White, Michael. Leonardo, the first scientist.

St. Martin's. 385p. illus. notes. index. c2001. 0-312-27026-7. $16.95. SA

Vegetarian, homosexual, and Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci is best known as an artist, but award-winning author Michael White chooses to focus on the scientific work of a polymath, the man who could do it all. Leonardo researched in the fields of optics, anatomy, geology and hydrology. He performed autopsies, invented or drew plans for a tank, a helicopter, a parachute, mechanized vehicles, pumps, irrigation systems, and digging machines. He discovered the phenomenon of atmospheric refraction. He also invented a special octagonal mirror that created a repeat image, a table lamp for which the intensity could be varied, folding furniture, and a set of doors that opened and closed automatically. As a military engineer, he designed an aqualung, pumps for getting water into siege towers, efficient ways to pour boiling oil on enemy troops, and techniques for dislodging attack ladders from castle walls. White presents these facts in an engaging style, dwelling on Leonardo's sexual preferences, his illegitimacy, his abandonment in early childhood by his mother, and his relationships with the great men of his age. Da Vinci and his era come alive again in this skillfully written biography. Thumbnail sketches of the major characters in Leonardo's life, a timeline, notes, and an index finish the volume. Highly recommended. Janet Julian, former English Teacher, Grafton H.S., Grafton, MA