Leonardo da Vinci: The Codex Leicester: Notebook of a Genius

Leonardo da Vinci: The Codex Leicester: Notebook of a Genius by Leonardo da Vinci. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781863170819.

Bill Gates bought the Codex Leicester a notebook of Leonardo da Vincis scientific observations and theories in 1994 from the estate of Armand Hammer for $30.8 million. Last year Gates loaned the work to Australias Powerhouse Museum, which prepared this companion to its exhibition. No longer in codex form (the pages were bound in the 1600s, but Gates had the binding dismantled for digital reproduction), the manuscript ranges over topics from fossils to astronomy. Each recto of this edition reproduces one of Leonardos pages, written in mirror-script Italian with sketches jotted in the margins; a discussion (but not a translation) appears on the verso. It includes an introduction to Leonardos life, but no index. Distributed in the US by Ashgate. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)