Product Description

Thomas Jefferson designed his own tombstone, describing himself simply as "Author of the Declaration of Independence and of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." It is in this simple epitaph that R.B. Bernstein finds the key to this enigmatic Founder--not as a great political figure, but as leader of "a revolution of ideas that would make the world over again." In Thomas Jefferson, Bernstein offers the definitive short biography of this revered American--the first concise life in six decades. Bernstein deftly synthesizes the massive scholarship on his subject into a swift, insightful, evenhanded account. Here are all of Jefferson's triumphs, contradictions, and failings, from his luxurious (and debt-burdened) life as a Virginia gentleman to his passionate belief in democracy, from his tortured defense of slavery to his relationship with Sally Hemings. Jefferson was indeed multifaceted--an architect, inventor, writer, diplomat, propagandist, planter, party leader--and Bernstein explores all these roles even as he illuminates Jefferson's central place in the American enlightenment, that "revolution of ideas" that did so much to create the nation we know today. Together with the less well-remembered points in Jefferson's thinking--the nature of the Union, his vision of who was entitled to citizenship, his dread of debt (both personal and national)--they form the heart of this lively biography. In this marvel of compression and comprehension, we see Jefferson more clearly than in the massive studies of earlier generations. More important, we see, in Jefferson's visionary ideas, the birth of the nation's grand sense of purpose.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13924 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 253 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780195181302
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
And still they come, these biographies of Thomas Jefferson-so many, in fact, that it's sometimes hard to tell them apart. But not this one. Veteran historian Bernstein (Amending America, etc.) pulls off a remarkable feat: he writes of Jefferson and his "ambiguous legacies" with utter serenity, detachment and balance. He takes no sides and offers no particular arguments about the man. Instead, in prose of the utmost directness and clarity, Bernstein simply lays out the great founder's life in all its complexities, achievements and, at the end, ruin-by which he means not only Jefferson's late-life financial plight but also his sad conviction that a new generation had become unfaithful to "his" Revolution. The acid test these days for partisan or skeptical biographers of Jefferson is how to present his relationship with his slave Sally Hemings. In a characteristic example of his evenhandedness, Bernstein treats the controversy in a concise summary, then tells us what is now known of the relationship and what cannot yet be determined. One comes to trust the author as a guide, not a polemicist. In fact, it's precisely because Bernstein reveals nothing new and argues not at all that anyone wanting to brush up on Jefferson's life or gain exposure to the latest findings about it will find this book of huge value. It will be most valuable to those seeking an introduction to Jefferson's life and achievements. There's little doubt that the book will become the standard brief one-volume biography of someone who was "the leading spokesman for the revolution of ideas that changed... the face of America and the world."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
If daunted by Dumas Malone's multivolume monument, or by Joseph Ellis' more manageable American Sphinx (1997), the biography reader has a more compact option in Bernstein's life of the third president. Bernstein proposes that his narrative is balanced among the clashing opinions of professional historians; we in the grandstands, however, can cheer Bernstein's offering as a capable, interpretive survey of Jefferson's long and verbose life. When it comes to selecting examples from Jefferson's prolific writings, Bernstein often relies on the most familiar phrases, such as the epitaph he prescribed for his tombstone or his final letter extolling the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Highly abrasive excerpts, such as Jefferson's assertions that blacks were inferior, Bernstein anchors in Jefferson's social status as a slaveholding country squire. Jefferson's inconsistencies, however, do not dominate; rather, the author strongly emphasizes Jefferson's democratic ideals and his practical enactment of them in his political career. However crowded the TJ shelf, libraries should allow room for Bernstein's compact, competent contribution. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"The best short biography of Jefferson ever written...highly recommended for those who want a brief and historically reliable account of this incredibly complicated character.... Authoritative, judicious, clearly written and remarkably complete."--Gordon S. Wood, The New York Times Book Review
