Thank you Mr. Leepson for "Saving Monticello". I found it a very enjoyable read and very interesting. As a Virginian, we are proud of all our historic sites and heritage and the story of the Levy family is one of the best that I have read in a long time. Anyone who reads this book will discover that Uriah and Jefferson Levy deserve a lot credit for "Saving Monticello". Preserving Monticello was the Levy's way of keeping the memory of Thomas Jefferson alive. If it wasn't for the resources of the Levys, the many treasures of Monticello would have been lost to future generations.

In his compellingly readable book, Marc Leepson gives long overdue credit to the Levy family for saving Monticello. Monticello, the greatest architechtural icon of America, would likely not be standing today if first Uriah Phillips Levy and then his nephew Jefferson Levy had not poured their money and their passion into preserving Monticello. Marc Leepson skillfully tells the dramatic story of how the Levys took proprietorship of Monticello and became the saviors of Jefferson's "essay in architecture." I discovered while reading Leepson's book that most of my suppositions regarding Monticello and Jefferson's role in preserving Monticello as an architectural shrine were false. It amazed me that I knew so little of the story of Monticello, and it further amazed me that Marc Leepson had ferreted out so many fascinating facts with which to dazzle the reader in this masterpiece of detection and research. If you read only one American history book this season, read this one!

Marc Leepson has written the first truly "honest" and "complete" story about the saving of Thomas Jefferson's wonderful home, Monticello. This story about how Uriah Levy, an Jewish-American Naval Hero, and his nephew Jefferson Levy, a merchant banker and stock investor early on in their liveunderstood the importance of preservation, especially America's treasures like Monticello and even Mt. Vernon,George Washingon's home.

Not many American's in the 19th century really cared or understood preservation, and Jefferson's Monticello almost was destroyed through neglect and the horrors of the Civil War.

The Levy family for more than 80 years were the ones singly responsible for saving Monticello. From fighting off law suits, tresspassers, anti-semitism and simple vandals wanting a piece of Thomas Jefferson's tomb, the Levy's keep the dream alive that Monticello would be there for future generations of American's to see and visualize what Jefferson had in mind.

Uriah Levy, and Jefferson Levy deserve this honest rendering of their story, and so do all Americans.

Michael A. Schwartz
Bethesda, Maryland
8/27/02

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If there were a ten star rating, I would give it to this book! If only all of our Presidents were so committed to the values of home and garden.

This is a wonderful book, both for Jefferson fans and gardeners. Since I'm both, it is doubly wonderful. You can read Jefferson's records of what he planted when, his observations about all sorts of garden topics, his letters to friends and family about gardening, and see the voluminous records he kept about all things horticultural.

Forget About Other Organic Gardening Books! This collection of books and writings by Thomas Jefferson includes decades of his farm records and gardening notes from back when they didn't even have chemical fertilizers, herbiscides, and insecticides yet. He experimented with a huge variety of fruits, vegetables, and fiber plants (including hemp) that he imported from all over the world. He also kept complete ledgers of his slaves, chronicling their births and deaths. He kept records of their production and consumption of linen, wool, blankets, clothing, etcetera. This book is a gold mine of history, gardening tips, livestock records, diary tidbits, photos, diagrams and more.

I keep one copy in my car and one at home. It has been extremely helpful in locating and reviewing golf courses for where ever I am in New York. A must have.

It's one stop shopping for golf courses in NY. Organized geographically, it provides easy access to a listing of local public and private golf courses.

Knowing that the authors are golfers who have personnally visited all of the courses, assures me of a golfers perspective.

I saw this book at Monticello and wish I had bought it. The drawings are crisp and fairly detailed. I would recommend it highly.

I purchased this book at Monticello, and any lover of architecture will enjoy this beautifully conceived work. The paper and print are gorgeous (reminiscent of Tufte's The Visual Display of Quantitative Information) - everyone I've shown it to can't stop looking at it. As a non-architect, at times I wished they had better defined some architectural terms, but overall the text is also quite good. If you enjoy aesthetically pleasing books, this beats almost every art book I've ever seen.

Peter J. Hatch, head of gardening at Thomas Jefferson's beloved plantation, Monticello, offers an authorative and edifying look at the orchards and fruits grown historically and today at this beautiful Virginia estate.With much information -- both historical and practical -- the reader is taught much. And has a unique opportunity to know better not just Thomas Jefferson, the man and statesman, but Thomas Jefferson the consummate gardener.Beautifully photographed and illustrated, it's an elegant addition to any gardener's coffee table or library. And for the serious fruit grower or Monticello afficionado, a must.

This book is awesome! It is one research paper, but it seems so short and reads so easily. It really opened my eyes to the way of life for Monticello slaves. If you are a Thomas Jefferson fan, you need to read this. It will show you an unbiased view of him as a slaveowner.

