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American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
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Well timed to coincide with Ken Burns's documentary (on which the author served as a consultant), this new biography doesn't aim to displace the many massive tomes about America's third president that already weigh down bookshelves. Instead, as suggested by the subtitle--"The Character of Thomas Jefferson"--Ellis searches for the "living, breathing person" underneath the icon and tries to elucidate his actual beliefs. Jefferson's most ardent admirers may find this perspective too critical, but Ellis's portrait of a complex, sometimes devious man who both sought and abhorred power has the ring of truth.
-- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
From Booklist
The author of Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (1993) entitles his latest work aptly, for the true nature of our third president resided behind a disguising, nearly unreadable countenance. Ellis endeavors to peer beneath the enigmatic facade and succeeds in taking a meaningful reading. He exerts great care in not taking Jefferson out of context, which is easy to do when attempting to define the man's continued relevance to American political life. Analyzing various important junctures of Jefferson's life (his tenures as minister to France, secretary of state, and, of course, president, among others) and major aspects of his personal consciousness (from his conduct of romance to his attitude toward slavery), Ellis points out that wide gaps always stood between Jefferson's ideals and the realities that existed around him. Although not the best place for a novice to learn about Jefferson, this serious, rigorous analysis concludes with a particularly thoughtful essay on Jefferson's importance and meaning to contemporary society. Brad Hooper
-- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
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Format:Taschenbuch
I have always had a great admiration for authors who are able to write biographies which let me relive the thoughts and emotions of history's great actors. In my mind it requires a strong empathy into one's subject, an excellent understanding of the forces that impel him as well as a good command of the world which surrounds and shapes him / her. The danger for the author is to take his pre-conceived notions and implant them into his subject, in seeing and interpreting every action of his protagonist through his own interpretative scheme of the world. And this is exactly the trap into which Joseph Ellis has fallen here. He has a few very simple ideas about Jefferson: Jefferson is a dreamer. He does not think in political terms. He is impractical. He is great with words but short on facts. These ideas Ellison dishes out again and again, without really corroborating or proving them in any way. In his view, Jefferson's philosophy is based on some spurious history, evasions of reality and the desire to get away form his peronal problems - mainly financial - problems.
With this perspective, the author is unable to understand, how much of a radical break with the past Jefferson's view of human beings and their relationship towards each other and their government has been. There is no indication, where Jefferson really got the inspiration for his powerful message of liberty unbound and why it still resonates with us today.
At no point of the book serious thought is given to the idea that Jefferson may have arrived at his worldview which put the individual, not society or government in the center, because he saw in individual thought and action the mainspring of all human progress and happiness. Not once the idea is brought up whether Jefferson was a proponent of strictly limited government because he found that free human beings could find better solutions to all challenges facing them through voluntary cooperation than any government could ever dictate to them. For the author, Jefferson is an opponent of intrusive governemnt simply because he does not understand its workings. Ellis does not take Jefferson serious at all - his dislike for him as the progenitor of classical liberalism shines through the whole book. Open-minded students of Jefferson should look somewhere else for a round picture of them man.
With this perspective, the author is unable to understand, how much of a radical break with the past Jefferson's view of human beings and their relationship towards each other and their government has been. There is no indication, where Jefferson really got the inspiration for his powerful message of liberty unbound and why it still resonates with us today.
At no point of the book serious thought is given to the idea that Jefferson may have arrived at his worldview which put the individual, not society or government in the center, because he saw in individual thought and action the mainspring of all human progress and happiness. Not once the idea is brought up whether Jefferson was a proponent of strictly limited government because he found that free human beings could find better solutions to all challenges facing them through voluntary cooperation than any government could ever dictate to them. For the author, Jefferson is an opponent of intrusive governemnt simply because he does not understand its workings. Ellis does not take Jefferson serious at all - his dislike for him as the progenitor of classical liberalism shines through the whole book. Open-minded students of Jefferson should look somewhere else for a round picture of them man.
