Thomas Jefferson by R. B. Bernstein Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Thomas Jefferson
Book Review: Biography of Jefferson
Summary: 5 Stars
This paperback book was purchased as a gift for a friend at Christmas. He told me recently that he really enjoyed the book, and feels that he now knows many amazing facts about our third president. He recommends it highly.Book Review: Finally, a balanced view of Jefferson
Summary: 5 Stars
Chou En-Lai, the 20th century Communist leader, was once asked what he thought of the French Revolution. "Too early to say," was his response.
The same has long been true of Thomas Jefferson. Is he a great leader or a great hypocrite? How do we make sense of a person who wrote the ringing words of the Declaration of Independence, yet lived off of the labor of slaves? For far too long, most historians haven not really tried to make sense of him, but instead have either cheered for him or thrown things at him. The partisan passions that Jefferson lived in the center are still very much with us.
Not so with this book. The tone is calm and unemotional. Jefferson's vritues, and his faults, are clearly and simply set forth. The book is wonderfully concise and wonderfully even-handed. It is, without question, the best short life of Jefferson. It is extremely balanced, describing every phase of Jefferson's life, and giving the proper consideration to questions as varied as his temperment, political leadership, educational activities and personal life. I had not realized that the Sally Hemings controversy had been resolved -- yes, he did it -- but Bernstein deals with this question in his characteristically straightforward, unemotional manner. It is what it is.
I have one minor nit to pick. The book does very little to orient the modern reader to how different the 18th century is from today. Bernstein obviously knows how much things have changed, but I do not think he brings that home much to the casual reader. Probably not something he could have done and still keep the book under 200 pages.
Book Review: Good Concise Biography of Jefferson
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always admired many of the principles espoused by Thomas Jefferson, including the ideas expressed in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, his defense of civil rights and his statements on religious freedom and separation of church and state. Indeed, when compared with most revolutions, we in the United States were most fortunate in our founding fathers. Not just Jefferson, but Washington, Adams, Maddison, Franklin and several others as well. However, all leaders have their warts and Jefferson had quite a few. These included his view that blacks were inferior, his preference in maintaining his southern gentleman life style over freeing his slaves, his relationship with Sally Hemings, his tendency to relegate women to the hearth and his fiery temper and often unforgiving nature in political fights. Despite all this he laid the foundation for a much broader view of civil rights and fortunately this broader view has taken hold, despite the fact that it is still not as good as it could be. As a case in point, Thomas Jefferson's old position as Secretary of State (under Washington) is now held by a black woman! Although we are not there yet, we have come a long ways!
Still, Jefferson had a way with words, was a great architect, a fairly competent scientist, a voracious reader and a brilliant diplomat. It is seldom that we come upon such talent and a few (if egregious) warts are probably to be expected, but of course should not be overlooked because of hero worship.
The life, philosophy, triumphs and failings of our third president are concisely covered in a very readable manner by R. B. Bernstein in his book "Thomas Jefferson". I think every American citizen should read this book, or something like it, in order to at least have some understanding of the beginning of our country and the principles on which it was founded. It is somewhat comforting to note that the period of the early republic was often as turbulent as is our current time and that even great leaders like Washington, Maddison, Adams and Jefferson had their sometimes grievous faults and often disagreed among themselves over the best course of action.
Book Review: Good concise biography
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book after David McCullough's John Adams and Walter Isaacson's Ben Franklin, both of which were fairly lengthy and detailed, although very good and worth the time to read. However, I was ready for a shorter biography as I did not need all the background of the period. I tried to read Joseph Ellis' "American Sphinx" biography and found it way too analytical. It spent 10 pages discussing the influences on the Declaration. For me it is sufficient to know that the Declaration was not a wholly original piece of work without knowing all the details of Thomas Locke's writings. This book does a good job of telling the story of Jefferson. It seemed to provide a balanced view of the man. The great: his contribution of the Declaration and his achievements as President (Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark expedition), and founding of University of Virginia. The not so great: owner of slaves, not great tenure as governor of Virginia and personal finances. It discusses the Sally Hemings issue, but draws no conclusion. I found it very interesting that Jefferson held what I would could Libertarian ideals of limited government, but expanded government power in expanding the country through the Louisiana purchase and Lewis and Clark expedition. I would recommend this biography for anyone looking for a shorter biography of this important figure in American History.Book Review: Good, but..
Summary: 4 Stars
I've read several books on Jefferson and this is one of the best. It is reasonably concise and doesn't bore you with long explanations, interpretations, and opinions like some others do, as if they are going to be graded and put in every boring detail they can find for the sake of academicia. However, if you are looking for a book that finally explains, and makes you understand, the "mysterious" character of Thomas Jefferson, the only book I can recommend that does that is "Understanding West Point, Thomas Jefferson, and Leadership of Character" by Norman Thomas Remick.