Man, Toby Lester, a canny decoder of images and a great storyteller, sheds new light on the enigmatic Leonardo DaVinci."--Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief of Wired, author of The Long Tail and Free
"Lester captures the passion, curiosity and, at times, the hubris behind the European explorations. His real interest lies in the evolution of Europeans' perception of the world, as reflected by their maps, an approach that works splendidly. To mid-millennial Europeans, there was nothing over the western sea but mystery and legends about islands, monsters and mythical beings. It took courage to sail off into that unknown, and Lester's book offers a clear survey of how people came to understand the world in which they lived."--The Washington Post
"Like almost everyone, I've seen Leonardo's drawing of the nude man in the circle. But until I read Toby Lester's terrific new book, I had no idea about the story behind the picture--or even that there *was* a story behind the picture. Deftly weaving together art, architecture, history, theology and much else, Da Vinci's Ghost is a first-rate intellectual enchantment."--Charles Mann, author of 1493
"Like Da Vinci's famous drawing, Toby Lester's book is a small wonder--a work of brilliant compression that illuminates a whole world of life and thought. Lester proves himself to be the perfect guide to the Renaissance and beyond--affable, knowledgeable, funny. Leonardo's Virtruvian Man turns out to be a road map that can take us to remarkable places--once you learn how to read it."--Cullen Murphy, editor at large, Vanity Fair
"Maps - intricate, absurd, fantastical, ridiculous - fill this beautiful book, reinforcing Lester's thesis that they tell us as much about their makers as our surroundings. The heretofore unknown fourth part of the world was an enormous, unspoiled continent whose natural resources could be exploited and whose natives could be converted, sold into slavery, or exterminated. Like any train wreck, the controversies of this historical moment fascinate."--The Christian Science Monitor
"One of the great contributions of books like this is to keep the reader from taking for granted a familiar object. Lester's detective story has a satisfying number of insights...covers a broad swath of history...[and] braids intellectual threads--philosophy, anatomy, architecture, and art--together in a way that reaffirms not only Leonardo's genius but also re-establishes the significance of historical context in understanding great works of art."--Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review
"One of this year's most captivating and richly detailed histories."--The News Tribune
"Perfect for [somebody who] loves biography and nonfiction, particularly idea-driven books like Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel."--The Wall Street Journal
"Thrilling. Vital to anyone interested in knowing the story of this country. An elegant and thoughtful account of the one morsel of cartographic history that would shake the world's foundations. [Lester's] is a rare and masterly talent."--Simon Winchester, author of, most recently, The Man Who Loved China
