Initially, I thought this discussion did not have enough depth. In the second half of the book, however, I did find several interesting points. Overall it is an easily read and useful summary, though it does contain some flaws. Its tone is somewhat sympathetic yet it is balanced in its presentation of the positive and negative facts of Jefferson’s life.

Not nearly enough Lewis and Clark coverage, and too much Sally Hemings tabloidery. I don't know if I dig these 'short biographies'. It skims every incident in his life, but since there was so much, it took a while to read anyway. If I'm going to spend a goatload of time with Jefferson, it might as well be full depth.
My favorite part described the opening of the University of Virginia. He envisioned his proper and behaved students dedicated to learning and making the world a better place. Instead, they were only interested in drinking, gambling, and cavorting (like any other teenager in any other time, ever).

Thomas Jefferson: The Revolution of Ideas

A most detailed and scholarly biography of one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Written in a style and format that was easy to follow and understand.
From gentleman farmer and slave owner to writing the Declaration of Independence, to President of the country, this book was very illuminating.
Jefferson was conflicted about human rights, slavery, and his ownership of slaves.
Well worth reading.

What a slog. I can't imagine a less exciting way to present a historical biography. It did at least make me realize that the guide we had at a recent visit to Monticello presented her version of Jefferson's life with quite a bit of favorable bias.

A nice, reasonable length biography of one of America’s founders. Bernstein does a very nice job of explaining two different political views (eg Hamilton and Jefferson) in a clear, balanced way.

I must say I knew very little about Thomas Jefferson. I am also surprised and a little dismayed when our heroes don't think, act, respond to their world in the way we as Americans would or should respond. Being the perfect humans we all are. But that's just the point. Thomas Jefferson was very human and flawed. Yet he had a brilliance and a passion that has endured over 200 years though sometimes minimally.

I could never figure out why we in 2012 look back to 1776 and wonder why our founding fathers did not grant full women rights, free the slaves, vanquish child labor or just, "Do the right thing." I do have an understanding that many of our founding fathers regretted not being able to abolish slavery and knew that in some near distant future the matter would be dealt with and probably with violence. It was not going to go away without a fight.

This book is basic and easily understood. It speaks in a simple way of all the accomplishments of Jefferson, the proudest being his establishment of the University of Virginia and the writing of the constitution of Virginia. After all, he was a Virginian before he was a Patriot.

So if you want a light reading novel of some of the greatest events that occurred in American History, this would be a fine novel to read.

I did find myself between interested and impatient when reading this biography.

I am not a really a big reader of non fiction and I was doing this for a challenge in one of my groups. I found the author did quite well in his research about Jefferson, I learned many things about our third president that I didn't know before.

Like that even though he was the writer of the constitution, he hated public speaking, which I can understand quite well. This is a well written book, and if you are interested in Jefferson I would recommend it to you.

Now for the rating, it is basically because I liked it, I didn't really like it or think it was amazing, I may have even added a half a star if it was allowed. It didn't hold my interest at times and I switched reading to something else which is why it took me so long.

I thought this was an excellent summary of Jefferson's life, accomplishments and disappointments. A very enigmatic man. Great for our upcoming visit to Monticello.

I have to admit that I went into this book thinking that it would be like the Time Books presidential series – a nice summation of a life, but not much insight. However, I was pleasantly surprised as there were numerous subjects and factoids that I didn’t know about Jefferson’s life. I thought that Bernstein’s analysis of Jefferson was spot on. I also enjoyed his discussion at the end of how Jefferson has been viewed by subsequent generations. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the author of the Declaration of Independence and one of our more controversial yet fascinating Founding Fathers.

I listened to this on audible. Thomas Jefferson was a complex man who very clearly illustrates the impossible nature of living up to even one's own ideas of virtue. His longings for virtue and goodness and yet his hypocrisy in how he lived in light of those longings, his inability to live in a consistent way coupled with the fact that he rejected Jesus as revealed in all of the Bible, and the evident pride and bitter vengeance that he displayed in his life show how much he needed the Jesus of the Bible to save and transform him. Sadly, there is no evidence that this ever happened. His complex influence on America and the world is fascinating. Bernstein seems to conclusively argue for the reality of Thomas' relationship with Sally Hemings. Very well written and engaging. Highly recommended.

Recently, I visited Monticello and The University of Virginia. This was the perfect book to read after those visits. First, it is not a daunting tome with too much information. This biography trots along giving all the highlights before you get bogged down in too many details. Second, there are just enough interesting highlights to let the reader into the setting, personalities, conflict, and thinking of the people involved. And finally, Jefferson is revealed as a real person: a deep thinker, lover of science, idealist who believes in the common man and hope for the American Experiment, flawed about scandals with women, given to unreasonable tempers and grudges against the Federalists, and unsuited to be the glad handing type of President. This less than 200 page book shows the major struggles and rewards of his life and the monuments built to recognize him: the nickel, Mt. Rushmore, and the Jefferson Memorial in DC.

It has been quite a while since I have written! My recalcitrant reading attitude has been reflected on this very empty blog. :) Even so, thank you for your dedication to my entries. I just finished a biography on our third President, Thomas Jefferson.

Honestly, I chose this book because it is short. After extensive biographies on Washington and Adams, I needed a quick read. Incidentally, as Thomas Jefferson is my favorite president, I have read much material on him before, and this condensed version of his life was more of an outline in review. Even still, R.B. Bernstein did a magnificent job at describing this very interesting life in just a few short pages. He discussed every important apex of his life in thrilling detail, while not dragging in unimportant aspects.

Whether you are an expert or a novice on President Jefferson, I highly recommend this account on his life. It is something you will breeze through, yet pick up on every epoch of his incredible life. He is much more than the third president of our United States, he is the author of the Declaration of Independence, the sole person responsible for westward expansion by means of the Louisiana Purchase and the Louis and Clark expedition, the founder of the University of Virginia, and the most cultured man of the 18th century. The world's biggest library, the Library of Congress, was literally restocked by the very generous Jefferson, who sold his library of nearly 7,000 volumes for virtually nothing to jump start the recently burned library. That aspect alone of his life resonates within me. Whether it is his look on politics, on culture, on philosophy, on friendship, or any other viewpoint of his life, you will find something amazing about him.