Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

By: Jon Meacham

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jon Meacham

Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The Washington Post • Entertainment Weekly • The Seattle Times • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Bloomberg Businessweek

In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era. Philosophers think; politicians maneuver. Jefferson’s genius was that he was both and could do both, often simultaneously. Such is the art of power. Thomas Jefferson hated confrontation, and yet his understanding of power and of human nature enabled him to move men and to marshal ideas, to learn from his mistakes, and to prevail. Passionate about many things—women, his family, books, science, architecture, gardens, friends, Monticello, and Paris—Jefferson loved America most, and he strove over and over again, despite fierce opposition, to realize his vision: the creation, survival, and success of popular government in America. Jon Meacham lets us see Jefferson’s world as Jefferson himself saw it, and to appreciate how Jefferson found the means to endure and win in the face of rife partisan division, economic uncertainty, and external threat. Drawing on archives in the United States, England, and France, as well as unpublished Jefferson presidential papers, Meacham presents Jefferson as the most successful political leader of the early republic, and perhaps in all of American history.

The father of the ideal of individual liberty, of the Louisiana Purchase, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and of the settling of the West, Jefferson recognized that the genius of humanity—and the genius of the new nation—lay in the possibility of progress, of discovering the undiscovered and seeking the unknown. From the writing of the Declaration of Independence to elegant dinners in Paris and in the President’s House; from political maneuverings in the boardinghouses and legislative halls of Philadelphia and New York to the infant capital on the Potomac; from his complicated life at Monticello, his breathtaking house and plantation in Virginia, to the creation of the University of Virginia, Jefferson was central to the age. Here too is the personal Jefferson, a man of appetite, sensuality, and passion.

The Jefferson story resonates today not least because he led his nation through ferocious partisanship and cultural warfare amid economic change and external threats, and also because he embodies an eternal drama, the struggle of the leadership of a nation to achieve greatness in a difficult and confounding world.

Praise for Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

“This is probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written.”—Gordon S. Wood

“A big, grand, absorbing exploration of not just Jefferson and his role in history but also Jefferson the man, humanized as never before.”—Entertainment Weekly

“[Meacham] captures who Jefferson was, not just as a statesman but as a man. . . . By the end of the book . . . the reader is likely to feel as if he is losing a dear friend. . . . [An] absorbing tale.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“This terrific book allows us to see the political genius of Thomas Jefferson better than we have ever seen it before. In these endlessly fascinating pages, Jefferson emerges with such vitality that it seems as if he might still be alive today.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin

©2012 Jon Meacham (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A true triumph. In addition to being a brilliant biography, this book is a guide to the use of power. Jon Meacham shows how Jefferson's deft ability to compromise and improvise made him a transformational leader. We think of Jefferson as the embodiment of noble ideals, as he was, but Meacham shows that he was a practical politician more than a moral theorist. The result is a fascinating look at how Jefferson wielded his driving desire for power and control." (Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs)

"This is probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written; it is certainly the most readable." (Gordon Wood, author of The Radicalism of the American Revolution)

“Jon Meacham resolves the bundle of contradictions that was Thomas Jefferson by probing his love of progress and thirst for power. Here was a man endlessly, artfully intent on making the world something it had not been before. A thrilling and affecting portrait of our first philosopher-politician.” (Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra: A Life)

Know him both as a colleague and a politician

Jefferson is easy to love, idolize, or hate, minimize. This work reveals the subtle hues that make characterizations so misleading. You will know strengths, weaknesses, great achievement and significant failure. Very well read and enjoyable.

Fantastic history

Such a brilliant and educated leader presents an embarrassing contrast to our present occupant. Five languages. Biology. Anthropology. Environment. He loved all of it. So well written and delivered.

You want to learn about Thomas Jefferson?

Get this book. Well written, well researched, and the narrator did a spectacular job. Worth listening to from beginning to end... multiple times.

Balanced

This book seems to present a balanced story of Jefferson. It recognizes both his achievements as well as his flaws.

A great biography!

This is a wonderful biography of the third American president.

It is wonderfully written and expertly narrated.

For anyone interested in America, politics, history or humanity this is a must listen.

Excellent, well rounded character study.

Having recently read Hamilton's biography, I wanted to read Jefferson's to get the other side of the story. This portrait provides an excellent glimpse and greater understanding of the character of this brilliant yet complex man.

A depth and scope seldom equaled.

Taken as a whole this work acts as a prism, separating the many facets of Jefferson's life,
mind and personality. Allowing the independent study of each while never becoming dissociated from the complex matrix of the great man himself.
An superlative performance well befitting the superlative text.

Great book to learn about Thomas Jefferson— spirit of America

Great book. Thomas Jefferson is the true spirit of America: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.

One of, not the greatest founding father.

Great portrait of Jefferson with his flaws & brilliance - a man with no equal as a statesman.

Mitch and supporters of Thomas Jefferson is worth your time

I thought I knew who Thomas Jefferson was, but I can tell you after finishing listening to this book. I had no idea what I didn’t know if you love history and you love presidential biographies you will love this book