Rating: 
Summary: A Human View of an American "Superhuman"
Review: When Thomas Jefferson came to sum up his lifetime accomplishments, there was no mention of his two terms as President of the United States. Instead, he saw himself as "Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, & Father of the University of Virginia."E M Halliday pretty much avoids the great political moments of Jefferson's life and answers, instead, the question: What kind of man was this? Much of the book is involved with Jefferson's relations with his wife, daughters, and -- more speculatively -- with his maid Sally Hemings, who was not only a slave but his late wife's half sister. Ever since Fawn Brodie first broached the subject in her 1974 biography, the Sally Hemings question has intrigued many scholars, at least those who were not previously over-invested in the notion of an altogether more celibate founding father. I do not take sides one way or the other, but I find the possibility intriguing. Considering that Jefferson had in fact a documented ability to dissemble and act contrary to his stated beliefs, I am willing to accept that he was a less than perfect man. Today, some Kenneth Starr type abetted by a swirling band of journalistic and political harpies would have wiped the act in his face with every emission across the full media spectrum. But the times were different then, and there was an inherent disconnect among Southern slave-owners between "could" and "should." I am fascinated by the fact that Jefferson did not regard his presidency as the pinnacle of his career. He always valued the domestic life; he loved being a planter, though he was a financial failure at it; and he loved dabbling in domestic architecture. I thank E M Halliday's book for introducing me to this Jefferson; and I think none the less of him for his putative peccadillos.
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