[.ca] Thomas Jefferson (ISBN 0195169115)

Very readable:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a significant amount about this most interesting character. It is interesting to compare with "An Imperfect God" by Wiencek, which seems to dislike Jefferson somewhat, perhaps justifiably in places, where these subjects (such as that of Sally Jennings) are dealt with kid gloves in this book.

Response to Richard E. Dixon:
I read with mingled exasperation and disappointment Richard E. Dixon's misleading amazon.com review of my book. To cite particulars: * There was no way for me to cover everything in a book of this length, so an omission of a statement that Jefferson's work on the Virginia capitol was the introduction of classical forms of architecture to America is hardly an error or a fumble. * I grounded my interpretation of Napoleon's actions regarding the Louisiana Purchase on the work of Peter Onuf, Jon Kukla, Lawrence Kaplan, Roger Kennedy, and Alexander De Conde. Since my book appeared, the recent Monticello Monograph by James E. Lewis has appeared, and is in accord with the arguments already cited. If he disagrees with their -- and my -- interpetations, that is a disagreement, not a historical error. * On page 74, I wrote that Jefferson HELPED to move Madison from opposing a bill of rights to favoring it. I have noted the four reasons that Madison made this transition in my 1987 book ARE WE TO BE A NATION? THE MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION and my 1993 book AMENDING AMERICA -- those including (i) Madison's pledge during ratification; (ii) his recognition that the Federalists' pledge to work for amendments was a necessary concession to popular opinion; (iii) his working out a solution -- embodied in the Ninth Amendment -- to his fear that a bill of rights might omit rights by failing to list them; and (iv) his having been influenced by Jefferson. I cited AMENDING AMERICA in JEFFERSON (210n118). No fair-minded reader would have drawn the conclusion that Mr. Dixon drew from that passage, or from the larger discussion on pages 72-74. * On page 137, I write that the Executive Mansion is "now known as the White House." "Now" in that passage means today, not in Jefferson's or Madison's presidency. Indeed, not till Theodore Roosevelt's presidency (1902 or 1903) did the Executive Mansion acquire its official name of the White House. No fair-inded reader would have misread the text as Mr. Dixon misread it. * On the Sally Hemings question, Mr. Dixon is unpersuaded and, I find from previous experience of his approach to this controversy, unpersuadable. One specific error that he made in misrepresenting my work: I note in my text at page 196 that the DNA study disproved the Woodson claim. His "reasoning" on Frasier Nieman's study -- which consists of dubbing it a "Monte Carlo" methodology, then claiming that another scholar using a similar "Monte Carlo" methodology failed miserably, with the implicit conclusion that Mr. Nieman's study is similarly a miserable failure -- is worthy of a place as an illustrative example in Jeremy Bentham's HANDBOOK OF POLITICAL FALLACIES. I respectfully but firmly request that Mr. Dixon withdraw his imputations against my book. I would have written to him privately, but I could not find a current, valid email address for him.

Good overview of Jefferson life but author stumbles:
Thomas Jefferson's long and accomplished life resists compression into a one volume treatment. Professor R. B Bernstein almost meets the challenge but not without some lapses. He misses the importance of Jefferson's design of the Virginia State Capitol as the introduction of classical architecture to public buildings. It was not Jefferson's influence that brought James Madison to accept the need for a bill of rights, but the opposition of Virginia and other states to the adoption of a Constitution that lacked such amendments. It was the loss of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) that caused Napoleon to give up his dream of a western empire, not the costs of maintaining the Louisiana Territory. Bernstein succumbs to the revisionist effort to create a persona for Sally Hemings in asserting she was given "extensive authority over running" Monticello. There are errors of fact which should have been caught by the readers Bernstein credits in his Acknowledgments: Eston Hemings was born in 1808, not 1809; the earliest references to the Presidents House as the White House was 1812, not at the time Jefferson moved into it; Sally Hemings never went to Ohio with her sons, but died in Charlottesville. It is disappointing to read the "proof" Bernstein, a law professor, accepts in the last chapter when he discusses whether Jefferson fathered children by Sally Hemings. Bernstein is one of the "believers" scattered throughout academia who have followed a pattern of making the test for paternity "could he have" rather than "did he." Two examples suffice. One, in his first term as president, the Federalist press accused Jefferson of fathering a son Tom with Hemings. A Woodson family had long claimed they are the descendants of this Tom. Although DNA tests destroyed this myth, Bernstein calls the family stories of other descendants of Sally Hemings "oral history" and insists they are "proof" of paternity. Two, Bernstein endorses a Monte Carlo simulation by an archeologist at Monticello on the "odds" that Jefferson was the cause of Hemings' conceptions. If this gibberish had any value Bernstein should take it to the racetrack. Recently, a professor at St. Joseph's University did a Monte Carlo simulation for the NCAA basketball tournament. In the round of sixteen, he got eight right. In short, not the "brilliant" biography praised on the back cover, but certainly a readable and thorough one. Just skip the last chapter.

Food for thought:
I have nothing but glowing praise for this author of "Thomas Jefferson", R.B. Bernstein. I just wanted to say that I agree with all the reviewers who gave the book good marks. I also took one reviewer's suggestion and went on to read "West Point:Thomas Jefferson.." by Remick and found it different than the Bernstein book and other T.J. books because it is not so much ABOUT Jefferson, as is a biography, but FROM Jefferson, the moral history and philosophy being drawn from his own readings and writings. I recommend after reading Bernstein's "Thomas Jefferson" you go on to the book by Remick, if you enjoy food for thought.

A Concise Biography of A Founding Father:
R.B. Bernstein set out to write a concise biography of a man who may be the most influential American ever. While a concise biography will no doubt omit some facts, Bernstein tells the important facts of the Thomas Jefferson story with commendable skill. Additionally, most biographies tend to be dry reading material. I found this particular biography to be a real page turner. Thomas Jefferson is best known for his interest in philosophy and issues of individual rights. He is credited with having significant influence in the writing of the early documents in American history. Most specifically, he is given credit for the Declaration of Independence and the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Because of Jefferson's importance in politics, Bernstein acknowledges all of the positive and negative highlights of his political career. Much of the mudslinging discussed in the book is reminiscent of contemporary politics. However, there is much more to the reluctant 3rd President. Bernstein paints picture of a man who hated the bickering nature of politics, preferring the his time to his studies and writing while managing his plantation in Virginia. His obsession was the legendary Monticello, which he designed and continually redesigned. Bernstein pays little attention to Jefferson's relationship to Sally Hemings except in the epilogue. While some may argue that this omission detracts from the quality of the book, I would disagree. Bernstein chooses to focus on the man and politician rather than his sexual escapades. Even when his seemingly conflicting views of slavery are brought into focus, these facts are not essential to the Jefferson story. When his concern for human rights is put into focus, any discrepancies in his views are only a reflection of his era. All of the essential facts of Jefferson are discussed in this handsome book. I would highly recommend this book either as a reference book for school papers or a leisurely read about the life of a truly great American.