10/01/2014
Gr 5–8—Thomas Jefferson was an idealist who was drawn to the cause of individual rights and a pragmatist who saw the need to take practical steps to get things done. That interpretation frames this adaptation for young readers of Meacham's Pulitzer Prize–winning adult biography, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power (Random, 2013). Readers will see this mix of idealism and pragmatism again and again during Jefferson's career. Meacham first introduces these themes in the prologue, develops them throughout the book, and later reinforces them in the epilogue, making the book useful for introducing Common Core State Standard concepts, such as determining the author's point of view and the reasons and evidence provided to support it. The biographer presents important issues in American history, particularly those surrounding the beginnings of our nation, and a strong discussion of Jefferson's failure to deal with the issue of slavery. Students will also learn about significant people Jefferson encountered during his career: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and James Madison. The single shortcoming of this informative adaptation is its inability to capture Meacham's nuanced style and appealing storytelling. In reducing his 800-page biography by more than half, this adaptation has reduced his engaging narrative to shorter, often choppy, and much simpler sentences. Compare this title with Milton Meltzer's livelier account, Thomas Jefferson: The Revolutionary Aristocrat (Franklin Watts, 1991), which has stood the test of time well. Nevertheless, readers will be rewarded with a coherent, well-supported explanation of a complex man.—Myra Zarnowski, City University of New York

Edward Herrmann’s authoritative voice lends weight to this young people’s adaptation of Meacham’s book THOMAS JEFFERSON: THE ART OF POWER. He sounds like the history teacher you always wanted, bringing history to life and breathing life and humanity into one of our most complicated and contradictory Founding Fathers. Whether he’s relating Jefferson’s belief in the high ideals of education and basic human rights or sharing less savory aspects of this enigmatic man’s complex personality, his delivery is even and nonjudgmental. He paints a picture of a man who was able to reconcile the contradiction of a philosophy based on freedom to all and a culture dependent on the enslavement of one race to another. N.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

2014-07-16
In this adaptation for young readers of his Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power (2012), Meacham overviews Jefferson's life, times and ideas. The subtitle suggests a focus on Jefferson's political philosophy and two-term presidency, but Meacham instead attempts to touch upon all aspects of his full and rich life. Less than a quarter of the text covers Jefferson's eight years as president. His republican political philosophy is discussed and contrasted with Federalism, but there is no discussion of the philosophers and ideas that influenced his thinking, nor is there mention of Jefferson's thoughts on religion, radical and controversial for their time. Meacham devotes considerable attention to Jefferson's conflicting views about slavery. Despite being a lifelong slave owner and father of children by his enslaved mistress, Sally Hemings, Jefferson considered slavery immoral and doomed as a continuing institution. Meacham suggests Jefferson's unwillingness to confront the problem of slavery politically was his greatest failure as a statesman. "When it came to slavery," Meacham writes, "Jefferson, always curious and eager to explore new ideas, did what he almost never did: he gave up." Choosing to cover every aspect of Jefferson's life without exploring any particular part in depth makes this an engaging, informative introduction but does not make it stand out among many others that do the same. (extensive backmatter, not seen for review) (Biography. 10-16)