In Pursuit of Jefferson: Traveling through Europe with the Most Perplexing Founding Father

by Derek Baxter

Overview

A debut that combines historical nonfiction with travel books, for fans of Bill Bryson and Tony Horwitz, In Pursuit of Jefferson is the story of an American on a journey through Europe, following the epic trail of Thomas Jefferson.

A controversial founding father. A man ready for a change. And a completely unique trip through Europe.

In 1784, Thomas Jefferson was a broken man. Reeling from the loss of his wife and stung from a political scandal during the Revolutionary war, he needed to remake himself. To do that, he traveled. Wandering through Europe, Jefferson saw and learned as much as he could, ultimately bringing his knowledge home to a young America. There, he would rise to power and shape a nation.

More than two hundred years later, Derek Baxter, a devotee of American history, stumbles on an obscure travel guide written by Jefferson—Hints for Americans Traveling Through Europe—as he's going through his own personal crisis. Who better to offer advice than a founding father himself? Using Hints as his roadmap, Baxter follows Jefferson through six countries and countless lessons. But what Baxter learns isn't always what Jefferson had in mind, and as he comes to understand Jefferson better, he doesn't always like what he finds.

In Pursuit of Jefferson is at once the story of a life-changing trip through Europe, an unflinching look at a founding father, and a moving personal journey. With rich historical detail, a sense of humor, and boundless heart, Baxter explores how we can be better moving forward only by first looking back.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728225395
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	171,991
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Derek Baxter is a labor and human rights lawyer who lives in Virginia. You can follow his adventures with Thomas Jefferson at www.jeffersontravels.com.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Starting Line 1

Chapter 2 Something New Under the Sun 20

Chapter 3 Traveling like Jefferson 32

Chapter 4 Paris, Springtime 51

Chapter 5 The Earth Belongs Always to the Living 62

Chapter 6 Rambles through the Vineyards 81

Chapter 7 Jefferson's Dream 99

Chapter 8 Sitting in an English Garden 113

Chapter 9 Behind the Fence 129

Chapter 10 A Continued Feast through Italy 143

Chapter 11 The Rice Smuggler 163

Chapter 12 Remedial Education 176

Chapter 13 The Architecture of Dreams 198

Chapter 14 Those Who Labor for My Happiness 216

Chapter 15 Hard Truths 229

Chapter 16 Look Closer: Stories of the Enslaved 246

Chapter 17 The Long Walk to Freedom 261

Chapter 18 The Last Days of the Ancien Régime 283

Chapter 19 French Revolutions 296

Chapter 20 A la Recherche du Moose Perdu 319

Chapter 21 As If Both Sides of the Atlantic Were Not Warmed by the Same Genial Sun 341

Chapter 22 We'll Always Have Paris 358

Chapter 23 The Never-Ending Pursuit of Happiness 379

Acknowledgments 393

Reading Group Guide 395

A Conversation with the Author 397

Illustration Credits 403

Abbreviations 407

Notes 409

Index 479

About the Author 500

Editorial Reviews

"In Pursuit of Jefferson is an excellent historical travelogue focused on Thomas Jefferson's unique musings and wanderings across Europe. Derek Baxter is an unabashed fan of the Sage of Monticello and follows him on his journeys as he matures as a politician, naturalist, scientist, and observer of human nature. The glue that holds the book together is found in the timeless parallels of scenery and outlook that the author discovers along the way. Jefferson, though no Mark Twain, turns out to be the quintessential American abroad—a sometimes fumbling Founder infused with gusto, wit, and affection for most everyone and everything he meets." — Philip G. Smucker, author of Riding with George: Sportsmanship & Chivalry in the Making of America’s First President

"Taking their cues from Jefferson's Hints to Travelers and following in his footsteps, Derek Baxter and his family gained a deeper and more enlightened understanding of a flawed founder's life and enduring legacies. This is travel writing at its best, an impressively researched and well-crafted chronicle of self-discovery and civic engagement." — Peter S. Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History, Emeritus, University of Virginia

"Taking their cues from Jefferson's Hints to Travelers and following in his footsteps, Derek Baxter and his family gained a deeper and more enlightened understanding of a flawed founder's life and enduring legacies. This is travel writing at its best, an impressively researched and well-crafted chronicle of self-discovery and civic engagement." — Peter S. Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History, Emeritus, University of Virginia

"Every schoolchild knows Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but I doubt even the most dedicated reader of travel literature knows he also published a compact guide explaining the architecture, people, food and (especially) wines of Old World Europe to the citizens of the brand-new United States. This retracing of the Founding Father's life-changing time abroad is a very entertaining book about a very complicated man." — Mark Adams, New York Times bestselling author

