Jefferson the Virginian - Volume I (Jefferson and His Time, Vol 1)

Rating:
Summary: Detailed account
Review: VERY detailed account of Jefferson during the his life in Virginia. Although it had in depth description of the political structure, the people, and Jefferson's involvement in the politics of the United States and Virginia, it did not include a very detailed account of his personal life as is best depicted through letters. Surprisingly, despite Jefferson's extensive correspondence during the 41 years that the book covers, this correspondence was not used sufficiently to shed further light on Jefferson's personal life and intimate thoughts. Additionally, Dumas Malone did not focus enough on one of Thomas Jefferson's greatest contribution - the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.

Rating:
Summary: One of the hallmarks of American scholarship
Review: What can be said about this monument to Jefferson scholarship? I am sure that somewhere in universities around the United States there are "scholar squirrels who want to put down this invaluable resource in Jefferson studies. It is always the way that mice attempt to gnaw at lions. This is not a perfect work (and my remarks refer to all of the books in the series as a whole), there are somethings, namely Sally Hemmings references which are wrong and will not sit well with American 21st century mores. There is the issue of slavery which was handled much differently 50 years ago than it is now.
Jefferson is not worthy of our interest because of Sally Hemmings and because he kept slaves. Jefferson is great because of the Declaration of Independence and his fight for the rights of man. While it may have been hypocritical to preach liberty and keep slaves, it is doubtful that slavery ever would have been abolished if Jefferson had never gained the prominence that he did. This book and the others that follow show why we should continue to honor the public man even though his private side may have been wanting.