"Most Blessed of the Patriarchs"

Peter S. Onuf, Annette Gordon-Reed

ISBN 10: 1631492519 / ISBN 13: 9781631492518

Published by W W Norton and Co Ltd, US, 2017

Thomas Jefferson is still presented today as an enigmatic figure, despite being written about more than any other Founding Father. Lauded as the most articulate voice of American freedom, even as he held people in bondage, Jefferson is variably described as a hypocrite, an atheist and a simple-minded proponent of limited government. Now, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and leading Jefferson scholar team up to present an absorbing and revealing character study that finally clarifies the philosophy of Jefferson. The authors explore what they call the "empire" of Jefferson's imagination-his expansive state of mind born of the intellectual influences and life experiences that led him into public life as a modern avatar of the enlightenment, who often likened himself to an ancient figure-"the most blessed of the patriarchs". Seller Inventory # LU-9781631492518

Synopsis:

New York Times Bestseller
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle
Finalist for the George Washington Prize
Finalist for the Library of Virginia Literary Award
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection

"An important book…[R]ichly rewarding. It is full of fascinating insights about Jefferson." ―Gordon S. Wood, New York Review of Books

Hailed by critics and embraced by readers, "Most Blessed of the Patriarchs" is one of the richest and most insightful accounts of Thomas Jefferson in a generation. Following her Pulitzer Prize–winning The Hemingses of Monticello¸ Annette Gordon-Reed has teamed with Peter S. Onuf to present a provocative and absorbing character study, "a fresh and layered analysis" (New York Times Book Review) that reveals our third president as "a dynamic, complex and oftentimes contradictory human being" (Chicago Tribune). Gordon-Reed and Onuf fundamentally challenge much of what we thought we knew, and through their painstaking research and vivid prose create a portrait of Jefferson, as he might have painted himself, one "comprised of equal parts sun and shadow" (Jane Kamensky).

15 illustrations

About the Authors: Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. The author of Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hemingses of Monticello, she lives in New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Peter S. Onuf is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia. He is the New York Times best–selling author or coauthor of fourteen books, including, with Annette Gordon–Reed, “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs.” He lives in Connecticut and Maine.

Bibliographic Details

Title: "Most Blessed of the Patriarchs"
Publisher: W W Norton and Co Ltd, US
Publication Date: 2017
Binding: Paperback
Condition: New