Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

The narrative of Brunelleschi's Dome tells how a Renaissance man stretched labor, resources, and even the laws of nature to create a marvel of architecture. Goldsmith and clock maker Filippo Brunelleschi was neither a skilled mason or carpenter. He would devote more than twenty-eight years to deciphering the building mysteries of the dome. He essentially reinvented the discipline of architecture in the process. He meticulously planned the platforms and routines for the workers, ensuring that during the decades of construction, only one man perished. He also engineered the precise placement of brick and stone, some of which are among the most famous machines of the Renaissance, to carry an estimated seventy million pounds hundreds of feet into the air. This drama took place in the midst of political conflicts, epidemics, wars, and Florence's Renaissance intellectual ferment. Ross King skillfully incorporates into a narrative. A Book of the Year Award from the American Library Association Boston Globe: "A captivating story" The Los Angeles Times: "Ross King has a knack for explaining complicated processes in a manner that is not only lucid but downright intriguing... Fascinating."