The #1 New York Times bestselling author and avid collector unearths a little-known letter by his hero, Thomas Jefferson, and shares its secrets

Alan Dershowitz, the distinguished Harvard Law School professor and tireless defender of civil liberties, is passionate about many things. Finding Jefferson is his intriguing personal story of three of those passions-collecting, freedom of speech, and his idol Thomas Jefferson-and how his discovery and purchase of an important letter that had been in the possession of the recipient's family for more than 200 years brought these passions together to illuminate a pressing current issue.

Writing in the same engaging and humorous style that made Chutzpah and The Best Defense such strong sellers, Dershowitz shares his joy of collecting, which started with Brooklyn Dodger autographs, comic books, and stamps in his childhood and continues with the art, antiquities, and rare books he collects today. Dershowitz found his personal Holy Grail at an old bookstore in New York, when he came across a forgotten letter by Thomas Jefferson. The letter illuminates Jefferson's views on freedom of speech in a previously unknown way that has important implications for the country today, particularly in the struggle against terrorism. This book is about the remarkable letter Dershowitz found, how he found it, and why it matters not only to him, but to us today.

Alan Dershowitz (Cambridge, MA), the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, is one of the country's foremost appellate lawyers and a distinguished defender of individual liberties. He appears frequently on television and has contributed articles to the New York Times and other newspapers and magazines. His many book include the New York Times bestsellers The Case for Israel (0-471-67952-6) and Chutzpah (0-671-76089-0) as well as Blasphemy (0-470-08455-3), The Case for Peace (0-470-04585-X), The Best Defense (0-3945-0736-3), and Preemption: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways (0-393-06012-8). [close]