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While Leonardo da Vinci, painter of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, is well known as a genius and perhaps the most significant artist of the Renaissance, less is known about his science and design. The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance takes us on a grand tour of his life and work, revealing the seamless integration of art, science, engineering, and reverence for nature that made up his worldview.

Although very public about his artistic technique, da Vinci was far more secretive about his science, and when the thousands of his notebooks he left to a close friend were scattered to the wind by a relative, those secrets were trapped in dusty libraries across the globe while the world moved on. Only now, with painstaking research, do we discover that he was the first to develop the modern scientific method, the pre-cursors of calculus, enormous advances in the geometrical and physical science of sight, and designs for flying machines that work when executed with modern materials, all hundreds of years ahead of those to whom these feats are historically attributed. Most amazingly, the synthesis of his work across the boundaries of multiple disciplines, and the observations of the interconnectedness of disparate subjects reflects a Systems Theory that we are only beginning to grasp ourselves at the forefront of today's science. Inside are his life's history from several different perspectives, including his important relationships, patrons, environs, and well-supported suppositions about his state of mind and interests as he journeyed through his amazing life. If Leonardo da Vinci isn't the first person you'd visit with your time machine, he will be after you've finished this amazing book.
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Watchmen by Alan Moore and David Gibbons

I saw the movie for this first, which kicked my ass so hard I had bruises the next day. The graphic novel isn't as lush or engrossing as the movie, and I wasn't as into the style of the artwork as much as I suspected I would be, but that doesn't change the masterful nature of the work. With complex storytelling, simultaneously larger-than-life yet very human characters, gritty tone, and some very illuminating glimpses into the human soul, it's definitely one of the best I've read. I would recommend to those with no exposure to read the novel first, then see the movie. The plot differences are minor enough not to interfere with the translation, and the Fun Total is higher in that order.

Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett

After hearing Terry Pratchett's praises sung by many fellow readings and authors for years, this was my very first exposure to his work. It's east to understand why so many people like him so much. His work is incisive, fun, and funny, and the vague suspicion you're not getting every joke the first time through probably improves re-readability. I can't say he's suddenly a new favorite, but even in one book, I can see how his style can grow on you, and I've rarely read a writer who's clearly having more fun doing his work than Pratchett, a lesson from which many aspiring writers could likely benefit.
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I've read Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future at least four or fives times, and it still rocks. Resnick has a knack for creating colorful but human characters in a surprisingly short period of time, comfortably dances across the fine line between realism and myth, and displays a talent for cadence and verbal rhythm rarely seen in science fiction.

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