Thomas Jefferson
Author of America
HarperCollins · Print & ebook · May 5, 2009
"A balanced, readable portrait.
We earn from qualifying purchases.
- Who it’s for
- A portrait of Jefferson that holds political conviction beside the compromises and conflicts of power.
- Themes
- Power and public service, Emancipation and slaveholding, Presidential legacy
- Genres
- Presidents & World Leaders, Revolutionary America (1775-1800), Political Lives
Nearest books
Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Revolutionary America (1775-1800).
A Great ImprovisationStacy Schiff55% match
WashingtonRon Chernow, illustrated54% matchAlso shares Presidents & World Leaders and Political Lives
Autobiography of Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson74% matchAlso shares Presidents & World Leaders and Political Lives
Lincoln at GettysburgGarry Wills53% matchAlso shares Presidents & World Leaders
American RevolutionsAlan Taylor62% match
Bunker HillNathaniel Philbrick52% match
For younger readers: Thomas Jefferson, Countdown to Independence, Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary
Start with three books, and this one can be the first.
Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.
Start with this bookAbout this book
"A balanced, readable portrait. A refreshing perspective.” —New York Times Book Review With intelligence, insight, eloquence, and wit, bestselling author Christopher Hitchens gives us an artful portrait of a complex, formative figure in American history and his turbulent era.
Continue reading
In this unique biography of Thomas Jefferson, leading journalist and social critic Christopher Hitchens offers a startlingly new and provocative interpretation of our Founding Father—a man conflicted by power who wrote the Declaration of Independence and acted as ambassador to France yet yearned for a quieter career in the Virginia legislature. A masterly writer, Jefferson was an awkward public speaker. A professed proponent of emancipation, he elided the issue of slavery from the Declaration of Independence and continued to own human property. A reluctant candidate, he left an indelible presidential legacy.
Ideas and Contradictions
A portrait of Jefferson that holds political conviction beside the compromises and conflicts of power.
Come here for
- A founding figure seen through the tensions between principle and practice
- Hitchens’s incisive, eloquent take on American political history
Expect
- A readable portrait of a complex public figure
- Attention to the gap between Jefferson’s ideals and actions
Where it sits
| Presidents & World Leaders | 96% |
|---|---|
| Revolutionary America (1775-1800) | 66% |
| Political Lives | 47% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Lives in History
- Military Lives
- Political Lives
- Presidents & World Leaders
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Royal Lives
- Religious Lives
- North American History
- 19th-Century America
- Authors
- Christopher Hitchens
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- May 5, 2009
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Power and public service · Emancipation and slaveholding · Presidential legacy
- Reading lane
- Lives in History