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 Drawing on archives in the United States, England, and France, as well as unpublished Jefferson presidential papers, Meacham presents Jefferson as the most successful political leader of the early republic, and perhaps in all of American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)

Wonderful book.

Author states that this is not a comprehensive biography but certainly seemed to be.
This book did not shy away from the parts of Jefferson that were hard to look at but left final judgement to the reader.
Well rounded look at our 3rd president.

loved it!

great portrait of President Jefferson, very balanced and have excellent insight to his life through various stages, loved it!

A smart man

The audio starts out a little slow but it’s builds up the more you read. I got to the point I don’t want to stop listening. I started learning about the man the leader the president

Really really really interesting

It surprised me. I had no expectations. I learned more than what I thought I would have learned. The author does a really good work explaining the story of his life and the narrator understands how to presenting it.

Mr. Meacham got him right

The author did a very good job capturing the essence of Jefferson. The history of our United States is the history of imperfect people trying to implement very high ideals. Jefferson was a man of his times. Instead of circling the wagons in our recent “cancel culture,” the author tells the story of American idealism through Jefferson while not neglecting his weaknesses and downright failures.

Thought provoking, flaws and triumphs well balanced

Thought provoking, highlighting flaws and triumphs that underlie the struggle of tacking vision with reality

Well done all around

A really nicely done introductory biography to Jefferson. I learned a lot, was never bored, and feel like I understand the man much better.

Jefferson the Mind and the Dissonance

Felt like a nuanced portrait. He could fix so many problems, but not the idea of people as property, in spite of his light touch at home.

Loved it.

Incredible that the issues don’t change. Excellent ideas written extremely well by the author. More please.

Excellent read for political strategies

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I liked the insights into Jefferson's personal thoughts about his own life and also the insights ino his political strategies.