Most Blessed of the Patriarchs

Name: Most Blessed of the Patriarchs
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: Annette Gordon-Reed
ISBN: 9781501911781

Author: Annette Gordon-Reed, Peter S. Onuf

Narrator: Karen Chilton

Unabridged: 14 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 04/13/2016

Categories: Nonfiction, History, Us History

Synopsis

A groundbreaking work of history that explicates Thomas Jefferson's vision of himself, the American Revolution, Christianity, slavery, and race. Thomas Jefferson is still presented today as a hopelessly 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 by current-day observers as a hypocrite, an atheist, and a simple-minded proponent of limited government. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed teams up with the country's leading Jefferson scholar, Peter S. Onuf, to present an absorbing and revealing character study that finally clarifies the philosophy of Thomas Jefferson. Tracing Jefferson's development and maturation from his youth to his old age, 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."

About Annette Gordon-Reed

Annette Gordon-Reed is the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School. She lives in New York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brian on August 13, 2016

Unlike most books about Jefferson, this book is not a straightforward biography of the man and the set of circumstances that led to his authorship of the Declaration of Independence and the events of his presidency, nor does it intend to indict Jefferson for his inconsistencies over slavery. In fact......more

Goodreads review by Colleen on February 23, 2017

Gordon-Reed and Onuf have crafted a book on Jefferson that adds a tremendous amount to our knowledge about one of our most enigmatic Forefathers. Written from the perspective of what Jefferson's world would have looked to him, it is a fascinating book divided into chapters about the different aspect......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on October 02, 2016

Let us count the ways in which thou art blessed. For Thomas Jefferson, this injunction could take all night. For the book Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination it is unfortunately a much shorter task. Thomas Jefferson is a charming and contradictory figure......more

Goodreads review by John on June 27, 2016

Book 13 of 40 for 2016 Thomas Jefferson is our Founding Father who is and will always be to history a riddle wrapped in enigma. The slave owner who proclaimed "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Righ......more

Goodreads review by Deacon Tom on March 20, 2022

My review of “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs” disappeared??? A good book that is both precise on some topics and confusing on others, especially the topic of slavery.......more