Skip to product information
1 of 1

Thomas Jefferson Biography

Thomas Jefferson Biography

Oxford University Press

Regular price $1.00
Regular price $19.99 Sale price $1.00
Sale Not In Stock
Shipping calculated at checkout.

Ready to Ship

Thomas Jefferson designed his own tombstone, describing himself simply as "Author of the Declaration of Independence and of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." It is in this simple epitaph that R.B. Bernstein finds the key to this enigmatic Founder—not as a great political figure, but as leader of "a revolution of ideas that would make the world over again."

In Thomas Jefferson, Bernstein offers the definitive short biography of this revered American—the first concise life in six decades. Bernstein deftly synthesizes the massive scholarship on his subject into a swift, insightful, evenhanded account. Here are all of Jefferson's triumphs, contradictions, and failings, from his luxurious (and debt-burdened) life as a Virginia gentleman to his passionate belief in democracy, from his tortured defense of slavery to his relationship with Sally Hemings. Jefferson was indeed multifaceted—an architect, inventor, writer, diplomat, propagandist, planter, party leader—and Bernstein explores all these roles even as he illuminates Jefferson's central place in the American enlightenment, that "revolution of ideas" that did so much to create the nation we know today. Together with the less well-remembered points in Jefferson's thinking—the nature of the Union, his vision of who was entitled to citizenship, his dread of debt (both personal and national)—they form the heart of this lively biography.

In this marvel of compression and comprehension, we see Jefferson more clearly than in the massive studies of earlier generations. More important, we see, in Jefferson's visionary ideas, the birth of the nation's grand sense of purpose.

Product Details

  • Product Type: Biography
  • 288 pages, with 40 illustrations
  • Shipping Dimensions: 8.0 × 5.375 × 0.5 inches
    (20.3 × 13.7 × 1.3 cm)
  • Shipping Weight: 0.5 lb (8.0 oz; 227 g)
  • SKU010002372 | ISBN: 9780195181302

Members Save 10%

Chrysler Museum members save 10% off when signed in. Use the discount code MEMBER10 at checkout.

Not a member? Join today and receive member benefits.

If you've recently joined or renewed, and you don't see your discount reflected iat checkout after entering the code, contact us and we'll take care of it right away for you.

Thank You for your Support

Your purchase supports the mission and programs of the Chrysler Museum of Art (including the Perry Glass Studio, and the Moses Myers House). We couldn't do what we do without you. Thank you.

View full details