Brunelleschi's Dome, by Ross King

We read with great enthusiasm an earlier book by Mr. King, Michaelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. We were especially impressed by his clear explanations of painting and his sympathetic portrayal's of the celibate artist as well as of the less-than-glorious Medici sponsored pontiffs of the time.

In Brunellschi's Dome, King moves to architecture and the story of the building of the incredible dome at Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence (what a city!) in the early 15th century. Again, the explanations of the engineering problems of architecture are amazingly lucid. He again protrays characters with all their artistic eccentricity but with genuine human sympathy. So far, one of the best books of the year.

Page as of February 23: 47

Brothers' rating: 4 1/2 of 5