This work is fascinating to read. The editors have updated both Jefferson's language and punctuation, but also the 18th Century forms of measurement as well. One could takes this book to Europe today and recognize the places where this early American thinker traveled.

One of the clichés about Monticello is that few houses do so good a job revealing the personality of its builder. But clichés get to be such generally because there's truth to them, and that's definitely the case here. If Thomas Jefferson was one of the most interesting figures in American history (and I think that's unquestionably true), then Monticello may well be one of America's most interesting houses. And for this colorful book produced by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, we are guided through the house and grounds by people who know their stuff.

Specifically, the chapters of this title are written by Monticello's director of restoration, the curator, the director of gardens and grounds, and other experts associated with the Foundation. Large, colorful photos are accompanied by informed commentary and all the requisite history, as well as documentation of the decades of restoration work it has taken to get the house and grounds to its current condition. A book doesn't make up for a visit in person -- if anything, I wished for more photos of the interior, especially of the book room and "cabinet." But for a general overview of the house, grounds, and collection, and an insight into the man himself, this book is hard to beat. I recommend it as a souvenir, as well as a nice companion to a Jefferson biography.

He is on Mt. Rushmore, the nickel and even the $2 bill. In this Photo-Illustrated Biography author T. M. Usel gives young readers an indication of why Thomas Jefferson is such a pivotal figure in American History. The book begins with Jefferson's two most famous accomplishments, being the third President of the United States and the author of the Declaration of Independence. Usel immediately points out that Jefferson was also an inventor, writer, musician, farmer, architect, and a book lover, but in a book this short (10 pages of text) there is really more space devoted to biographical details than his many accomplishments. Young readers will find nothing here about Jefferson's political philosophy or the significance of his election to the White House as the first orderly transfer of power between political parties in the history of the world. Still, the book does provide all of the basic biographical details that are appropriate for an introductory biography to be read by grade school students.

The fact that this is a "Photo-Illustrated Biography" is something of a misnomer since, of course, there are no actual photographs of Jefferson. Instead there are paintings and engravings of Jefferson and photographs of his home Monticello and the University of Virginia, both of which were designed by Jefferson, and one of his inventions, a portable writing desk (although the device for making a copy of a letter has always been my favorite). This is one of those biographies that refers to the subject by his first name, which always strikes me as odd, but even more so when you are talking about a founding father and especially one whose has enjoyed one name (last) status for a couple of centuries.

As a Rookie Biography, Carol Greene's look at "Thomas Jefferson: Author, Inventor, President" is aimed at younger students. This is essentially an anecdotal biography of Jefferson, which depends as much on little stories young readers can identify with (such as Jefferson as a child studying a bug in the forest) as it does on covering key details in his life. Greene does give a scene of the scope of Jefferson's life and interest, from writing the Declaration of Independence to being one of the first farmers to grow tomatoes in the United States. This book is richly illustrated and the last chapter is especially interesting with photographs of several of Jefferson's inventions along with his instructions for his tombstone. In fact, at some points in this book Greene's text can barely find room among all the illustrations. After reading this book young readers might be fuzzy on all the details that were thrown at them in these pages (I do not think they will recognize the image of Jefferson taken from the $2 bill), but they should have a sense for how important Thomas Jefferson is in the history of the United States.

"Thomas Jefferson: His Life and Works" is a window into one of the greatest minds to ever enlighten the American continent. This short book is divided into eight sections, each dealing with a different aspect of Jefferson life or outlook. Each section begins with a brief introduction followed by a collection of quotations from Jefferson's writings. Some are drawn from well known public writings, such as the Declaration of Independence, whereas others are to be found in Jefferson's private correspondence. In most cases the source of the quotation is given, inviting the reader to conduct further study.

In the study of collections of quotations such as this, I often find the greatest insights not in the points which the speaker intended to make but in lessons to be learned by the contrast between the speaker's implied assumptions and the accepted standards of our day. An example of this is found in this book is Jefferson's statement on the public assemblies from which: "there would be excluded...women who, to prevent deprivation of morals ambiguity of issue, could not mix promiscuously in the public meetings of men." When I read statements such as this I think that, perhaps, the morals of our day do not compare unfavorably with those of past generations.

Overall I consider this book to be a good introduction into the mind and life of Thomas Jefferson. While only scratching the surface of his thought, it does provide a sources for some quotations with which to leaven our speech as well as providing an encouragement for further study.