"Bernstein...in his marvelous little book gives us an objective account of what made President Jefferson the looming figure he is and why he occupies a central place in our history. Mr. Bernstein's work is so complete, yet concise, that I'm tempted to call it 'the pocket Jefferson.' But that would not do. The notion of Mr. Jefferson--or of Mr. Bernstein's research--being pocket-sized is misleading. The book may be trim enough to fit inside a very large pocket, but it will fill your heart and mind."--Hon. Albert Rosenblatt, New York Court of Appeals, New York Law Journal
"Bernstein's Jefferson is a brilliant success. There is nothing like it in the literature."--Peter Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History, University of Virginia
"Veteran historian Bernstein pulls off a remarkable feat: he writes of Jefferson and his 'ambiguous legacies' with utter serenity, detachment and balance. He takes no sides and offers no particular arguments about the man. Instead, in prose of the utmost directness and clarity, Bernstein simply lays out the great founder's life in all its complexities, achievements and, at the end, ruin.... Anyone wanting to brush up on Jefferson's life or gain exposure to the latest findings about it will find this book of huge value. It will be most valuable to those seeking an introduction to Jefferson's life and achievements. There's little doubt that the book will become the standard brief one-volume biography of someone who was 'the leading spokesman for the revolution of ideas that changed...the face of America and the world.'"--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Bernstein proposes that his narrative is balanced among the clashing opinions of professional historians; we in the grandstands, however, can cheer Bernstein's offering as a capable, interpretive survey of Jefferson's long and verbose life.... The author strongly emphasizes Jefferson's democratic ideals and his practical enactment of them in his political career. However crowded the TJ shelf, libraries should allow room for Bernstein's compact, competent contribution."-- Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
"Here, in just 200 pages of text, is an eminently readable, insightful and fair account of the life and times of the third president of the United States.... Bernstein's book [is] lucid, fascinating."--Roanoke Times
"R. B. Bernstein has produced a fascinating, extremely intelligent examination of the life of Thomas Jefferson. With a clear eye and deft historical touch, Bernstein reminds us why studying Jefferson and his world will always remain central to understanding the development of the American character."--Annette Gordon-Reed, author of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy
"Bernstein has brought as much clarity to a famously elusive subject as anyone can, and he's done it all at concise, readable length."--Christian Science Monitor
"It is difficult to be objective about Thomas Jefferson, but this book succeeds wonderfully. Neither attacking Jefferson for his sins nor lauding him for his accomplishments, Thomas Jefferson does equal justice to Jefferson's political, intellectual, and personal life in a concise biography that can be enjoyed by all. Bernstein has given us an admirably balanced life in context."--Joanne B. Freeman, Professor of History, Yale University
"R.B. Bernstein's Thomas Jefferson may be the best short biography of the founder ever written. One could spend whole books trying to explain the body of Jefferson's thought; indeed many scholars have. Wisely, Bernstein has chosen to show us ideas in action. Sometimes less is more, and in this very fine biography, R.B. Bernstein has succeeded in showing Jefferson's greatness and complexity and the tumultuousness of the times."--Political Science Quarterly, Jan Ellen Lewis, Department of History, Rutgers University, Newark
"Two-time Pulitzer prize nominee Bernstein has produced a readable biography of a leading figure of the young American nation. He effectively weaves together information on Jefferson's planter background, emergence as a leading thinker of the Independence era, ongoing struggle to balance his personal life with public responsibility as his nation emerged, and eventual service as the third President. The author is especially adept at placing Jefferson's accomplishments in context without oversimplifying them, which in a book only about 250 pages long and aimed primarily at general readers is an impressive feat.... This work is recommended particularly for public libraries and other general collections."--Library Journal
"Written with uncommon grace and ease, Bernstein's book is admirably balanced... Bernstein is to be congratulated warmly on the objectivity and gracious tone he manages throughout. His is a Jefferson whose faults and fineness come through in smooth and sometimes captivating language."--Journal of American History
"[An] excellent concise biography of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson has always aroused strong emotions, yet Bernstein manages to note his deficiencies, personal and political, as well as to acknowledge his accomplishments, intellectual and political, in fewer than two hundred pages of text. Given the length of Jefferson's life, his voluminous writings, and the importance of the events he participated in, summarizing his life in such a short compass is a major feat. Bernstein's book is judicious, well-balanced, and comprehensive; respectful without being adulatory; and conscious of the immediate context within which Jefferson operated and the long-term significance of what he did."--William & Mary Quarterly

