Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher

By: Jon Meacham

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

In this special edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham, young listeners will learn about the life and political philosophy of one of our Founding Fathers.

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He was one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. But he was also a lawyer and an ambassador, an inventor and a scientist. He had a wide range of interests and hobbies, but his consuming interest was the survival and success of the United States.

This audiobook contains a note from Meacham, as well as sections throughout the text about subjects such as the Boston Tea Party, the Library of Congress, and Napoleon Bonaparte. Additional materials include a timeline; a family tree; a Who's Who in Jefferson's world; sections on Jefferson's original writings and correspondence, "inventions", interests, places in Jefferson's world, finding Jefferson in the United States today, additional reading, organizations, and websites; notes; a bibliography; and an index. This adaptation, ideal for those interested in American presidents, biographies, and the founding of the American republic, is an excellent example of informational writing and reflects Meacham's extensive research using primary source material.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2014 Jon Meacham (P)2014 Listening Library

Written for young readers, but appealing for all

This book is said to be abridged for young readers. But, written with Meacham's great narrative style, the book is a great choice for a much wider audience.

Vocabulary lesson?

Why is it that every word over a third grade level is given a synonym by means of definition? This is so annoying that it interferes with what would otherwise be a solid summary of Jefferson’s life and well crafted. Is this particular to the audio version?

Brief

Good concise work on Jefferson. Highlights the good bad and ugly of one of our smartest leaders.

Interesting story that I would recommend to anyone

The narrator was fantastic. I loved intertwining my knowledge of the American Revolution, Declaration of Independence, the American Constitution, and the early history of the founding fathers with the new information I learned in this book.

Excellent

Excellent biography for any age. Superb presentation. History lesson in an entertaining fashion for youth or adult.

Pretty superficial

was hoping for more about the development of Jefferson's political philosophy as the title led me to expect. Instead This was more of a topical cradle-to-grave straightforward biography

Great American, great author

Meacham always reports masterfully and this was no exception. The only change I would suggest is that Meacham also narrate. His voice is hypnotic.

If you love history…

All the things I never knew…TJ was such an interesting person, and his wisdom was beyond reason.
This book was perfect in every way. Not too long, the right person read it, and well written.

Falls short of subjective truth

It’s getting increasingly difficult to find history books not riddles with narratives set to diminish the character of our founders

Read The Jefferson Lies before taking in this book. It FACTUALLY dispels several of the narratives those historical revisionists are trying to press on their readers