Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

By: Jon Meacham

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jon Meacham

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The Washington Post • Entertainment Weekly • The Seattle Times • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Bloomberg Businessweek

In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era. Philosophers think; politicians maneuver. Jefferson’s genius was that he was both and could do both, often simultaneously. Such is the art of power. Thomas Jefferson hated confrontation, and yet his understanding of power and of human nature enabled him to move men and to marshal ideas, to learn from his mistakes, and to prevail. Passionate about many things—women, his family, books, science, architecture, gardens, friends, Monticello, and Paris—Jefferson loved America most, and he strove over and over again, despite fierce opposition, to realize his vision: the creation, survival, and success of popular government in America. Jon Meacham lets us see Jefferson’s world as Jefferson himself saw it, and to appreciate how Jefferson found the means to endure and win in the face of rife partisan division, economic uncertainty, and external threat. Drawing on archives in the United States, England, and France, as well as unpublished Jefferson presidential papers, Meacham presents Jefferson as the most successful political leader of the early republic, and perhaps in all of American history.

The father of the ideal of individual liberty, of the Louisiana Purchase, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and of the settling of the West, Jefferson recognized that the genius of humanity—and the genius of the new nation—lay in the possibility of progress, of discovering the undiscovered and seeking the unknown. From the writing of the Declaration of Independence to elegant dinners in Paris and in the President’s House; from political maneuverings in the boardinghouses and legislative halls of Philadelphia and New York to the infant capital on the Potomac; from his complicated life at Monticello, his breathtaking house and plantation in Virginia, to the creation of the University of Virginia, Jefferson was central to the age. Here too is the personal Jefferson, a man of appetite, sensuality, and passion.

The Jefferson story resonates today not least because he led his nation through ferocious partisanship and cultural warfare amid economic change and external threats, and also because he embodies an eternal drama, the struggle of the leadership of a nation to achieve greatness in a difficult and confounding world.

Praise for Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

“This is probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written.”—Gordon S. Wood

“A big, grand, absorbing exploration of not just Jefferson and his role in history but also Jefferson the man, humanized as never before.”—Entertainment Weekly

“[Meacham] captures who Jefferson was, not just as a statesman but as a man. . . . By the end of the book . . . the reader is likely to feel as if he is losing a dear friend. . . . [An] absorbing tale.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“This terrific book allows us to see the political genius of Thomas Jefferson better than we have ever seen it before. In these endlessly fascinating pages, Jefferson emerges with such vitality that it seems as if he might still be alive today.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin

©2012 Jon Meacham (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A true triumph. In addition to being a brilliant biography, this book is a guide to the use of power. Jon Meacham shows how Jefferson's deft ability to compromise and improvise made him a transformational leader. We think of Jefferson as the embodiment of noble ideals, as he was, but Meacham shows that he was a practical politician more than a moral theorist. The result is a fascinating look at how Jefferson wielded his driving desire for power and control." (Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs)

"This is probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written; it is certainly the most readable." (Gordon Wood, author of The Radicalism of the American Revolution)

“Jon Meacham resolves the bundle of contradictions that was Thomas Jefferson by probing his love of progress and thirst for power. Here was a man endlessly, artfully intent on making the world something it had not been before. A thrilling and affecting portrait of our first philosopher-politician.” (Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra: A Life)

Excellent Book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Fantastic biography. When I finished the book I became emotional as it was like I was loosing a close friend.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

So sad that it ended

Would you listen to Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power again? Why?

Absolutely... I re-listened to many passages multiple times to be certain I caught all the detail.

What did you like best about this story?

An attentive listener can develop a very personal relationship with TJ.

What does Edward Herrmann and Jon Meacham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The patience to savor the words of TJ... allow TJ's conception of human liberty to blossom in the mind of the listener.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

It is hard to imagine a film doing justice to this material.

Fabulous work on Leadership

Shows how Jefferson was able to use his leadership skills by taking a moderate approach in life

The man to look up to in life

This is one of the best book anyone - Male or female, student or worker, businessman or worker, can and should read or listen. The story was so captivating, it was hard to put it away.
Amazing man he was, with flaws and virtues of a common man. But with extraordinary qualities.

Would listen again.

Outstanding. I learned alot. He was much more than

Outstanding. I learned Jefferson was much more then the author than the Declaration of Independence.

A must for students of History

Gave me an insight into the life and times of our founding fathers. A critical book for those interested in how our nation was born.,

Well researched and fair-minded biography

This was a fascinating read. What a complex and important person Jefferson was. This book does such a great job explaining the virtues and vices (more appropriately hypocricy) of the real Thomas Jefferson though leaves the reader with a profound respect and admiration for one of the most talented and influencial men to have ever lived. Should be required reading for every American. Incredible life. Outstanding biography.

motivation revealed

An exceptionally well produced view into not only what Jefferson did, but more importantly why. The complexities of his human flaws and shortcomings is sufficiently presented along with his still remarkable achievements.

Complicated

The narration is amazing but biography is short and flawed: the author fails to offer any of the depth and substance he argues for at the end.

Succinct, focused, and without much decorum

An essential read for all who wish an entry into the annals of the American project, especially its prime architect. By its own admission, the book does not seek to cover every aspect of Jeffersonian saga, but maintains focus on the hallmarks of the man’s mind, perspective, and character. Furthermore, the author, to his enormous credit, avoids adopting modern attitude to analyze an 18th century character. The book reminds the reader, above all else, as to the inner struggle between the two elements of the dual character of the American project which is even to this day present in the mind and action of Americans: individual liberty vs state power.