Why am I passionate about this?
History has enthralled me from a very young age, drawn as a child as I was to Vikings, cowboys and Indians, medieval knights, ancient conquerors, and mythological gods. After practicing law in Boston for 38 years, I retired to write history full time, not to string dates and facts together in a powder-dry mix but to try to breathe life into the vibrant men and women who enlivened their times and can shed a timeless light on the challenges of ours. Hard work though it is, I have never been so satisfied with life.
James' book list on making history live and breathe
Why did James love this book?
In researching and writing my book about our third president, I revisited Jon Meacham’s masterly portrait of the man and rediscovered its many rewards, steeped as it is in the subtleties of Jefferson’s character, the brilliance of his mind, and his unsurpassed contributions to our country’s democratic foundations, despite his disappointing flaws and missed opportunities.
I have always found Meacham’s peerless prose and storytelling skills a worthy match for his perceptive insights. If I could recommend just one book about Jefferson (excluding my own, of which I have positive opinions), it would be his.
1 author picked Thomas Jefferson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
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…