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 Jeffers