And yet, Jefferson has bedeviled his biographers. He almost seems to taunt at them from beyond the grave. He is a figure that echoes Hamlet's speech to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern back to the recorders of his history, "You would play upon me, you would seem to know my stops, you would pluck out the heart of my mystery, you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass. ... 'Sblood do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me."
In the face of this brilliant, enigmatic, contradictory figure Richard Berstein has taken the only legitimate interpretation of Jefferon possible. He reflects him in his own time. Pulling together a wealth of information from various sources Bernstein manages to create an image of the man himself, as judged by the values and ideas of his own time.
And this is where Jefferson's Brilliance and Human Frailty come to the fore. And it allows the audience to understand how Jefferson became revered in his own time and how this reverance could last to the present day.
Truly a first rate job, this is an excellent, balanced introduction to one of our greatest Founding Fathers.
Well written and very informative, this would be a great indroduction, or a great re-introduction, to Jefferson. From there you can try the many other Jefferson biographies (Dumas Malone's 6 Volume Set, etc..) or one of the many book that examine his character and/or certain events in his life (American Sphinx, Understanding Jefferson, Negro President, etc...).
Highly Recommended!
