Customer Reviews

Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I titled this review "A Great Read" because of all the previous reviewers who said that (or words to that effect) this book is a great read BUT,....and there follows whatever psycho-sociological angst this work engendered in them, and then they proceeded to give it a low rating. This is an exceedingly well written and researched book which will give anyone some insight into our most complex and intelligent founding father. It is as honest as the evidence at hand allowed Fawn Brodie to be. The complicated relations between the white southern gentleman and his slaves reverberates to this day in our national unconscious. The only way to resolve these complexes and be free of them is to understand that they exist. If the problem of slavery so altered the inner life of one of our greatest Americans, how did it effect the more ordinary among us? New DNA testing has pretty much resolved the issue of Jefferson's progeny.

I have read this book several times over the past ten years, and referred back to it after reading biographies by others who often slander Ms. Brodies work. It is an excellent portrait of what Mr. Jefferson may have been like, both flattering and not so flattering, but always fascinating. I always enjoy it because it captures so many people around Jefferson so well, such as his mentor George Wythe and his father-in-law John Wayles, both who took a slave concubine after becoming widowers. This book is about relationships and their social times.

Ms. Brodie weighed in on Jefferson being the father of Sally Hemming's children when it was not popular to taint him with human emotions. She would be proved right on at least one of Ms. Hemming's children, Eston, being fathered by the same Y chromosome that Jefferson's own father carried. Unfortunately Ms. Brodie did not live to see the scientific vindication of her research and insight. The Jefferson family has long claimed that Sally's children who favored Jefferson were fathered by nephew Samuel Carr, Jefferson's sister Martha's son. But Sam couldn't pass that Jefferson Y chromosome!

This book is a must read for everyone who is interested in understanding the Sage of Montecello. It makes the world of Jefferson come to life and allow the reader to walk in the times of his day, his friendships, enemies, depressions, joys, trials, and triumphs. Brodie takes the time to richly describe the other individuals in Jefferson's life, there by providing to the reader great scholarship that is immensely personal and interesting.

No single book can capture Jefferson's philosophy and accomplishments; but this book is a must read for a study of the personality of one of the most complex and interesting men in the history of our civilization.

It is the most fun book on Jefferson and his times that one can read.

Dr. Brodie's biography on Thomas Jefferson is a wondrous piece of work, balancing both the personal and public lives of this remarkable man:
Writer of the Declaration of Independence, author of "Notes on the State of Virginia" and the "Constitution for Virginia", minister to France, war Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State under Washignton, Vice-President under John Adams, two term President of the United States, aquisition of the Louisiana Purchase, founder of the University of Virginia, horticulturist, architect and so much more. He spoke his mind and he spoke it for the people: "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government."
Without a doubt, Jefferson's private life was controversial and Brodie brings this to light. Although his personal life story reads like a soap opera, we see how both the personal and public worlds, at times, influence each other. Brodie unfolds his relationships with such women as Betsey Walker, Maria Cosway and the slave Sally Hemings, along with delving into his enemies and friends in public circles.
A lengthy but fascinating read and thanks to Dr. Brodie's tenacious research efforts, the reader gains a deep understanding into the life of this extaordinary man.

Fawn Brodie's book is now famous since DNA testing has apparently confirmed her claims of Jefferson's affair with a slave named Sally Hemings. Brodie's main purpose in the book is to show the inner psyche of the third president. This is done by giving every action of Jefferson's life a purely personal, psychological motivation. For instance, Brodie claims that the Declaration of Independence was not a classic piece of political philosophy or a list of American grievances against the king, but rather a subconscious act of rebellion against Jefferson's mother. In fact, Brodie writes exensively on the difficult relations between Jefferson and his mother. The only problem is that there are virtually no surviving records of the relationship, so Brodie simply makes most of it up as she goes. As for Sally Hemings, Brodie's conclusion is correct but most of the "evidence" she uses to get there is ridiculous. For instance, Jefferson's notes on the color of the soil in Germany, the paintings he likes in the Louvre, even his plans to invent a new type of plow are all taken as proof that Jefferson was thinking about having an affair with Sally Hemings. In short, if you want a book with a balanced portrait of the real Thomas Jefferson, try Willard Randall's "Thomas Jefferson: A Life". If you want some interesting historical fiction, try Fawn Brodie.

