Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
Books | Biography & Autobiography / Presidents & Heads of State
3.8
(111)
Jon Meacham
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jon Meacham, “a big, grand, absorbing exploration of not just Jefferson and his role in history but also Jefferson the man, humanized as never before” (Entertainment Weekly) “Probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written.”—Gordon S. Wood A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, The Seattle Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, BookPage This magnificent biography brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times, giving us Thomas Jefferson the man, the politician, and the president. A Founder whose understanding of power and of human nature enabled him to move men and marshal ideas, to learn from his mistakes and to prevail, Jefferson was passionate about many things—women, his family, science, architecture, gardening, Monticello, Paris, and more. He strove, despite fierce opposition, to realize his vision: the creation, survival, and success of popular government in America. Drawing on archives in the United States, England, and France, as well as unpublished transcripts of Jefferson presidential papers, Jon Meacham shows us the personal Jefferson, a man of appetite, sensuality, and passion. He also presents Jefferson as the most successful political leader of the early republic, and perhaps in all American history, a leader who found the means to endure and to win. His story resonates today not least because he led his nation through ferocious partisanship amid economic change and external threats. Jefferson also embodies an eternal drama, the struggle of the leadership of a nation to achieve greatness in a difficult and confounding world.
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More Details:
Author
Jon Meacham
Pages
800
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Published Date
2012-11-13
ISBN
0679645365 9780679645368
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"I would summarize this book up as being like a good bottle of wine - something that needs to be savoured and enjoyed rather than simply guzzled down.<br/><br/>I found that I struggled at times to finish this lengthy book. It was an amazing history of one of America's founding fathers. The book was very good, and very, very detailed. <br/><br/>Thomas Jefferson was an extremely interesting man, one who was very gifted in many many areas of life, the least of which being his politics.<br/><br/>I would say that in 'comparision', he appears to have been almost as close as Benjamin Franklin in what he accomplished.<br/><br/>I will now be picking up, however, a biography on Adams and Hamilton so that I can hear the "other" side to the relationships between these three. I can't help but feel that I have only heard one side of the story and want for more detail."
J W
James S Wilson
"This is a very solid biography of Jefferson. While Meachum's prose doesn't draw me in completely, its still a very easy book to read, with some of the best notes I've ever seen. It also does a good job of treating Jefferson as a person...forthrightly examining his faults but also realizing his strengths."
John Detrick