This book is straight forward about a man who has been more or less been kicked around by history. People hate him, because he had slaves. People love him because he wrote the Deceleration of Independence. It goes back and forth enough that i wanted to know a little more. The greatest strength of this book is that it has no fluff. The author tries to say it all, while leaving his opinions out. The excerpts show the poetic beauty Jefferson wielded with his pen. (I, being a level 5 rouge and little grasp of poetry, had to reread his writings several times to understand what he was saying, but still can appreciate the way he said it.)

Thomas Jefferson" by Bernstein is a short, but comprehensive examination of one of America's founding fathers. Bernstein delves into Jefferson's complex character, his political philosophy, and his role in shaping the early United States. The book provides a balanced portrayal of Jefferson, highlighting his accomplishments as well as his contradictions, particularly regarding his views on slavery. Overall, it's a thorough biography, given its length, that offers insight into the complexities of Jefferson.

About once a year, I read a non-fiction book, usually history, sometimes a biography.

I visited Monticello recently and was so inspired that I picked up this biography of Thomas Jefferson and I was not disappointed.

Maybe because I have always been fascinated by Jefferson, or maybe Bernstein's depiction of his life is exceptionally readable, I found this book just as exciting and suspenseful as any novel.

Jefferson was truly an exceptional person, and his influence on the world (not just the US) is still intact.

A great biography, I highly recommend it!

Another great biography

President number three!

3.5 stars

What I learned about Thomas Jefferson:
- He had red hair. :0
- He was involved with the Louisiana Purchase and Louis and Clark’s expedition
- He had very conflicting ideas on many things – religion, slavery, etc.
- He was the founder of the University of Virginia (and has students as rebellious as some today!!!)
- Monticello was mostly a disaster for Jefferson’s entire life because he kept reconstructing it.

What I wish I learned:
- More about the conflict between him and Adams. I feel like it was glossed over. It DID explain a lot about the conflict between the Federalists and Republicans but I would have liked more on their friendship, personally.
- More about Jefferson’s time overseas. I felt like I learned a lot more from the Adams biography. I also know from Adams’ biography that Jefferson has a friendship with Abigail Adams which this book barely touched on.

I feel like is Jefferson is glamorized in history books/society. This book showed a lot of his faults. I went back and forth between thinking, “This guy isn’t so nice” and “This guy is human, just like the rest of us.” He also was a very forward thinker which often got him in “trouble” because it didn’t agree with the opinions of his time.

Perhaps one day I will pick up another book on Jefferson because I feel like there was a lot more to learn. Overall, this book was a good start and relatively easy to read.

This book is more about the events during Jefferson's presidency than about him. It reads like a history book, nevertheless it is very informative.

I have been interested in learning more about Thomas Jefferson. I am hoping to visit Monticello and am gathering background knowledge before I go. This wasn't a very long book but did hit the highlights.

This biography may appear deceivingly scant due to the fact that it is less than 200 pages about such a prolific and significantly timeless person in American history, but when one gives more than a mere cursory reading of this diminutive book the reader will get a concise yet thorough and well-examined delving into the perplexing life and mind of Thomas Jefferson.

Professor Bernstein provides an immensely enjoyable account of Jefferson's life from cradle to the grave, with an easy to read approach that is neither dull or pedantic but instead splendidly refreshing and unmistakably illuminating.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

-from: The (US) Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson, and adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776


"I advance it therefore as a suspicion only, that blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind. It is not against experience to suppose, that different species of the same genus, or varieties of the same species, may possess different qualifications. Will not a lover of natural history then, one who views the gradations in all the races of animals with the eye of philosophy, excuse an effort to keep those in the department of man as distinct as nature has formed them? This unfortunate difference of color, and perhaps of faculty, is a powerful obstacle to the emancipation of these people."

-from: n  Notes on the State of Virginian, penned by Thomas Jefferson, and first published in 1787


As these two quotations make plain, Thomas Jefferson – an aristocratic Virginia planter and an ardent republican populist, a believer in universal freedom and an entrenched slaveholder who considered people of African descent (and women) inherently inferior – was a man of contradictions. The attempts, over the years, to reconcile those contradictions, and to come to terms with the meaning of Jefferson’s life and work, and the legacy it has left us, here in America and around the world, has produced an incredibly prolific body of work, with volume upon volume dedicated to analysis of his actions, his philosophy, and his character. In our own times, Jefferson’s role as a slaveholder, and the ethics of his relationship with his slave, Sally Hemmings, seems to have become a particular focus. Given that this is so, it can sometimes feel rather daunting, to the more casual reader (ie: the reader not intending to pursue graduate studies in history), to attempt to find a balanced presentation of his story. Certainly, when we went looking for a good work on Jefferson, to use as the third title in our newly formed 'Presidential Book Club' - a group set up to correct deficiencies in member's knowledge of American history, by reading, chronologically, a biography for each of the presidents - we struggled to find one that was suitable. There is no equivalent volume, in Jeffersonian studies, it would appear, to Ron Chernow's n  Washington: A Lifen, or David McCullough's n  John Adamsn.

