Rinzler lifts the lowly human foot to new heights in this appealing book.
Leonardo’s Foot
How 10 Toes, 52 Bones, and 66 Muscles Shaped the Human World
Leonardo’s Foot stretches back to the fossil record and forward to recent discoveries in evolutionary science to demonstrate that it was our feet rather than our brains that first distinguished us from other species within the animal kingdom. Taking inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s statement that “the human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art,” Carol Ann Rinzler leads us on a fascinating stroll through science, medicine, and culture to shed light on the role our feet have played in the evolution of civilization.
Whether discussing the ideal human form in classical antiquity, the impressive depth of the arching soles on the figures in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, an array of foot maladies and how they have affected luminaries from Lord Byron to Benjamin Franklin, or delving into the history of foot fetishism, Rinzler has created a wonderfully diverse catalogue of details on our lowest extremities. This is popular science writing at its most entertaining—page after page of fascinating facts, based around the playful notion that appreciating this often overlooked part of our body is essential to understanding what it is to be human.
A Selection of the Scientific American, History, and BOMC2 Book Clubs
Ebook
- ISBN
- 9781934137635
Carol Ann Rinzler, a former nutrition columnist for the New York Daily News, has contributed to a number of publications including the New York Times. She is the author of more than twenty books on health and medicine, including Nutrition for Dummies, an international bestseller translated into fourteen languages.
visit author page »Praise for Leonardo’s Foot
Stylish, informative, entertaining, and pleasantly personal . . . Whether Rinzler is exploring how our feet explain or illuminate such topics as evolution, disability, racism, diet, or desire, she maintains a fascinating perspective on the peculiarities of being human.
— Rain Taxi Review of Books
This neat little book draws a clear picture of our feet, providing understanding that extends far beyond the obvious. Readers often like to walk away from a book feeling they learned something—that the author left them with a new way to look at an old idea, and this book fulfills that need.
Carol Ann Rinzler has written a surprising and delightful book about this ‘underwhelming, underreported, and completely indispensable’ part of the human body. It’s amazing what you’ll learn!
— Richard N. Gottfried, Chair, New York State Assembly Health Committee
Carol Ann Rinzler weaves together material from art, literature, science, and history to broaden our understanding of the human foot. Her book is by turns entertaining, enlightening, and altogether satisfying.
— Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney
Among the many pleasures of this book are the intriguing subject, Carol Ann Rinzler’s lively and accessible writing style, and the amazing array of information she has gathered from so many different fields . . . Who knew that the story of our own feet could be so fascinating?
— Sandra Opdycke, author of No One Was Turned Away and Jane Addams and Her Vision for America
This book will amaze you as it walks you through evolution, history, mythology, and a good dose of anatomy, to enlighten you about the role of the Humble Human Foot in bringing human beings to where we are today. Thoroughly enjoyable, informative, and well written, it is a must read for anyone involved in caring for our lower extremity—or interested in our evolution. In short, you will never view the foot the same way again.
— Gary Stones, DPM, President, New York State Podiatric Medical Association