Bookshelf

In which I recommend some excellent books that I decided not to post about…

• Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind, by Charles Nicholl

A magical but down-to-earth portrait of Leonardo as impish inventor, charming entertainer, dandy and flake. Quote (from da Vinci's notebooks): "If you want to see how a person's soul inhabits his body, look at how his body treats his daily abode."

• Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel

A classic study – to be read with Anscombe's marvel of obscurity, "The First Person".

And finally…

• The Promise of Happiness, by Justin Cartwright

I don't have much to say about this one. But it was recommended by my step-sister-in-law, and it is very good. One character reads Bernard Williams on morality.