I don’t really know much of the specifics about Da Vinci. I did d/l “The Notebooks of ...[LDV]” from Gutenberg a few months ago, but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet.
I have always been a fan of DaVinci. Bought the Dover two volume edition of his notebooks in the '70s. Sounds like you found the same thing from another publisher. There is a lot of material there to go through. I found it fascinating but it doesn't read like a book since it's a collection of notes and sketches.
I read more about what his life and what the times in Florence were like from biographies like "(LDV;) Pathfinder of Science" by Henry S. Gillette.