This was a different type of biography in that it truly concentrated on the psyche of the subject instead of a spattering of personality and a strong brush stroke of history. There is something to be said about feeling as if you're reading a psychological analysis of our 3rd President, but to be honest, I felt wanting when it came to events like the Louisiana Purchase. This is the type of book that you read if you've already read a Jefferson biography or are planning on reading another. It's a good complement to an ongoing Jefferson read.

Over the years, I have read much on the Sphinx. But this book was the first that actually believed he was human and not a god and took great pains to put a human face to the man. Given that he guarded his legacy and shaped it during his lifetime, we will never know the real man. But at least someone is trying to show us that he was human and had all the strengths and weakness of a man. For that, and only that, this book is invaluable. For those who only take interest in him because of the Hemmings controversy, you are missing out on so much. The political intrigue alone is worth reading this book.

American History, Thomas Jefferson, being my greater passions, I was fascinated by this book. The depth of Ms. Brodie's research is obvious, & her conclusions are thought provoking. Being also well-trained in the area of human behavior & pyschology, I would agree STRONGLY with the probable assumptions she makes about the pysche of Mr. Jefferson. What is historical fact concerning Mr. Jefferson concerning his earler years, his relationship w/ his mother, the death of his father, & his relationship to the women in his life, noticeably his wife & daughters, lends strong credence to the theories Ms. Brodie brings forth. A person w/ great insight into human behavior can always make strong probable cases. Ms.Brodie has done this admirably. I admire Mr. Jefferson more than any other man in American history, yet I also love the truth, and the key word is HUMAN. Mr. Jefferson would have the same quirks & idyosyncrasies as any other human, which when one realizes this about the greats of time, should endear them even more, that the bottom line is we are ALL human. Mention Sally Hemmings at the Monticello visitor center, & watch the fur fly. It seems as though some people want to elevate others to God-like status, & not allow themselves to admit to the humanism of the ones they admire. I'm looking forward to read Ms. Brodie's account of the life of Joseph Smith, which I will do soon.

This is by far the worst Jefferson biography on the market. It is a piece of what is called "psycho-history" in which the author makes a wide range of unbacked assertions which are rooted in absurd and often comical renderings of both Jefferson's words and actions. The main body Brodie's conjecture is refuted in Virgunius Dabney's excellent work "The Jefferson Scandals: A Rebuttal." If you are looking for a real biography of the man, seek out the works of Dumas Malone, Merill Peterson, or Noble Cunningham.

Fawn Brodie has a beautiful voice for writing biographies that have a way of pulling the reader into the story, rather than just telling it, and it is for this reason alone that I recommend this book.

There are many other Jefferson biographies out there that will give you a much more accurate picture of our third President, but there are few that will give you such a human story.

The problem with this book is that it spends a great deal of time in fantasy and theory. There are points in this book where I found myself literally rolling my eyes at the theories that Brodie puts forth. It is clear that she had read too much Freud before publishing this book. When Jefferson states "Tranquility is an old man's milk," Brodie suggest that what he really means is that he is looking for "a young breast on which to lay his head." There are many points in the book like this, where Brodie attempts, maybe too hard, to put a different light on a well studied subject. It only serves to interrupt what is otherwise an enjoyable read.

Taken as a semi-fictional biography, it is worth the read. If you are looking for a more factual history, I would steer clear of this particular book.

This is a wonderful big history of Thomas Jefferson's life, all of it! I looked forward every day to the time I set aside for this book. It never disappointed me. I missed the time with it when I finished. Huge read, worth every word of it.