Customer Reviews

I Loved this Book. Very Concise and Insightful
I really enjoyed this superb book. I highly recommend it as an excellent introduction to Thomas Jefferson. The book is only 198 pages of text, yet the author paints a vivid, fascinating portrait of Jefferson - especially his ideas and how those ideas shaped his life and America. This book was a joy to read.

On the cover of the book is a comment from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon Wood calling this book "The best short Biography of Jefferson ever written." I agree and would add that it's simply a great book.

If you want to read an excellent, thick book on Jefferson, buy Merrill Peterson's classic "Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation." But if you want an excellent, concise book on Jefferson, buy this superb book.

Thomas Jefferson had a profound role in the America Revolution, especially his enlightened ideas. He wrote the Declaration of Independence - essentially the American creed - "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Jefferson advocated freedom, learning, and individual rights for all, not to be infringed upon by the state. He was egalitarian.

The first chapter "A Young Gentlemen of Virginia (1743-1774)" gives the reader a fine understanding of the aristocratic, planter society Jefferson grew up in. The book succinctly details Jefferson's love of learning, his noble ideas, and how his ideas would play out his life and then into American history.

Subsequent chapters detail how Jefferson was faced with many difficult problems and how he handled them on a case-by-case basis. This method of problem solving appears to make him look contradictory, but his basic ideas always remained true.

Jefferson was mired in debt, for example. Read the book and understand the society of land owners that required debt and the economic problems that led to his getting over his head. This forced him to deal with his economic problems as a farmer certain ways. (This would have made freeing his slaves economically impossible despite the fact that he ideologically opposed and repeated fought slavery).

I just loved Bernstein's description of the nasty politics during Adams' presidency and the election of 1800 between Jefferson and Adams. I could not put the book down. Hamilton and Jefferson, the brilliant founders that they were, could be very wily.

I really enjoyed Bernstein's brief description of Jefferson's alliances and rivalries with other founders, especially Madison, Adams, and Hamilton. Jefferson was friends with Adams, then enemies, then friends late in life. They both died on the same day, July 4.

On the back cover of this book are these rave reviews:

"Bernstein's Jefferson is a brilliant success. There's nothing like it in the literature." -Peter Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History, University of Virginia.

"R.B. Bernstein has produced a fascinating, extremely intelligent examination of the life of Thomas Jefferson. With a clear eye and deft historical touch, Bernstein reminds us why studying Jefferson and his world will always remain central to understanding the development of the American character." -Annette Gordon-Reed, author of "Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy."

"It is difficult to be objective about Thomas Jefferson, but this book succeeds wonderfully. Neither attacking Jefferson for his sins nor lauding him for his accomplishments, `Thomas Jefferson' does equal justice to Jefferson's political, intellectual and personal life in a concise biography that can be enjoyed by all." -Joanne B. Freeman, Professor of History at Yale University.

Of the many books I have read on the presidents (I am reading through all the great presidents and founders), "Thomas Jefferson" stood out as especially well written. It carefully packed much information into a small amount of pages, touching on all aspects of Jefferson's life and creating a living portrait. It was a joy to read and I enthusiastically recommend it as an outstanding introduction to the life and ideas of Thomas Jefferson.

Bravo!

This book is worthwhile.
As a part of my review I can't help but be amused at one who would claim this book "never should have been published" and "bad writing, I think, always reveals the shallowness of perception." Talk about the shallowness of perception... it sounds as though the reviewer is a frustrated and unpublished writer. To the point, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so too is the value of this book to the reader. If you are a Jeffersonian scholar, well versed in his life and times, this book will have little to offer you. If, on the other hand, your knowledge of Thomas Jefferson stems from American History class and fanciful movies, then it has something to offer. I don't know the author, but I doubt that he intended it to be the definitive biography of Thomas Jefferson. Rather, it is a concise, well written and easily read synopsis of Jefferson's life and worth the time it takes to read it. For those who want more in depth analysis there are other excellent books to fill that need.

Simple, basic Jefferson primer
This is an extremely basic and simple 192 page summary of the life and accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson. In that context, it is perfectly acceptable. For the life of me, however, I don't see how this could be rated a five (or even four) star effort.

If you give this 5 stars, what do you give Truman, or John Adams or War and Peace? When you go to your average Holiday Inn, do you give it five stars? If so, what is a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton? Do you award the gold medal to a diver who does a perfectly executed swan dive? Degree of difficulty must come into play.

Having said that, if you're looking for a beginner biography for your junior high student, this would be an excellent selection. If you're interested in the American Presidents series and want to skim the surface of many of our Presidents without going in depth on any of them, this would be the way to go. If you're looking for depth, analysis and context, however, I'd certainly look for more than a 192 page summation.

Why then did I purchase this work? I knew what it was when I bought it. I had just finished Ron Chernow's "Hamilton" and had previously read David McCollough's "John Adams". Both of these subjects were rivals and at times bitter enemies of Jefferson. Having been brought up to view Jefferson as a Founding Father of great intellect and importance, it was a little disconcerting to view him through the writing of McCollough and Chernow as a dishonest, venal, calculating opportunist. Chernow, especially, falls into hero worship mode when comparing and contrasting his subject, Hamilton, with Jefferson.

In buying this work, I was looking for a more balanced effort without having to invest the time in an 800 page biography which largely recounted the historical events already covered in previously read biographies on Washington, Adams and Hamilton. For that purpose, it was just what the doctor ordered. Unlike Chernow, Bernstein examines his subject warts and all. He acknowledges and doesn't downplay his weaknesses, while at the same time revealing his unquestionable brilliance in many areas.

I highly recommend "Hamilton" as an outstanding history lesson and biography of a little appreciated and sometimes disregarded founding father. However, this little tome is a good antidote for the character assassination sustained by Jefferson in the aforementioned work.