Toby Lester's Blog
February 3, 2012
NY Times
Nice review of my book in this weekend's NY Times Book Review, available online now:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/boo...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/boo...
January 26, 2012
Da Vinci's Ghost
The US edition of my new book, Da Vinci's Ghost, comes out on February 7. If you're curious, see www.tobylester.com for reviews, events, and such.
The book's already had some great advance mentions: Amazon has chosen it as a February pick of the month; Vanity Fair has listed it in their February "Hot Type" column; USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor have made it a book to look out for in 2012; and the NY Times Book Review will be reviewing it on 2/5. I've also written a short piece adapted from the book for the February issue of Smithsonian Magazine, which, thanks in large part to a link today from Arts & Letters Daily, is currently the most-read piece on their site.
To help generate interest in the book, my publisher, Free Press, has donated three copies to a Goodreads.com giveaway, which you can enter here:
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/cre...
The book's already had some great advance mentions: Amazon has chosen it as a February pick of the month; Vanity Fair has listed it in their February "Hot Type" column; USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor have made it a book to look out for in 2012; and the NY Times Book Review will be reviewing it on 2/5. I've also written a short piece adapted from the book for the February issue of Smithsonian Magazine, which, thanks in large part to a link today from Arts & Letters Daily, is currently the most-read piece on their site.
To help generate interest in the book, my publisher, Free Press, has donated three copies to a Goodreads.com giveaway, which you can enter here:
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/cre...
November 17, 2011
Da Vinci's Ghost
In case anybody's interested, my new book, Da Vinci's Ghost, has just come out in England and is available online at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vincis-Ghost-...
The book is also listed on Amazon in the US, where it's due out in the US on February 7. So far so good with advance praise -- see below for a sampling.
BLURBS
“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
“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 and 1491
“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: A Civil War Awakening
“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, BBC and PBS commentator on the history of art
“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
REVIEWS
Starred review (Publishers Weekly, October 10, 2011)
http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/9...
“Lester 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.”
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vincis-Ghost-...
The book is also listed on Amazon in the US, where it's due out in the US on February 7. So far so good with advance praise -- see below for a sampling.
BLURBS
“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
“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 and 1491
“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: A Civil War Awakening
“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, BBC and PBS commentator on the history of art
“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
REVIEWS
Starred review (Publishers Weekly, October 10, 2011)
http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/9...
“Lester 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.”
Da Vinci's Ghost
In case anybody's interested, my new book, Da Vinci's Ghost, has just come out in England and is available online at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vincis-Ghost-...
The book is also listed on Amazon in the US, where it's due out in the US on February 7. So far so good with advance praise -- see below for a sampling.
BLURBS
“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
“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 and 1491
“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: A Civil War Awakening
“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, BBC and PBS commentator on the history of art
“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
REVIEWS
Starred review (Publishers Weekly, October 10, 2011)
http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/9...
“Lester 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.”
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vincis-Ghost-...
The book is also listed on Amazon in the US, where it's due out in the US on February 7. So far so good with advance praise -- see below for a sampling.
BLURBS
“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
“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 and 1491
“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: A Civil War Awakening
“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, BBC and PBS commentator on the history of art
“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
REVIEWS
Starred review (Publishers Weekly, October 10, 2011)
http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/9...
“Lester 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.”
