A Goodreads user
asked:
Is it better to purchase a hard copy or to get the Kindle version? The reason I ask is that I don't like looking at illustrations and images on my Kindle.
To answer questions about
Leonardo da Vinci,
please sign up.
Roger Stone
Absolutely buy the book! It weighs four pounds and covers over 525 pages, many filled with excellent reproductions of Leonardo's work that simply don't come out on any e-book. Plus, you'll have the satisfaction of holding a high quality actual book in your hands. It's the difference between hand writing a letter and typing it on a keyboard.
Brad
Certainly I would recommend the hardback over the Kindle. However, some folks aren't aware that Kindle has the ability to expand images. Simply tap the image twice, and you should get a good look. Not so helpful on the black and white or monochrome Kindles, but it should be just fine in color. Additionally, Amazon sells the hardcover for around $20. There are plenty of images in this book, so spend a little extra.
Alejandro Kahan
There is a great PDF that comes with the Audible version. Im not sure if it comes with any other version. I have it on my phone and computer. The narrator says to look the figure it is referring to out loud.
Ronald Aylward
I borrowed the hard back edition from my local library. I was disappointed in the illustrations and compensated for this by using GettyImages app on my iPad with the book.
Joan Vokac
I normally prefer reading on a Kindle but this is the first time in awhile that I regretted that choice. The images are small and hard to see detail, and worse yet, as you read about paintings you would like to go back and look at them but it's hard to do without scrolling and then having to find your place again, whereas on a book it would be easy. Also, there may be some strange formatting because I kept getting accidentally redirected. But DO read it, it's highly worthwhile!
Jim Lauder
Hardcover! It is worth every penny. Isaacson clearly has superbly researched this historic figure and presents Da Vinci to the reader in a most human way.
Bobbi
Definitely buy the book. It’s beautiful and high quality. I even removed the cover while I was reading it to preserve it. Now that I’m finished, I’ll put it on my bookshelf as a reference. This is one instance where the Kindle version just wouldn’t do it justice.
Bob
While I read a lot of NOOK Books, this is one that deserves to be purchased in hardback or paperback form. I'm reading it now and thoroughly enjoying it. Walter Isaacson has a writing style that's intelligent but nor stuffy. Reading this book will take some time it's 525+ pages and a very heavy book but well worth the effort.
Víctor Navas
What I do is to read it using the kindle, but I check every illustration using the kindle app for my phone or desktop.
Deepak Dewan
Yes definitely, hard cover book was presented to me by my children on father's day. the only "disadvantage" I found is this book is thick and heavy so I cannot carry it around to read when I have time to read in other places than at home in the morning/evening after my office.
Vien Guenther
Buying the hard copy is absolutely the best due to its many images. You will keep keep going back to those images and illustrations as you read.
Muhammad Laiq Rind
I'm currently reading the hard back edition, borrowed from the local library. I'll suggest to get kindle version as the actually book is heavy to read and carry around. Also, some of the paintings referred in the book are not there. To compensate for it, I'm using Google Arts & Culture app.
Praveen
i am reading this in a kindle app in iPad.The illustrations are in color. Its pretty good
Gary Gudmundson
Also the colored illustrations and artwork are on slick pages. Also, it looks good on your drawing room table.
You can get this hardback at Costo for only $19.99.
You can get this hardback at Costo for only $19.99.
Janet Robinson
But you can enlarge the images on your reader.
Navid Hasan
What a beautiful book and so well researched and explained. For reading the kindle version would be more convenient because holding the hardback for long might be tiring because that's a big book. But with the lush prints of his significant paintings and other works I'd say a hardback is a must have if one likes to collect!
Migg
I have both the Audiobook (Abridged) and the hardback. I recommend the paper version definitely, for you to really study all the illustrations. I've got the audio format to listen while commuting as became engrossed in the narrative.
Robert
Mr. Isaacson has spoken about the extra attention to detail he and the publisher paid to the printed form of this book. The paper is substantial, the typeface is beautiful, the book is in every way a reminder of why books will never entirely disappear. I purchased both: the Kindle version for convenience, the printed book for every other reason.
Morghan Chambers
Hard copy for this one. For sure... you will need it for the art; i flipped back and forth from the pictures to the narrative, capturing what I needed. Just my opinion.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more