A lawyer's Brief

Ms. Gordon-Reed has laid out a detailed exposition of the pros and cons about Jefferson's being the father big Sally Heming's children. I would add one more pro: it was the custom! All the white off-spring seen in slave country shows this to be true. Read the 1937 WPA interviews with former slaves who readily state their parentage. It is rank hypocrisy to deny the existence of race mixing.

Interesting analysis, though wish it had spent more time with the primary sources (which were a great addition in the appendix) vs contesting secondary ones. The book predates DNA testing which has shown a link between Jefferson and African American descendants, but I wonder-- given the rumors at the time that Heming's children may have been fathered by Thomas' nephew-- whether DNA can tell the difference and settle that particular dispute.

This book brigs out the truth about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings with evidence and facts.

Before reading this book my beliefs were held by fiction and appearances.

I agree with the previous reviews stated. I think I would have enjoyed this more had I not read another book on the same subject. That had evidence that Sally’s children where indeed Thomas Jefferson’s.

I find it interesting that I cannot find the proper title of the book on Goodreads. The book I read by Author Annette Gordon-Reed is titled, The Hemmings of Monticello. When I search for that book on this site, I get some funky collection of articles on Wiki-pedia. I have no idea what's going on there.

This book differs from others on the subject perhaps from the perspective of the author. She is writing and investigating a much rehashed topic from the inside out. Being a woman of color, she understands what questions have not been asked before. She frames her research from a different curiosity, she understands the circumspect behavior of blacks to the white community. Her innate understandings allow us to peek underneath the covers of slave responses to their Massus.

In an attempt to anticipate criticism I felt like at times she flogged a dead horse with repetitive examples of the points she was making. And due to the convention of reusing given names during this period of histoy, it is nearly impossible to keep the characters straight. There's not much Gordon-Reed could have done about that dilemma, however, I found myself looking for some sort of list or family tree to help figure it all out.

I believe this is a carefully researched book and added substantially to my understanding of that period of American history and the complex character of Thomas Jefferson.

Truth be told, this book was hard reading but kept on because of the insulting tone of all those historians who just couldn't bring themselves to accept facts right In front of them that the great Thomas Jefferson had a long standing sexual relationship with one of his slaves who bore him children and freed all of them but none of the other slaves. The lengths people will go to disparage the African-American is never shortening; yet Sally Hemings never uttered a single word in her defence. Well researched but the author presented the narrative in such legalistic form, I nearly dropped it half way through. I think others should read it and get to understand how the victor has always written history to suite.

while the question of “did they?” is the main topic of the book, what is more relevant and revealing, especially given today’s social unrest, is an unsurprising exposé of how racism exists in scholarship and written histories.

A very well written book which leaves open the clear possibility of a 38 year relationship. DNA findings subsequent to the writing of this book confirm this finding. It is easy for me to envision a lonely man falling in love with a beautiful & loving woman. Not a stretch.

its great

I read this book for a class and while it was hard to read at times, I found it very informative and interesting. Gordon-Reed makes some very good points about the previous historiography done on the subject of a relationship between Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. While I enjoyed this book, I feel that Gordon-Reed was repetitive at times and could have been more concise. All in all, it was an enjoyable book.

An extensive review of the likely affair between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. I found the previously held denials by other historians especially interesting.

My second time reading it. I thought it was excellent and makes a case not so much on the issue of Jefferson/Hemings (of which I am a believer in a long relationship with children), but more so on the how historians and others unfairly and willfully neglected, ignored, or did not believe the narratives of former slaves; rather, it was the family history of the Jeffersons, who were slaveholders, that seemed to be more credible and believable. It was time for someone to set the record straight on that, and I think she did a good job. As Alex Haley once wrote, history is not always written by the winners, and I think that fairly describes how the history was written when it came to the story of an enslaved family that was part of the Monticello household. The book is lawyerly, so may be dry reading for some.