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Format:Taschenbuch
The beauty of this book is that Ellis allows no bias of his own to show through. He merely lays out the facts of Jefferson's life and philosophy and lets the reader draw conclusions. But he does give us much food for thought, and it is fascinating to see how, over the years, different political factions have attempted to claim the Jeffersonian mantle. Among the book's other treasures is the portrait of the friendship-turned- enmity between Jefferson and John Adams, who, along with wife Abigal, emerge as wholly witty, fascinating characters. The two men, former conspirators turned rivals, died on the same day, July 4, 1826.
Forget the recent spate of spiteful, one-sided books that attempt to paint Jefferson as a hypocritical reprobate only and read this fine narrative of a great and complex man.
This is history as it should be written - lively, provocative, and compelling.
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Format:Taschenbuch
This is a fine analysis of the peculiarities of Thomas Jefferson's character, but for those looking for final answers to the debates that still surround Jefferson's life this book will not fill that role. Perhaps no book ever will. For all the ink that has been spilt in this century regarding our third president, the problems Americans appear to have with the "paradoxes" of his character appear to be a singularly modern phenomenon. Liberal historians seem incapable of reconciling Jefferson's unwillingness to part with his slaves with his pronouncements on political freedom; conservatives, on the other hand, are far too willing to be apologetic for Jefferson's record on slavery. Few people seem to be satisfied with leaving Jefferson within the context of his time--everyone wants to appropriate him or denigrate him according to modern standards of efficacy or evil. Ellis certainly is right in cautioning us in making use of Jefferson's memory today, but perhaps all of us have been too unfair to Jefferson. Many of our accepted conventions, currently moral and righteous, end up appearing reprehensible in retrospect. Slavery was one of these conventions accepted, and hated, in its day. We may find in centuries to come, for example, that abortion is as reprehensible as slavery was in Jefferson's time, and look back in disgust at the early 21st century and wonder how people could have condoned it. Riddles have a way of looking very different when viewed through another perspective--solving the riddle of this American sphinx still demands more scholarship and more debate.
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No masterpiece yet of acceptable quality
This book is neither extraordinarily well written nor extraordinarily well argued. Nevertheless it is readable and most of its conclusions appear plausible. Lesen Sie weiter...
Vor 7 Monaten von history nut veröffentlicht
Great book on Jefferson's wiley character!
How is it that democrats, republicans, socialist, and every other wing nut- on the left or right- can claim Jefferson as their own? Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 25. Juni 2000 von Chad Bagley
Insightful Overview of Jefferson's Character
American Shinx is a welcome addition to the many books written about our complex third president and founding father. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 29. Mai 2000 von Steven K. Szmutko
Skates along the edge...but doesn't fall in
In my opinion, it's an all-too-common mistake to judge historical figures by the standards of the present, applying current fashions of political correctness to characters from... Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 29. April 2000 von Doc Sarvis
Father of our country
I never cared a thing for history until I was forced to read this book for a required class. After reading the book, I took my spring break in Washington D.C.. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 4. April 2000 von angela monahan
American Sphinx
This book traces the political life of Thomas Jefferson from the time he wrote the Declaration of Independence to his death on July 4. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 18. Januar 2000 von Daniel Murphy
American Icon Revealed
This book is a first rate study on an enduring icon in Americam history. Ellis obviously loves his subject matter and brings the great man to life. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 13. Januar 2000 von Craig Middleton
Amazing Book about an Amazing Individual
The American Sphinx is a magnificently written book that allows its readers to delve into the mind of one of America's most fascinating founding fathers. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 1. November 1999 veröffentlicht
Fantastic and fascinating book
I found Joseph Ellis's work on Jefferson to be incredible. Great book to do a book report or review on. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 29. Oktober 1999 veröffentlicht
Terrific Political Synopsis of Jefferson
I loved this book, which read like a a novel. Ellis found negatives in Jefferson where deserved, and there was the constant comparison (in my mind) throughout the book where... Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 2. August 1999 veröffentlicht
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