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Summary: Chris - Did you read this book?
Review: ... "Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family", is a fair and thorough assessment of the current controversy with both pro and con arguments from family members representing all sides. ... I encourage ... any family (even non traditional ones), to buy this book, read it and discuss it! There are many familiy stories similar to this one and through this type of examination (just listening and documenting the words) we can begin to understand our various experiences and maybe reach some mid point to peace. ...
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Summary: Politically Incorrect
Review: For anyone who has followed the Jefferson-Hemings story this is an interesting book. However, it glosses over much of the historical evidence, and seems to suggest that anyone who questions the conclusion that Jefferson fathered Hemings children is a racist. Media sound bites and Lanier to the contrary, the DNA evidence for Jefferson's paternity is very shaky and Lanier neglects to mention that the descendents of Madison Hemings (of whom he is one) refused to be tested at all (although he does mention that the DNA testing eliminated the 150 year old claims of the Woodsons) Regardless, Lanier believes that ALL the families should be accepted by the Jefferson family to order to support racial harmony (which seems a little ridiculous since there are always people who try to claim descent from more illustrious forbears). Most of all, you are left with great sadness that the Hemings descendents are so desperate to be related to Jefferson it has become the focus of their lives, and even when their claims are proven impossible (as with the Woodson families), they still cling to a belief that they are descended from a great WHITE man (which is pretty sad). Whether Jefferson never acknowledged the Hemings children or treated them differently than any of the other house slaves because he was a really bad guy, OR because they were not in fact his children is a question that will remain (at least for me) until more sophisticated DNA analysis can link paternity not to one of 27 Jefferson males, but to Thomas Jefferson himself.
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Summary: A fascinating re-definition of the word "family"
Review: I am a Lutheran church librarian in Florida who bought this book for our church library. I feel it has very important things to say about the definition of family. A family can be a traditional nuclear family with a mom, dad and 2.3 kids. It can have two mothers, two fathers, step-parents, and grandparents. The people in the family can be of all different races. They do do not even have to be biologically related since they can be adopted. I want my parishioners to realize all this. A family is defined as "a group of people who love and support one another." If a particular family does not match your traditional particular concept of family, GET USED TO IT!
I was raised to appreciate and enjoy history, and I first visited Monticello as a middle-schooler. This book is particularly interesting in that it fleshes out the individuals who made up the family of Monticello, white, black and every shade in between. Thank you, Shannon Lanier, for writing this family history. It is a very important historical statement besides being a fascinating family genealogy. Since we have no photos of Jefferson, I especially enjoyed studying the faces of his descendants in these photos--one or two seem to be the spitting image of him.
As to whether Jefferson was a god or not, no he was not. He was human and had failings and gifts just like anyone else. He was a product of his time. That meant he did certain things indicative of that time. So what? It just makes him a more interesting person to me. Does it really help us to try to judge him by today's standards? All we can really do is to examine the man in the context of his time. This book can be enjoyed by both teens and adults and will especially interest those who liked Jefferson, the colonial era, or who like genealogy.
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Summary: Jefferson and Hemmings - A peak into secret lives
Review: I bought this book for my 12 year old nephew who wanted to understand "passing."He had heard that people "passed into the white world" and wanted to understand this concept as he comes from a mixed race background where his Grandmother scandalised many English people when she married a Bengali in a time when Black people were still being murdered for just whistling at a white girl in the USA. So I have got him this book which talks candidly and in a language that a twelve year old will understand about "Jefferson's Children", both legitimate and illegitimate." All of whom walked many paths, some down the road to embracing their Anglo-African roots, others to never know their slave origins as they slipped away into the embrace of their "white roots", and just as many who would never doubt their racial purity because they were descended from the two legitimate daughters of Thomas Jefferson. This is an excellent book for teens and adults alike; it looks at the proud descendents from this illustrious lineage as well as those who see such a bloodline as curse rather than a blessing. I liked the fact that the book wasn't over syrupy, it was down to earth yet proud with a healthy dose of cynicism from some people both Black and White, I liked that and I think my nephew will like that too. Of course there are many people, who will continue to deny that Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson ever had a relationship, and this is reflected in the book. I find this curious as DNA has proven that the children of Sally Hemmings were Thomas Jefferson's offspring, and their excuses such as "Thomas loved his wife Martha too much to take up with a slave," made me smile. Sally Hemmings was his wife's half sister, and probably looked a lot like her, I leave the rest to your imagination plus the fact only Sally and her children were freed upon Thomas Jefferson's death, and also the fact that
Sally followed Thomas Jefferson back to the USA when she could have stayed in Paris a free woman of colour. All of this is expressed in this wonderful book that should be on the shelf of every school in the USA. I just wish we had books like this in England because we too have a secret history like the Hemmings and Jefferson relationship, born from Britain's colonisation of Africa, India and the Caribbean, we too have a legacy that needs to be told and perhaps one day it will be.
