"Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces"is the culmination of a life-long passion for the art and culture of Italy. As a child, I spent five years in Florence, and I have been haunted by the beauty and storied past of this most remarkable of cities ever since.

Over the years I have written for "The New York Times", "The Boston Globe," "The Washington Post", as well as numerous art magazines. For the past decade I've concentrated on the culture and history of the Italian Renaissance, writing biographies of three of the giants of the age: Lorenzo de' Medici ("Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici"); Machiavelli ("Machiavelli: A Biography"); and now Michelangelo ("Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces"). The last in this Renaissance trilogy is perhaps nearest and dearest to my heart, a labor of love and a tribute to the transcendent, unpredictable, and often difficult nature of genius.