"In his debut book, In Pursuit of Jefferson, Derek Baxter tells the bittersweet story of Thomas Jefferson, or should I say, Baxter's own reckoning with this most revered—and contradictory—figure from American history. In crisp language that is often conversational, Baxter weaves history with geography, food and wine, and science to tell what is ultimately a story of acceptance. It is only after following Jefferson's 'hints' through Europe—not to mention the Paris of North America—that Baxter comes to accept Jefferson for who he really was—a flawed human who might still offer some 'hints' on how best to move forward today. It confronts the uncomfortable but relevant issue of Jefferson's involvement with slavery plainly, and with heartfelt honesty. This is a fine work of historical travelogue that will appeal to anyone with an interest in history, geography, science, and self-discovery—an engaging read offering much food for thought." — Darrin Lunde, author of The Naturalist

"In his debut book, In Pursuit of Jefferson, Derek Baxter tells the bittersweet story of Thomas Jefferson, or should I say, Baxter's own reckoning with this most revered—and contradictory—figure from American history. In crisp language that is often conversational, Baxter weaves history with geography, food and wine, and science to tell what is ultimately a story of acceptance. It is only after following Jefferson's 'hints' through Europe—not to mention the Paris of North America—that Baxter comes to accept Jefferson for who he really was—a flawed human who might still offer some 'hints' on how best to move forward today. It confronts the uncomfortable but relevant issue of Jefferson's involvement with slavery plainly, and with heartfelt honesty. This is a fine work of historical travelogue that will appeal to anyone with an interest in history, geography, science, and self-discovery—an engaging read offering much food for thought." — Darrin Lunde, author of The Naturalist

"Baxter debuts with an entertaining and informative chronicle of his attempt to recreate Thomas Jefferson’s travels in Europe…. Baxter manages to bridge the 18th and 21st centuries with skill. This historically informed travelogue delights." — Publishers Weekly

"This jaunty, inventive approach to an old question—who was Thomas Jefferson?—turns out to be a wise, readable, and altogether satisfying work." — Kirkus STARRED Review

"Baxter's humorous, warm voice is one readers will hope to hear more of in the future." — Booklist

"Baxter winningly details his experiences following Jefferson’s itinerary while also grappling with his complicated legacy....At a time when cultural battles over everything from monuments to school curricula often turn ugly, Baxter provides a hopeful model for an honest reckoning with history." — Christian Science Monitor

"Spanning the centuries was a remarkable and unique treat for this first-time author, an attorney in Fairfax, Virginia. The book, crisply written and historically accurate, is not to be missed for any fan of Jefferson’s." — Daily Press

"While there are literally thousands of tomes dedicated to the study of Thomas Jefferson—his history, travels, and autobiographies— there are likely few works that are both as educational and entertaining as Derek Baxter's In Pursuit of Jefferson.. .It reads like a novel" — The Piedmont Virginian

"Spanning the centuries was a remarkable and unique treat for this first-time author, an attorney in Fairfax, Virginia. The book, crisply written and historically accurate, is not be missed for any fan of Jefferson's." — The Daily Press

"Armed with Jefferson’s travel tips, writer Derek Baxter hits the road in his new book… our third president may have been the country’s first—and most thoughtful—travel blogger." — Virginia Living

From the Publisher

★ 2021-10-12
This jaunty, inventive approach to an old question—who was Thomas Jefferson?—turns out to be a wise, readable, and altogether satisfying work.

In his first book, Baxter relates his numerous European journeys following in Jefferson’s footsteps, guided by the Virginian’s little-known 1788 book, Hints to Americans Traveling in Europe. Accompanied by his wife and children, the author traveled through England and much of Western Europe. Voraciously curious, he visited farms, vineyards, and towns while observing, among other things, architecture, cheese making, and viticulture, all with the engaging ingenuousness of a youngster. Baxter also unhesitatingly departed from Jefferson’s Hintsto follow his guide’s itineraries in the eastern U.S. Open to everything, the author remained full of good humor—until, with growing discomfort, he realized that the life and ease of his guide and hero was at every turn built on slavery. Consequently, this often chatty, light-spirited book about a citizen scientist turns into a somber reflection on the contradiction at the heart of American history. Readers shouldn’t expect the measured gravity of the Odysseyor the bite of Paul Theroux’s travelogues. This is travel writing in a different mode: chatty, sometimes corny, unfailingly warmhearted. Baxter’s earnestness, most evident in his encounters with the people that he met along the way, was always grounded in a serious purpose—to see and learn what Jefferson saw and learned. The author also takes on another aim: to figure out how to make sense in the early 21st century of a slaveholding author who wrote a world-historical testament to freedom. Here, Baxter, his easy nature sobered, is at his honest and most candid best. What’s particularly refreshing is that he captures his own amateur historian’s growth in knowledge, then in confusion, and finally in rueful, disenthralled acknowledgement of the inconsistencies, hypocrisy, blindness, and selfishness that existed side by side with Jefferson’s greatness.

An unusually pleasing and affecting guide to Europe through the eyes of two tourists separated by more than 230 years.

Kirkus Reviews