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lakecake's review against another edition
3.0
A good look at Jefferson’s final years, and a brief overview of his life, this book is clear and well-written. It suffers a bit from an overly rosy view of its protagonist and at only a bit over 250 pages, it is also a bit short for my liking. Still, it’s a good and easy read, and gives an idea of Jefferson’s life after public service.
mamalemma's review against another edition
5.0
It is said that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The trouble is, those who need to read about history so seldom do. The more history I read, the more conflicted I feel: should I be sanguine and comforted that this has all happened before, or should I despair at how little we've evolved?
This book focuses on the years of Thomas Jefferson's life after his presidency. It is a nuanced look at a complex man, one who was brilliant and deeply loved his somewhat troubled family. He struggled with managing money, struggled with the institution of slavery, and cared deeply about his and his family's legacy. I have rarely read a book about such a luminary that showed him as the complex human he was -- as indeed we all are. Highly enjoyable, and I feel like a better person for having read it.
This book focuses on the years of Thomas Jefferson's life after his presidency. It is a nuanced look at a complex man, one who was brilliant and deeply loved his somewhat troubled family. He struggled with managing money, struggled with the institution of slavery, and cared deeply about his and his family's legacy. I have rarely read a book about such a luminary that showed him as the complex human he was -- as indeed we all are. Highly enjoyable, and I feel like a better person for having read it.
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
This compelling study of one of my favorite Americans (sorry David) focuses on the life of Thomas Jefferson from the close of his presidency to his death in 1826. Although the first 50 pages deal with his life until he left the presidency, the strength of the book is in detailing Jefferson's life at Monticello. Because there was no pension for ex-presidents, Jefferson found himself in debt for the remainder of his life, which has as much to do with poor harvest as with his desire for building a summer retreat, Poplar Forest, in Bedford County, as with his shopaholic ways. I found his relationship with his extended family very touching, especially the close relationship that he shared with his daughter, Martha. Equally interesting was the often publicized rekindling of his close friendship with John Adams--the two men both died on the same day, July 4, 1826 which was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the final meeting between Jefferson and Lafayette only two years before Jefferson died. Crawford details Jefferson's work in establishing the University of Virginia, the first purely secular university in the United States and also the sale of Jefferson's personal library to the U.S. government to replace the library that was burned by the British during the War of 1912 when they torched the public buildings in Washington, D.C. in retaliation for the earlier burning of York by the Americans. Jefferson's library which he had built for years became the core of the Library of Congress. And what an interesting group of individuals made up his extended family. There were politicians, cheaters, drunks, assaults, etc. Just the stuff of which great family reunions are made. A highly recommended read about the last years of one of our founding fathers.
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