This was exactly the type of biography I wanted to read. It wasn't daunting and voluminous, the way most bios are and that serve as a deterrent for the average reader. It didn't spend too much time focusing on childhood or other lesser moments. It provided appropriate background as needed, but moved quickly to focus on the key moments and motivations of a man who helped shape our nation. I was tired of everyone telling me what the founding fathers meant, and I wanted to try and learn for myself. And the results were surprising, comforting and challenging. I learned how the new republic was truly an experiment that meet not unanimous approval, but almost immediate opposition. I learned that our modern day question of "what did the framers of the constitution mean," isn't new, and that those actual framers wrestled with the same questions. I learned that politics have always been politics. Mainly I gained insight into our founding, and our current state as a nation. Very insightful.

An interesting summary of his life

This is not the most detailed, in-depth biography I have ever read, but as a summary, top-level review of Jefferson's life, it does the job well. The writing flows, and three are plenty of interesting tidbits included.

Another too much History of a read. I am not liking how dry this author is. This book is very difficult for me to read. So I am done with it. Sorry book club friends I just am not a good enough reader to enjoy this one!

Why couldn't I find an interesting biography of Thomas Jefferson? I mean, he seems intersting, right? I tried three & stuck with this one only because I got tired of looking. It was fine, but definitely not great. The problem may have been that David McCullough's biography of John Adams, which I read just before this, was so good that these others didn't compare well with it. Mr. McCullough, can you please do bios of all the presidents? Thanks!
Next, Madison...

At last! My first official entry in the John Venable Presidential Book Group. I have no idea why it took me such a long, long time to finish this book. It was interesting and not poorly written but, at times, a little textbooky. This book shows Jefferson as a complex figure with a vey "human" mind able to construct and deeply hold beliefs that are in opposition to one another: liberty is an essential, God-given right, but only for white men because their minds are superior to those of other races and the female gender with the possible exception of Abigail Adams.

I thought the Lewis and Clark stuff and the Library Congress story particularly interesting.

Bernstein provided a succinct, unbiased overview of Jefferson - neither lauding him nor vilifying him - just simply describing him and the times he lived in. The founding fathers were neither "Gods or Demons" but they were the men who formed the foundation of our nation. Seeing how issues and concerns they had have manifested themselves in the 21st century adds to the fascinating trip this book walks you through.

First in trilogy on Jefferson after visiting Monticello. Jim bought this short biography which was very good. "Sally Hemmings" and "The President's Daughter" would be companion novels with a different perspective.

Bernstein's book is disappointingly sparse, and focuses primarily on Jefferson's many personal contradictions and foibles. While these are worth knowing about, focusing on them with near exclusivity doesn't give us a complete picture of Jefferson. For a better understanding of Jefferson, read David McCullough's John Adams. Presenting Jefferson in contrast to his friend-then-enemy-then-friend Adams will give us a much clearer and more intriguing picture of Jefferson. Bernstein's effort seems shallow by comparison.

Caveat: I have not yet read American Sphinx. It's on the list.

This was an informative, interesting read. I didn't love the writing, but the content was good. It was on the short side-- only 198 pages of actual biography, but with Jefferson the options seemed either very long or very short. Maybe someday I'll brave one of the long ones. In this biography I especially liked that Bernstein took the time to explain certain pieces of 'common knowledge' like the Alien and Sedition Acts, for example. In the Adams biography (and in history class, of course) I'd heard about these and how they were one of Adams' low points, but this author took the time to explain what each was and why it mattered. My major beef with the biography was the way the author set up his arguments, stating as fact rather than theory his opinions before backing them up, rather than leading the reader to reach the same conclusions by building the argument first. (In this I'm contrasting Bernstein with Stefan Zweig, the author of the best biography I've ever read, about Marie Antoinette).

This is probably one of the best biographies I've read on a Founding Father. This came with a recommendation from Tom Wood's forum (www.tomwoods.com) as being a good book on Jefferson.

Bernstein presents probably the fairest assessment of a person from the time period as I've seen. He doesn't ascribe deity or hero worship or perfection to the man. He also doesn't disparage Jefferson for being a product of his time and class and society. Bernstein presents Jefferson as a flawed individual who is not always consistent and doesn't always come out on top - also known as "a man".

Bernstein takes a look at large periods of Jefferson's life and isn't writing to complete a minutia detailed account of every aspect of his life. However, the areas he does point to build up the man into who he would become, who he was, and how he ended life. Bernstein does reveal quite a bit that you don't learn about in history books or in school because Jefferson tends to be known for only one to two very large things - but he was so much more than those labels only. Bernstein also makes sure the reader understands some of the settings and places and even people surrounding Jefferson. Again, this is covered with a good amount of balance. Jefferson isn't the "man who could do no wrong". I did learn quite a bit about Jefferson, which should be one of the main goals when reading a biography. Bernstein does not shy away, either, of covering points of Jefferson's life like his contradictory position on slavery or his possibly fathering children from one of his slaves. Again, Bernstein, doesn't excuse it but he also doesn't call for readers of the current time to look back and denigrate those who don't hold the same values. Sadly, that's where mainstream conversations and populist books tend to go nowadays.

Bernstein does a wonderful job at presenting Jefferson and his history. I highly recommend this book for those wanting to read about Jefferson or the era of the founding of America. I would have liked Bernstein to have gone a bit more into the political discussions Jefferson had with some areas of my own interest. Sometimes he tends to write as Jefferson on one side of the issue, someone else on the other, and here's the outcome. There are times that I wish the author would provide the reasons why Jefferson held to certain positions or had certain interests. However, I believe that may be the hindrance of history rather than the author. Final Grade - A

I agree that this is perhaps the best short biography ever written of the great founder of the United States of America, and a great thinker, whose thoughts transcends throughout history, carried the nation through periods of crises. His advocacy of liberty resonates across nations and races. The author honestly presented facts and evidences about the third president, assumed nothing, including his seemingly contradictory views on racism and women's rights. Let the reader be the judge, as Thomas Jefferson has been judged for over two hundred years by generations of Americans.

I especially like the Epilogue where the author chronicled the reputation history of Thomas Jefferson up until modern day. A great man has laid down his life to make history. There is no need to over-sanctify him for his transcending thoughts nor utterly crucify him for his contradiction or even hypocrisy. God is the ultimate judge.

Thomas Jefferson is one of my favorite historical figures and there are a lot of books on him so it's hard to find one that stands out. This one really did. It's written more like you're following a character in a great story than reading a historical biography. It's shorter than I would have expected but a great read just the same. I definitely recommend it.