false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165655821m/8506.jpg 8506 3 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. 11452 2003 Thomas Jefferson total:155|5:20|4:71|3:53|2:10|1:1| 155 564 241 33 4 1 false false Fri Apr 04 14:06:36 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 07 19:19:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 18:44:16 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 20:07:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Sep 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 05:15:05 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 11:12:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 23 06:08:07 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 05:44:43 -0700 2008 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Dec 19 18:03:57 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 14:44:50 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 11:17:01 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 11:19:27 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun May 31 08:10:39 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 08:13:29 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Oct 06 17:24:32 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 17:32:24 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Oct 14 07:14:51 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 14 07:21:14 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri May 04 13:55:40 -0700 2007 Fri May 04 14:14:02 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Jan 08 09:07:46 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 09:09:05 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Sun Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 13:06:33 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 13:07:41 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 11:39:24 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 05 12:44:49 -0700 2008
The focus is on an external view of Jefferson, hi...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Dec 05 10:26:35 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 14:07:07 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 10:26:35 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 21:29:11 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 17:08:06 -0700 2009 1 3 0 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 14 17:40:35 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 18 23:32:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Dec 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 21:24:08 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 04:57:40 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 14:39:29 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 28 04:27:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Nov 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Sep 11 10:04:25 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 03 12:10:59 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 13 11:02:10 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 13 11:06:11 -0800 2008 1 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=8506