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297th out of 775 books
—
1,061 voters
Jefferson and Monticello: The Biography of a Builder
This book, a National Book Award nominee in 1988, is the life of Thomas Jefferson as seen through the prism of his love affair with Monticello. For over half a century, it was his consuming passion, his most serious amusement. With a sure command of sources and skilled intuitive understanding of Jefferson, McLaughlin crafts and uncommon portrait of builder and building ali...more
Paperback, 496 pages
Published
October 15th 1990
by Holt Paperbacks
(first published May 15th 1988)
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A wholly different way of looking at Jefferson, through the lens of Monticello, and his obsessive building and rebuilding of the house. Jefferson's public life is scrupulously avoided, mentioned only when it bears directly on his (always desperate) cash situation or his changing taste. His 8 years in the White House is mentioned only because it almost bankrupted him; and his long stay in France is mentioned only because it refined his architectural esthetics. True, all that's been covered endles...more
After visiting Monticello last summer, I picked this book to get an idea of the history of the home, and the complex man who built it. I had been disturbed by the hypocrisy of slave owner/champion of liberty President Jefferson for years, but have come to a better understanding of the man over time. This book provided so much insight into Jefferson's personality, and life history. Parts of it were slow reading, such as when the author went into great detail about the workmen, and how Jefferson k...more
Fascinating book about the building of Monteicello. As a person interested in architecture, I really enjoyed reading about the construction practices of Jefferson's day. Monteicello was built and rebuilt over most of Jefferson's life.
Jefferson had difficulity obtaining skilled laborers for many of the things he needed done with his house. Brick making was time consuming and he needed lots of bricks for his house. He had some of his slaves learn to make bricks. He needed skilled craftsmen to lay...more
Jefferson had difficulity obtaining skilled laborers for many of the things he needed done with his house. Brick making was time consuming and he needed lots of bricks for his house. He had some of his slaves learn to make bricks. He needed skilled craftsmen to lay...more
I want to admire Jefferson, I really do: the Declaration of Independence, the Louisiana Purchase, the University of Virginia, his love and pursuit of science, his devotion to family, and...Monticello. But as this thoroughly researched and intriguingly written biography highlights, Monticello was built using a tremendous quantity of slave labor. Slaves made the brick, sawed the lumber, dug the foundations, and terraced the gardens at Monticello. Despite Jefferson's careful attention to recording...more
Seeing Jefferson architect and builder, what he was doing with Monticello instead of seeing his political life
A pleasant surprise...you see the way Jefferson's mind works through his labors at Monticello.
Interesting biography of Jefferson, written mainly as a tribute to his skills and love of architecture and the construction of Monticello. Don't look for vignettes from his Presidency or assume they'll be much in here on the authorship of the Declaration of Independence or time in Paris. Obviously much of Jefferson's life did take place at Monticello so there is some important content this book covers, but it does bog down at times with mundane architectural notes. All in all, not the best Presi...more
I loved visiting Monticello, but not this book. It seemed the author was compelled to include every detail of his obviously exhaustive research, and the flow and pace suffered. Made it only halfway through. Brings up a Goodreads dilemma: is it fair to mark it as "Read"?
On the other hand, there was a lot of fascinating info on life in that period.
A classic publish or perish book that put me to sleep. Far too in depth with the details. i.e. - I don't care how much he spent on bricks from each brick maker and how much time each guy took to lay the bricks. Honestly - I made it half way through but just couldn't finish it.
For history buffs -- follow along as Jefferson builds and rebuilds and remodels Monticello over the course of his adult life. Includes lots of detail about daily life at Monticello and TJ's habits.
A really great profile of the man and the madness that it took to create such an architectural landmark. It doesn't glorify the crazy old bugger, makes him seem human.
May 31, 2013
Michael O'Toole
marked it as to-read
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Mar 03, 2013
Paul Cornelius
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4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
biography,
history-american-pre-civil-war
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