Jefferson Biographies

The following books are recommended by the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society as "best reads" for content, context and historical accuracy.

Jefferson and His Time  

by Dumas Malone

(consisting of the following volumes)

     Jefferson the Virginian

     Jefferson and the Rights of Man

     Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty

     Jefferson the President: First Term 1801 – 1805

     Jefferson the President: First Term 1805 – 1809

     The Sage of Monticello

"One of the most monumental biographies of our time…" Washington Post Book World

Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation

by Merrill D. Peterson

"A work of impeccable scholarship and of absorbing interest… The image of Jefferson that finally emerges is that of a figure of universal dimensions, wholly committed to the rights of man." Julian P Boyd, General Editor, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson

The Jefferson Image in the American Mind

by Merrill D. Peterson

"A brilliant, original study of Jefferson's posthumous reputation and of its influence on American political thought from the 1820s through the 1930s." The New Yorker

Thomas Jefferson: A Strange Case of Mistaken Identity

by Alf J. Mapp

Thomas Jefferson Passionate Pilgrim: The Presidency, the Founding of the University, and the Private Battle

BY ALF J. MAPP  

"This picture of Jefferson's life, character and achievements from the time of his presidency until his death is brilliantly revealing and sharply etched. The catholicy of his genius and his astonishing accomplishments despite waning strength, physical ills and impending financial disaster are masterfully described." Virginius Dabney