Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham is a wonderful book. I had done some reading about Jefferson before but never a full-length biography. I had heard this was the best so I was eager to tackle it and I’m glad I did.
In my previous readings, I had always felt Jefferson was a very gifted man and with that rare ability to hold 2 contradictory beliefs in his mind without being a hypocrite. For example, he was firmly against the idea of political parties, yet the most partisan of politicians.
The list of these internal contradictions is massive. But Jon Meacham spends a good bit of time on the early Jefferson and his love of control and dislike of conflict. This was paired with a strong set of beliefs about what was right or ideals (Jefferson, the Philosopher) with a realization of what was possible and how to get there (Jefferson, the Politician). And the latter is the art of power as in the subtitle.
This is a large (but still 1 volume) biography. I have seen blurbs calling it the best but I’ll have to leave that judgement of others who are more qualified. I’ll just say that I enjoyed it and feel that I understand Jefferson much better than before.
Here are some other reviews:
