(Larger Image)
|
Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty - Volume III (Jefferson and His Time, Vol 3)
by Dumas Malone
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (1962-01-30)
ISBN: 0316544752
EAN: 9780316544757
Dewey Decimal #: 973.460924
Hardcover: 545 pages
SKU: 20194
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Hardcover. Very Good Book in Very Good Dust Jacket. Pages are clean and unmarked.
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
The third volume in Dumas Malone's distinguished study of Thomas Jefferson and his time deals with one of the most fascinating and controversial periods of Jefferson's life. It includes the story of the final and most crucial phase of his secretaryship of state, his retirement to Monticello, his assumption of the leadership of the opposition party, and the crisis during the half-war with France when the existence of political expression was threatened and the freedom of individuals imperiled
|
Customer Reviews
|
Very detailed, to say the least
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-03-27
Rather than reviewing all 6 volumes each individually, I'll offer my take on the first three here and the last three in volume 6. The fact is, I learned a lot while reading these books. The second and third books are my favorites; Malone's 2 books on the Jefferson presidency are way too tedious.
The good news about these first three books is that when you finish, you will know more about Jefferson than you ever could have imagined. Malone takes you inside Jefferson's time in Philadelphia during the early stages of the American Revolution, his oft-maligned term as governor of Virginia and up through his battles with Alexander Hamilton as part of Washington's cabinet. But there was much to the Jefferson-Adams relationship late in the 1790s that was dealt with in bits and pieces here. This book begins late in Jefferson's run as Secretary of State and continues through his vice presidency, but Malone spends far too much time talking about Jefferson's crops, trees and scientific endeavors.
As much as I've learned about Jefferson here, I'll forget some of the smaller details, and I feel like a more concise one- or two-volume biography could actually give me a better perspective on the major events in his life because they won't be so watered down with less significant details that distract from the key points. To take on these volumes, you must be a brave soul.
|
|
Most consistently written volume yet, though at times a tough read
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-07-08
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is the third volume in Dumas Malone's six volume biography called "Jefferson and His Time" covering the period in Jefferson's life from the end of his tenure as Secretary of State under George Washington to his contentious election as President in early 1800/1801.
In this volume Mr. Malone seems to perfect his intended writing and presentation style resulting in the most consistently written volume yet in the series. The organization of chapters by topics, instead of a chronological narrative, is much more pronounced than in the second volume and each 10 to 20 page chapter usually covers at least two to three years of events (as part of a 500 page volume encompassing a mere eight years of Jefferson's life) with considerable chronological overlap from chapter to chapter. This seems appropriate enough for a scholarly, analysis based, biography but requires the reader's continued focus to reconstruct the correct timeline of events.
This volume is, overall, an enjoyable read and at moments gives the reader considerable insight into Jefferson's true character, a tough task for such an elusive subject. I must admit, however, at times Mr. Malone's lenghty analyses make parts of this work tough to traverse and I often wanted to skim ahead to the next topic. This seems to be a byproduct of the topic based chapters, with each chapter being a self contained research article on a particular topic of Jefferson's life. I fully concede that this is entirely appropriate for a biography of this depth and length, but at times I miss the narrative based biography that Mr. Malone began with in the first volume.
|
|
Research paper vs. Story Telling
Rating  (2)
Date: 2003-10-30
2 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
So far i have given this series thumbs up due to the historical significance coupled with Duman Malone's detailed account of Thomas Jefferson in the period during which the story takes place. This book is more qualified to be a research paper, not a historical account of Thomas Jefferson. The high level of detail the book provides, in most cases, is overpowering and often times delutes the significance of the important details. Especially excruciating to read was TJ political account. If Dumas Malone would have had additional records of TJ's most insignificant and irrelevant actions during the priod, he would have included it in detail as well. Dumas Malone did quite a poor job of filtering unnecessary details, causing the reader to fequently tune out. The story was drawn out, and focused too little on his personal life in comparison to his political life.Also curious was the mention of TJ's slaves and his attitudes towards them without giving any account to Sallie Hemmings (other than mentioning the Hemmings Family name). Some objectiveness would be refreshing in this series... It appears as if Dumas Malone provides a very one sided account of Thomas Jefferson. Whether certain claims regarding TJ are founded or not, they should still be included in the story. The author should not filter information on the basis of convenience or lack of objectivity.
|
|
Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty
Rating  (5)
Date: 2002-04-17
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty written by Dumas Malone is the third installment of six in the life and times of Thomas Jefferson and according to the author the most arduous to write. The time frame of this segment starts where the second volume left off and continues to the election of Thomas Jefferson to his first term as President of the United States, (1792 - 1801).This volume is divided into four seperate sections of Jefferson's life in this series of years, but Jefferson as Secretary of State, has frustrations in Philadelphia and as we see most of them are Hamilton in origin. Begining the first segment we see Jefferson completing his secretaryship of state, the second deals with his early retirement to Monticello, third section deals with the growth of political parties and Jefferson's reluctance to be the head of the opposition to the Federalists, and the fourth segment deals with the basic individual freedoms of the people being seriously imperiled. Even though the author stated than this was a difficult time to write about Thomas Jefferson, it is apparent, through the tone of this book that great care was given to portray Jefferson as he was in life... we even get to glimpse at a dark side of Jefferson as the heated frustration with Hamilton begins its culmination, as Jefferson relies on James Madison to do the "dirty work." This is a fascinating and controversial time in Jefferson's life and the author tells the story well. The Giles Resolutions and the Citizen Genet stories were extremely well written.
|
|
Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty
Rating (5)
Date: 2002-04-17
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty written by Dumas Malone is the third installment of six in the life and times of Thomas Jefferson and according to the author the most arduous to write. The time frame of this segment starts where the second volume left off and continues to the election of Thomas Jefferson to his first term as President of the United States, (1792 - 1801).This volume is divided into four seperate sections of Jefferson's life in this series of years, but Jefferson as Secretary of State, has frustrations in Philadelphia and as we see most of them are Hamilton in origin. Begining the first segment we see Jefferson completing his secretaryship of state, the second deals with his early retirement to Monticello, third section deals with the growth of political parties and Jefferson's reluctance to be the head of the opposition to the Federalists, and the fourth segment deals with the basic individual freedoms of the people being seriously imperiled. Even though the author stated than this was a difficult time to write about Thomas Jefferson, it is apparent, through the tone of this book that great care was given to portray Jefferson as he was in life... we even get to glimpse at a dark side of Jefferson as the heated frustration with Hamilton begins its culmination, as Jefferson relies on James Madison to do the "dirty work." This is a fascinating and contriversial time in Jefferson's life and the author tells the story well.
|
|
|