This brief introduction to Jefferson, with 198 pages of actual text, was the title we eventually settled upon, having read that it served as a good introductory work on this important man, providing all the basic facts of his story, with the minimum of polemical asides. That has proved to be the case, so I suppose I must account myself satisfied with the results. Bernstein succeeds, I think, in his object (given in his introduction) of presenting Jefferson in the context of his time and place, and steering a course between those who would "praise Jefferson for his aspirations," and those who would "damn him for his failures." Setting out the broad strokes of his subject's life, he adheres to his central thesis: that Jefferson was (and wished to be seen as) a man of ideas, and it is in that arena that we must focus our attention. The result is a narrative that gives a good outline-view of Jefferson's life, and devotes as much time to his public persona and writings - notably, the US Declaration of Independence, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom - as to his personal affairs.

Despite being convinced that Bernstein's Thomas Jefferson succeeds at what it sets out to do - indeed, what we were looking for as readers, in the first place - I can't say that I found it outstanding, especially when compared to our forgoing tiles (n  Washington: A Lifen, n  John Adamsn). In many ways, I felt that I was reading the same material over again, given the extensive treatment of Jefferson that is offered in the McCullough book, and came away wondering whether a more polemical work - something like n  American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jeffersonn - might not have been more informative. Still, hindsight is 20/20, and I can't really fault the book for not being something it never claimed to be. If nothing else, I came away from it with a clearer view of its subjects simultaneously glorious and shameful legacy. As Bernstein puts it: "The clash between his professed ideals and life's realities is as bitter as the clash that it exemplifies, between the nation's creed - which he did so much to shape - and its history."

R. B. Bernstein's concise biography of Jefferson is an excellent introduction to Jefferson. As others have said, it's very balanced. Bernstein sticks with the facts--he doesn't deify nor destroy Jefferson. He gives an honest picture of a great man, understood in the context of time period in which he lived.

The writing is never dry or dull. It's very engaging, usually hard to put down. There were parts of the book where I felt like it could have given a little more insight into what was happening in the broader world and in America (particularly when Jefferson was abroad), but those points were few and not long-lasting.

There were also a few parts of Jefferson's life in which I desired more detail. But, this is not meant to be a comprehensive biography, and I finished the book feeling satisfied. As an introduction to Jefferson, you can't go wrong with this book. It might be helpful, though, to have read another book about the period of the revolution first--perhaps Paul Johnson's "George Washington" or John McCullough's "John Adams."

Thomas Jefferson sweated blood for our country. We think of the Bill of Rights, The
Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, but his passion for freedom started in The House of Burgesses(sp) and later the Continental Congress. His research and writings for colony of Virginia were predicates for the DOI, USC & BOR. (If I am not mistaken, he may have been in France with his daughter and Benjamin Franklin at a pivotal point concerning the Constitution.)
He loved his wife. It was said that he should be kept in Philadelphia and New York or Richmond because every time he went home his wife got pregnant. Unfortunately, only two of his children lived, and Miss Patty died in childbirth. He was so meticulous in his writing and research. He had a vision for our country that only a few people could see. Jefferson was flying blind in his belief of the 'American Experiment.' He doggedly held firm to the ideas and ideals that made our country great. Oh that we had a Thomas Jefferson today.

A concise biography of Thomas Jefferson, covering the entire span of his life.

So after reading the magnificent John Adams by McCullough, I didn't think I could stomach a bio on .Jefferson because that book went into a lot of detail about Jefferson that really convinced me of his jerkiness. Yet I continue on with this crazy, epic goal of reading a few bios of the presidents in order until I finish, so I found this book on Jefferson that was hailed the best short bio of Jefferson and it actually was very good. In just shy of 200 pages, it gave a snapshot of the major turns of his life and showed that he was indeed a complex person, which I could appreciate. I also was surprised to consider how much of a "renaissance man" Jefferson was with regard to his talents and abilities, not to mention his intellect. However, of course he had many, many flaws. I was shocked to see him carelessly live beyond his means, and disappointed regarding his views on women and black people. I kinda missed the ins and outs that I got about Adams (and Jefferson) in McCullough's book, but I didn't miss the extra 500 pages to read. Probably this book was a 3.5, but it gets an extra .5 for being so nicely concise.