Quantity:

Express Checkout with PayPhrase

What's this? | Create PayPhrase

More Buying Choices

81 used & new from $0.75

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Share with Friends

Share your own customer images

Look inside this book

Tell the Publisher! I�d like to read this book on Kindle Don�t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Passions : The Wines and Travels of Thomas Jefferson (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

List Price:	$29.95
Price:	$19.77 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save:	$10.18 (34%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Friday, November 13? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

28 new from $14.37 47 used from $0.75 6 collectible from $18.00

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

An Evening with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson: Dinner, Wine, and Conversation

by James M. Gabler

4.5 out of 5 stars (6) $19.77

Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's: Three Men, Five Great Wines, and the Evening That Changed America

by Charles A. Cerami

2.9 out of 5 stars (7) $10.85

Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance

by Damon Lee Fowler

5.0 out of 5 stars (4) $25.55

Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure

by Don Kladstrup

4.1 out of 5 stars (58) $10.17

Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine

by Barry C Smith

4.4 out of 5 stars (5) $13.63

› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Passions: The Wines and Travels of Thomas Jefferson' is an accountof the adventures of the third President of the United States along the oenological trail both in this country and abroad.... The book goes well beyond being a dry--if you will pardon the term--recitalof facts to become a throughly engaging account of the human side of one of the most famous Americans" -- Herbert Kupferberg, Parade magazine, April28, 1998

"It is a must read for those interested in Jefferson's wine trips throughout Europe, primarily France. Jefferson's erudite and perceptive wine comments are remarkable.... His observations are hauntingly accurate and could have been written today. I highly recommend this book..." -- Posted 10/09/1995 by Robert M. Parker Jr. on Prodigy interactive personal service

"That experience only increases my awe of the rich historical tapestry assembled by Gabler in this superbly crafted book. Any wine love with the faintest glimmer of interest in history should read it." -- Wine Spectator Dec 11,1995

Product Description

This is a biography of Thomas Jefferson at leisure, enjoying two of his passions--wine and travel. Twelve of the sixteen chapters cover Jefferson's five years in France where he served as our minister and traveled through France, England, Germany, Italy and Holland. "Passions" was selected by Robert M. Parker, Jr. as "1995 Wine Book of the Year," and was the winner of the 1995 "Veuve Clicquot Wine Book of the Year" competition. It is a marvelous account of America's first wine connoisseur and gourmet.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Hardcover: 318 pages
Publisher: Bacchus Press; 1st edition (September 12, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0961352531
ISBN-13: 978-0961352530
Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #338,976 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's James M. Gabler Page

Look Inside This Book

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	73% buy the item featured on this page: Passions : The Wines and Travels of Thomas Jefferson 4.7 out of 5 stars (7) $19.77
	21% buy Thomas Jefferson on Wine 4.3 out of 5 stars (6) $17.16
	2% buy The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine 3.8 out of 5 stars (58) $10.17
	2% buy Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure 4.1 out of 5 stars (58) $10.17

Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

thomas jefferson(3)

france(2)

founding fathers(1)

historical dimensions and perspectives(1)

in the mediterranean(1)

italy(1)

nonfiction(1)

trips and journeys(1)

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The pursuit of happiness, May 3, 2004

By	Keith Levenberg (New York, N.Y. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The preface to Passions quotes John F. Kennedy's toast to a group of Nobel laureates that "this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever gathered together in the White House -- with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." James Gabler's unusual biography pays tribute to Jefferson's palate as well as his mind. Certain to succor the most serious oenophiles, it contains encyclopedic data on Jefferson's cellar and interesting trivia on the era's wines, many of which were far more distant in evolution from their modern incarnations than is often supposed. Moreover, by documenting the passion with which Jefferson devoured the world's great wines, Gabler offers an engaging perspective on the genius Jefferson manifested in all of his pursuits.

