Ah, that smile We've all seen it hundreds,perhaps even thousands, of times. It graces the face of La Gioconda, or the Mona Lisa,as she is affectionately known-the world's most famous painting, created by Leonardo da Vinci around 1505. Five centuries later,the Mona Lisa has achieved celebrity status. She has been admired and imitated, parodied and exploited. Yet few of us know the compelling story of this priceless world treasure. In this engaging story-told mainly in pictures-historian and Mona Lisa scholar Donald Sassoon offers us an intimate look at the painting's history and at the genius who gave the Mona Lisa lasting life.

Note: some fading to spine of dustcover and edges also have some wear.