Although this juvenile biography of Thomas Jefferson is part of the Encyclopedia of Presidents series, it actually does one of the better jobs of looking at the third President as an inventor, scientist and naturalist through the use of photographs of several of his inventions and pages from his notebooks. Jim Hargrove follows the standard format for the volumes in this series by beginning with the story of how Jefferson came to write the Declaration of Independence, including some of the better reproductions of the early draft written in Jefferson's own hand with various changes. Chapters are devoted to Jefferson growing up in Colonial Virginia and his public life divided into discrete units ending with the American revolution, his election to the presidency, and his leaving the White House. A final chapter looks at Jefferson's final years as the Sage of Monticello, which ended with his death on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration (and includes his instructions for his tombstone). Because each volume runs about 100 pages (including chronologies and index), the Encyclopedia of Presidents series is able to provide more detailed information about each President than any other comparable series. There are other juvenile biographies that will work much better as introductions to the life and work of Thomas Jefferson, but this is where you can find the most detailed information about this or any other president short of turning to an adult biography hundreds of pages long. Sometimes it is hard for an author to stretch out the life and accomplishments of a President to a hundred pages (e.g., Warren G. Harding), but Hargrove does a nice job with the exact opposite problem in covering the enormous accomplishments of Jefferson in these few pages.

A who done it about when where and if?? This is a literary mystery, ya gotta love that, Everyone trying to prove or disprove what Thomas Jefferson Did or didn't do?? Written by a Jeffersonian scholar ,this is an entertaining and fun book, I was really surprised... So If your a history buff this will be great bed time reading. Like the CSI investigation of a great man of history.

The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson by Daniel J. Boorstin is a look into the early years preceding the birth of the United States and the climate of thought that was current at that time.
Scientific knowledge was starting to be shared and Jefferson seemed to absorb and process a lot of that times current philosophies.

This book is invaluble if you realy want to study or "get a feel" for the times of the 18th and early 19th century. The author goes to great pains in explaining particular events and ideas that were concerning these early scientific thinkers.

This book conveys the thought process behind the events and how the minds of the thinkers moved the nation. Mostly, this book is about American intellectual history, and is engaging as it is history of ideas. These ideas are blended with a purpose to bring the thought of the time into perspective and defines the key problems facing how Jefferson appeared.

This book is worthy of a place on your bookshelf, for reference and a look into American life and thought, aspects that are hard to see today, but are brought out richly in this book.

I highly recommend reading this book by one of America's leading historians .

The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson provides an in depth study of the philosophies and amazing depth of scientific knowledge that Thomas Jefferson displayed during his lifetime. The renowned historian, Daniel Boorstin, wrote this wonderful historic piece decades before his more famous works of The Creators, The Discovers and The Seekers. Boorstin's ability to explain a specific set of events and ideas amid the complex myriad of late 18th and early 19th century concerns in political thought and philosophy makes this book a invaluable reference. Thomas Jefferson's basic principle that all law, social construction and philosophy should be grounded with "Natural Law" is explained at depth. Boorstin also explains how the liberal ideals attributed to Jefferson were misinterpreted in the 100 years following his death. If you an interest in either early American Anthropology (although term was not being used per se, it is the only accurate way to describe the emphasis of this book) or American Scientific thought, then this book must grace your shelf.

Boorstin is the best historian I have read. He brings history to life by examining the thought behind the events and the assumptions behind the thought. This is not so much a book about what happened as to why it happened; what the underlying ideas were of the minds that moved the nation at its birth. Boorstin manages to effectively communicate thought processes that are foreign to the modern age. A remarkable achievement. I plan on reading more of his work in the future. Highest recommendation!

Jefferson: Great defender of human rights or hypocrite? You will still be wondering after finishing this novel. This book bogs down in detail and neither grabs the reader with a great plot or interesting characters. Easily eclipsed by Byrd's second historical novel, Jackson (5 stars!). However, the book is full of interesting historical people and is set in a very interesting time (prerevolutionary France). History buffs should enjoy while literature buffs should avoid. Psychology buffs maybe (the author suggests that Jefferson disliked his mother and that shaped his feelings on many things such as his view of England). I think that both the good and bad reviews of this book are fair and on the mark.