Passions depicts Jefferson at leisure and does not emphasize his career as statesman except when necessary to develop the narrative. Nor does it address the controversy over Jefferson's moral character ignited by his complicity in slavery, a pointless debate which lamentably fixates modern revisionists. But despite its limited scope, in offering a more vivid account of Jefferson the man, Gabler's research probes certain mysteries about Jefferson's public life, particularly the question why, following his legendary work as a founding father of the nation, his Presidency was less successful. Gabler's Jefferson is a loner whose widowing as a young man left him heartbroken and somewhat estranged from the nation he sired. He sought comfort in a sort of exile across Europe, never quite establishing a home but immersing himself in the best of what its cultures offered. From Gabler's account, one surmises that Jefferson could have retired happily in that fashion but returned to Washington when duty obliged him to serve as Secretary of State, and then as President.

Gabler's final chapters describe with mouthwatering clarity a series of dinners which Jefferson hosted in the White House for friends and fellow statesmen, which he funded personally despite his dwindling wealth. He served wine after dinner, but the meals retained about them some elements of the colonial frontier, with cider or porter's ale accompanying the food. At one such dinner, an invitee expressed surprise at receiving an invitation requesting the "favour of his company" on behalf of "Thomas Jefferson," rather than "the President of the United States." As such details suggest, these chapters are interesting evocations of a time when Americans' aversion to the trappings of entrenched power remained visceral. Gabler's accounts of these evenings also leave one warmed that a man so monumental as Jefferson seemed most content gathered around a table with old wine and old friends.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Unusual Work, July 21, 2002

By	Richard R. Carlton (Ada, MI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Author Jim Gabler does Jefferson wine evenings at Monticello on occasion. I have yet to catch him there, but not for trying. It is my understanding that he has a passionate hobby in the historical antecedents for wines and from this standpoint, this book succeeds remarkably. Extremely well documented - he has found items as obscure as the inventories of not only the wines Jefferson ordered during his travels, but sometimes the exact foods he ordered for specific evenings....(50 oysters and a half bottle of wine at the Amsterdam Arms...and repeated the feat the next night with a friend). There are maps, engravings, modern photographs, historical details.....a wonderful book detailing a great wine connoisseur's travels in search of the meticulous details of the art. And it's all laid out for you to enjoy or replicate as you may....or imagine what it would be like to travel, explore, dine, and taste as Jefferson or Gabler.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical perspective on wine and Jefferson, October 20, 1998

By A Customer

This book recounts Jefferson's travels and passions for wine. It is a fact that many of his favorites are still famous today. (Hermitage La Chappelle, Yquem, Lafite) Seeing these names through his eyes is fascinating, and reading about his difficulty with storage and shipping sounds all too familiar. The book gets off to a very slow start; too much statistical detail on each dinner. But it gradually becomes absorbing, and charming. A quaint historical document.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 7 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars INSIGHT INTO THOMAS JEFFERSON'S LIKES
This was given as a gift, and I've received many thanks and raves from my sister and brother-in-law about the book. Read more

Published on January 3, 2007 by G. B. Slaughter

5.0 out of 5 stars America's First Wine Connoisseur
Wine was a lifelong passion for Jefferson, not just drinking it, but also planting vineyards at Montecello and in his Paris garden. Read more

Published on August 30, 2005 by Virginia Allain

4.0 out of 5 stars A New Side of Thomas Jefferson
Passions: The Wines and Travels of Thomas Jefferson by James M. Gabler is a delightful book. If you think you know Thomas Jefferson guess again. Read more

Published on January 18, 2005 by AE

5.0 out of 5 stars A Combination of Two Passions
To the Jefferson buff and wine fanatic, this book is a rare treat. I ordered it after spending a long weekend touring the Virginia wine country and Jefferson's Monticello. Read more

Published on August 20, 2003 by John C. Case

› See all 7 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }

Customer Discussions

This product's forum

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
cooking other top chef fans out there?	146	54 seconds ago
history Holocaust Denial Dissected	3323	6 minutes ago
cooking Which TV cook/chef would you like to SLAP AROUND?	666	11 minutes ago
history THE FIRST WORLD WAR - who wants to talk about it?	161	16 minutes ago
travel info: india guesthouses..varanasi/ayodyha	1	2 days ago
travel Leaving the internet behind	1	3 days ago
thomas jefferson Name Your Fave TJ Book	8	5 days ago