Name: The Renaissance
ISBN: 9780812966190

Paul Johnson

Traces the economic, technological, and social developments of the Renaissance period, and describes contributions made by such figures as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Chaucer, and Dante to the arts, literature, architecture, technological innovation, social developments, and other key aspects of the era. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

A Short History

The Renaissance

Giovanni Garcia-Fenech 

I would have enjoyed this very light (and opinionated) recap of the Renaissance if it hadn't been for Johnson's annoying homophobia. On Michelangelo: "More nonsense has been written about him than about any other great artist: that he was a neurotic, a homosexual, a Neoplatonist mystic, etc." On Da Vinci: "He may have had homosexual inclinations, for in 1476, when he was twenty-four, he was accused of sodomy, though this does not necessarily imply the practice of unnatural vice (the accusation was anonymous and nothing came of it)." It's pretty much universally accepted that both of these artists were homosexuals, and Johnson's sniffy reaction is uncalled for.

The Renaissance A Short History