Through happenstance, I've read three of Max Byrd's novels in reverse order. The first (for me) being "Grant", then "Jackson", and finally this book, "Jefferson". At first, I felt that Byrd's books got better with each novel but toward the end of "Jefferson", I began to alter my view. It is a wonderful account of fictionalized history of Jefferson's time in Paris. They're some constants in each book. There's enough sex, including James Heming's visit to some of the brothels of Paris, to provide a lurid view for those that need such enticement and there's also the book within a book. In this book, William Short, who was Jefferson's secretary while he was this Nation's diplomat to France writes his memoirs of Jefferson. Byrd does a wonderful job with these memoirs, including a description of Patrick Henry's famous speech at St. John's church in Richmond. Furthermore, the book does an excellent job of contrasting very vocal Henry, who wrote little and seldom stayed for the "pick-and-shovel" work of committees and meetings, with Jefferson who seldom gave speeches but could put words onto paper that endure for all time...the Declaration of Independence among them. As a fan of General Lafayette I was pleased to see so much reference to this exceptional hero who is often overlooked. Byrd accurately portrays Lafayette as not overly brilliant but maintaining close ties to the American society of Paris and fueling the fires for the overthrow of the King. As with all of Byrd's work his detailed research lead to wonderful "tib-bits" of history that might otherwise reside only on dusty selves of scholar's holdings. This book is a wonderful account of Jefferson's time in Paris and deserving of a place in any library.

Max Byrd writes this book of historical fiction through the eyes of William Short as Jefferson's secretary and protege while they were in France. A man young enough to enjoy all that France had to offer; a man close enough to observe Jefferson as his mind observes the French people and the wonders of France.

Reading this book literally puts you into the time and place, descriptions of the sight and smells, sounds and touch of the eighteenth-century of Paris, France. The easily read narative takes you right along with the major characters as they live out their day to day lives. You feel the life breath as they interact, and the psychological insight... John Adams as stout as a tree trunk, bird-breasted with boney knees, Jefferson with an angular nose and chiseled features with blue eyes that revealed nothing, but observation. Ben Franklin short, fat, bald and always a flirt with kidney stones... Ambassador of Babel.

These are just a few of the numerous observations sprikled with humor and wit that takes the reader along on this adverture as a observer of times past.

This was an enjoyable read... I truly loved reading this book of novalized historical fiction.

This book has received unwarranted bad reviews and press simply because it is 'short.' Noble E. Cunningham's purpose, it seems, for this biography of Jefferson, was to present the essential life of Jefferson in such a way that all could enjoy. There have been so many biographies written on Jefferson and most are massive multi- volumes which can come across as very daunting to the average reader.

However, this book, while very well researched and authoritative in its content, is a biography which can be read by the average Joe and the scholar alike. Cunningham's research is very well documented, and the book is put together systematically from "The Formative Years" to "The Final Legacy." So, in a brief space, one can read this volume and learn the essential/perennial events which occurred in Jefferson's life. Moreover, Cunningham delves a little into Jefferson's personal affairs, such as his lost first love - Rebecca Burwell, to his admiration for Patrick Henry. Cunningham also details Jefferson's early intellectual influences and his love for law. In fact, in 349 pages of text, the most crucial and important events which occurred, and have been documented, in Jefferson's life are present in this text.

Therefore, Cunningham's attempt in writing this size biography was not to press his reader down in certain detail. Rather, Cunningham attempted to present a Jefferson which could be widely read by most anyone. His efforts are noble and successful on that level.

However, it must be stated that if you are wanting an intricately more detailed work of Jefferson, then this book will only wet your appetite for more. There are other biographies available (massive multi- volumes) for one to delve much deeper. But here, Cunningham just simply lets his reader know some of the most crucial events and facts. That being the case, this is a good book to begin your research and study of Thomas Jefferson.

I am only an undergrad student, so I admit I'm not all that well read. A wealth of literature has been published on Jefferson. There are a great many books carry out in-depth studies on various aspects relating to Jefferson. This book, is, however, a brief account of Jefferson's entire life.on that account,it is obviously a limited book. Even so the dicussion on Jefferson;s two terms as president are too brief. Yet Cunningham's approach to various subjects-the Embargo, for example are fairly good. The book includes a section on jefferson's last years (in the chapter "The Sage Of Monticello)which is brief yet intersting. Overall, the book tries to encompass Jefferson's personal as well as political life in its contents.Thus it compromises with many aspects.Yet it is a fairly good book overall.It is written in lucid style and would be useful to anyone wanting to obtain a bird's eye view of the life and career of Thomas Jefferson.

There is no dearth of literature on Thomas Jefferson.there are numerous books that offer detailed studies on various aspects of his life, political theory and his career. This book is obviously a brief account of the life and career of Thomas Jefferson. As such, it compromises on a detailed discussion on any one aspect of Jefferson's life, but this is understandable, given the limited scope of the book. Even so the discussion on Jefferson's presidency is a little too brief. However certain topics-such as the Emabargo, are handled fairly well. overall, this book is usefull to anyone who wishes to obtain a bird's eye view of Jefferson's life.