Photographer Robert Lautman has taken and assembled a remarkable set of photographs depicting scenes which a visitor would see upon touring the wonder that is called Monticello. Near the beginning of this book are two architectural drawings showing the first floor room layouts. Numbers appear on these drawings and they indicate the approximate camera positions for each black and white photographic plate.This is an outstanding photo-tour of Jefferson's custom built mansion. I would have given it a 10 rating had it not been for a few little features and omissions which detracted from the work. The major distraction centered on an obviously retouched photograph showing the surrounding hills as seen from Monticello. The photographer, in an attempt to show what the view might have looked like for Jefferson, had to manipulate the photograph to remove or minimize modern distractions such as houses, roads and other man-made edifices. While the intent to recapture a lost vision is a good one the execution wanting. It would have been nice to see more than one photograph of the second floor rooms.

If you are interested in Thomas Jefferson or Monticello, this is a terrific book. Over 150 of Jefferson's personal possessions are photographed and documented with detailed explanations and provenance of the items. Covered are varied objects such as works of art, china, portraits, scientific instruments, natural history specimens, and personal objects. This book really illustrates how varied Jefferson's interests were. A very fascinating book!

Undoubtedly, Mr. McLaughlin did his homework when he prepared to write this book. I enjoy biographies, am very fascinated by Thomas Jefferson, and was intrigued by the creative approach Mr. McLaughlin took to tell us about Jefferson by using Monticello as a "prism through which [we] view [Jefferson's] life ...".

Unfortunately, the execution didn't meet expectations and this is most noticable in the areas related to the editing. I had difficulty getting past the meandering style. The anecdotes hop around chronologically, and are not tied together well. There is unnecessary repetition within the annecdotes. Even the grammar is off. (I'm not an editor, so as soon as I extend criticism I'm opening myself up as a target, but I recognize a few errors that would've made my high school English teacher cringe. Where one does this professionally, a higher standard is expected.)

Mr. McLaughlin's book could have been tightend up considerably, and structured in a less meandering way for me to have found greater benefit from reading this book.

There are a lot of books about Jefferson's politics, his religion, his presidency, his time abroad, etc. Even books about Monticello. But this book is unique in that it focuses on how Monticello was actually built. And if you are the least bit interested in Jefferson or early America it is a fascinating read.

It was a revelation to me to learn that Jefferson almost never knew Monticello as we know it today. For nearly his entire life he lived at a construction site -stepping over boards and buckets of plaster, looking through gaping holes in the roof, trying to stay out of the rain, etc.

McLaughlin traces Jefferson's admiration of Palladio (the Italian architect he idolized) and reveals many of the unique problems that had to be overcome during Monticello's construction as well as what was done to overcome them. He also reveals how Jefferson brought skilled craftsmen over from Europe to work on his house, and apprenticed others underneath them to help spread those skills in The United States. These European experts included those skilled in the culinary arts. Many learned to cook alongside his French chef, and Monticello was the first place in The United States where both ice cream and pancakes were prepared.

Two other tidbits that I found fascinating: The first is that Jefferson really gave our country its architectural language. He designed the capitol of Virginia, and our public buildings in Washington D.C. reflect Jefferson's style. In addition, the beautiful mansions of the antebellum South with their columns and porticos were heavily influenced by Jefferson. Monticello was the first building in our country to look that way and subsequent builders followed Jefferson's lead.

The second tidbit is the realization that the bricks used to build Monticello were made from the ground that was dug out for the underground passageways. So, unlike almost any other building Monticello has a unique relationship with the land it sits on.

If you are interested in Jefferson, homebuilding, early America, or especially if you are an architect, you will enjoy this book.

This is a fascinating biography of Thomas Jefferson because, as the author states, "This is not the usual kind of Thomas Jefferson biography; his revolutionary activities, political life, and public career as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, Vice President, and President are only glanced at obliquely. To use an old-fashioned term, it is a domestic life. It attempts to capture a personal and private Jefferson, to detail his relationships with his extended family and friends. The prism through which I view his life is the most most creative artifact of an exceptionally creative man--Monticello."

It goes without saying that Jefferson was an extraordinarily gifted human being, highly creative in many areas, including political thought and architecture. Yet, as this book makes plain, he was also very conventional in many ways. This was particularly true of his attitude towards women: "Like most men of his age, Jefferson believed women's interests were to be confined chiefly to housekeeping and childbearing. ... He also felt strongly that women, plain or fancy, brilliant or dull, had a single purpose in life, marriage and subordination to a husband."

McLaughlin's book shows Jefferson to be an extremely private person, one who for example destroyed all correspondence with his mother and with his wife. Thus any biography of him necessarily requires a great deal of interpretation to fill in the gaps. Although McLaughlin does an admirable job of doing so, his understanding may nevertheless be incomplete. He states, "If there is an identity theme to Jefferson's personality ... it is contained in the Head-Heart letter [to Maria Cosway]. Such a theme might be stated this way: the need for a tight rational control over life's exigencies must be balanced by an ability to feel and express love. It was only within the framework of family relationships--his wife, daughters, and grandchildren--that Jefferson was able to strike this balance." What goes unexamined is Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemings--was this love? If so, what is is about Jefferson that allowed him to have lasting love only with a much younger woman of color who was also his slave? The record of Jefferson's relationship with Hemings is not revealed in Monticello, and so remains out of McLaughlin's reach. Nevertheless, McLauglin sheds a great deal of light on a most mysterious man.