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Summary: Spirit of Hope
Review: I have just finished reading Jefferson's Children:The Story of One American Family, and the stories included here of the Hemings and Jefferson families have given me renewed hope that someday we all will treat each other as cousins and family. I realize that all families don't love each other, but these stories encourage me to believe that we can be more loving toward all people. While this is catalogued as a children's book (ages 9-12), I believe it is a family book. Parents should read and discuss it with their children and teachers will develop lesson plans around it. I believe that this book will bring us all closer together.
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Summary: Jefferson's Children
Review: I think Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family was a great book. The story is about a decsendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings who asks other decsendants what they know about their relationship. Before I read the book I didn't even know anything about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings and now I know so much more than I expected. Jefferson's Children gave a lot of information about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. The reason the relationship is so improtant is because Sally Hemmings was a slave of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was about thirteen years older than Sally Hemmings. Thomas Jefferson married Sally Hemmings after Martha Jeffers, Thomas Jefferson's first wife died. I find two things very interesting about Thomas Jefferson and his decsendants. Thomas Jefferson fought againts slavery but owned slaves. I think it is amazing how big the Jefferson and Hemming's family is.
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Summary: My Opinion
Review: I've read the other reviews of this book, and I was both surprised and shocked. I'm really sick and tired of people trying to make Thomas Jefferson a god. I don't claim to know the truth on this matter, but I do know a person's family history is very important in who you are. How can somebody call the Woodson and Hemings descendents sad individuals, and that they are desperate to be related to a great man? Sorry, Jefferson was not a god, but he was an important figure in American history. This scandal doesn't diminish his integrity, it just makes him human. What I think is really shocking is the descendents of Jefferson try to push these people out, because they claim there is no real evidence to support their heritage. From what I've read from their side, the whole Jefferson family seems heartless to me, save for a few individuals on the side of the Woodson and Hemings families. The DNA may not be real clear on the matter, but it's a start. I commend the Woodson and Hemings descendents, they are brave individuals sticking up for their heritage. This book was a start for bringing about some sort of family unity. I would recommend this as a read for anybody interested in this story.
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Summary: A JOURNEY TOWARD RACIAL HEALING
Review: In a dignified manner this book offers true accounts of lives that were lived in the shadows of an uncertain heritage. With more and more Americans embracing the Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemings romantic relationship for the reality (I have longed believed) it was, we are free to enjoy--and to learn from--this mixed-race, talented, loving family. Few literary efforts make race seem so indistinct and unimportant today as this work by a remarkable young Jefferson-Hemings descendant. Everyone who has felt cheated by historians while attempting to learn the full story of Americans' mixed heritage can make up for that in part by reading Jefferson's Children. By the way--it's not just a children's book. It's for everyone. It also provides a good historical perspective of Sally Hemings as the half-sister of Jefferson's late wife, Martha, who died 19 years before he became President. Some people's sense of reality will conclude, rightly I believe, that Sally Hemings was, in his heart, the First Lady of President Thomas Jefferson. I regret the time was not right for open acknowledgment of that. It certainly is now.
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Summary: Helps beautifully to make up for a lost heritage
Review: In a dignified manner this book offers true accounts of lives that were lived in the shadows of an uncertain heritage. With more and more Americans embracing the Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemings romantic relationship for the reality (I have longed believed) it was, we are free to enjoy--and to learn from--this mixed-race, talented, loving family. Few literary efforts make race seem so indistinct and unimportant today as this work by a remarkable young Jefferson-Hemings descendant. Everyone who has felt cheated by historians while attempting to learn the full story of Americans' mixed heritage can make up for that in part by reading Jefferson's Children. By the way--it's not just a children's book. It's for everyone. It also provides a good historical perspective of Sally Hemings as the half-sister of Jefferson's late wife, Martha, who died 19 years before he became President. Some people's sense of reality will conclude, rightly I believe, that Sally Hemings was, in his heart, the First Lady of President Thomas Jefferson. I regret the time was not right for open acknowledgment of that. It certainly is now.
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Summary: Jefferson's Family Brought to Life
Review: The authors are very successful in bringing to life an old American story in a new way. Not meant to be a historical thesis, it brings depth and soul through the voices of Thomas Jefferson's children (many generations removed). The photographs capture much more than words can convey, permitting the reader to travel the generations along with those whose relatives they are. The authors created a wonderful book that eduates and heals. It is presented in a manner that children, adolescents, and adults can appreciate and grow from.
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