Dumas Malone (1892-1986) devoted his academic career to studying Thomas Jefferson, and this superbly researched volume reflects that lifelong scholarship. This book is one in a six-part series examining the life of our third President. I read this book for a college class and immediately grasped the unending pressures that President Jefferson faced in his second term. Malone examines the decision-making options available to Jefferson, usually (and perhaps too often) supporting the eventual route that the President decided upon. This volume's research and analysis is worthy of five stars, not to mention the 1975 Pulitzer Prize the series captured. Unfortunately, Malone's stilted prose - the weakness of most academic historians - produces a rather laborious read. Thus, four stars overall.

What can be said about this monument to Jefferson scholarship? I am sure that somewhere in universities around the United States there are "scholar squirrels who want to put down this invaluable resource in Jefferson studies. It is always the way that mice attempt to gnaw at lions. This is not a perfect work (and my remarks refer to all of the books in the series as a whole), there are somethings, namely Sally Hemmings references which are wrong and will not sit well with American 21st century mores. There is the issue of slavery which was handled much differently 50 years ago than it is now.
Jefferson is not worthy of our interest because of Sally Hemmings and because he kept slaves. Jefferson is great because of the Declaration of Independence and his fight for the rights of man. While it may have been hypocritical to preach liberty and keep slaves, it is doubtful that slavery ever would have been abolished if Jefferson had never gained the prominence that he did. This book and the others that follow show why we should continue to honor the public man even though his private side may have been wanting.

Jefferson: The President second term 1805-1809 is the fifth volume in a series of six, by Dumas Malone and brings us into the last four years of Jefferson's Presidency. I found that the author worked harder to bring out Jefferson the man in this volume... maybe because of the actions of others, (Burr and Marshall), but it is apparent that the author worked hard on this volume.

Jefferson sponsors the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Congress gives Jefferson a little slack, but Arron Burr takes the domestic heat. The Barbary pirates are delt with, but the political views of Jefferson and Marshall heat up to a boiling point. But, Jeferson's second term seems to hit a nadir and he is longing for his Virginia mountain top home where he can finally retire after forty years of service to government.

I found the scholarship to be impeccable, balanced, seemly sympathetic. The overall narrative is detailed and at times engrossing and engaging. Even though we can see Jefferson's excitement with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, we also see heartbreak with Burr and vituperation with Marshall.

Overall, this volume brings us to one of the most interesting times of Jeferson's life... that of retirement. This is one of the most interesting of the volumes so far as we see Jefferson working out the problems that others have wrought upon him.

Compilation of various essays written by various experts about Thomas Jefferson life and his politics as well as his psyhcology.
It is not a biography but you will get all from this book, his life, his times, his politics, his philosophy. One learn many interesting things about this president and some unexpected suprises.His thought about woman and slavery, liberty, politics.

Nowhere in print will you find such a variety of topics, approaches, and attitudes toward the subject in a book about Thomas Jefferson. From Paul Finkelman to Joyce Appleby, these essays by the leading historians of the early republic, plus others like Finkelman, span the gamut. Buy it, you'll like it!

I'm in editor Peter Onuf's Jefferson class at the Univeristy of Virginia and this book is on the required reading list for the class. This book is an outstanding collection of essays on Jefferson the man, the forces that motivated him, and the development of the American nation during his lifetime as affected by the man. The scholarship involved approaches the subject matter from many different perspectives giving a very diverse representation. If you want to learn a wide range of points of view on Jefferson's life, this is the ideal book.

This is a truly fascinating and engaging work. The meaning of indepence from Great Britain is much more profound that one would think on first thought. With this idea in mind, Morgan penetrates to the fundamental ideas and characters of each three men. For both Washington and Adams, I must say that he is right on target. His account of Jefferson is also good, although I cannot help but wonder why Morgan spends some much time and space castigating the man for what he views to be his short-comings. Regardless of the actual merit of his criticisms, he clearly strays rather far from the subject of the work. Nevertheless, the piece as a whole is gem.

Edmund Morgan is perhaps the most readable American colonial historian. Best known for his books on the Puritans and colonial slavery, Morgan here presents three lectures on what three founding fathers thought about independence. George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson are three very complicated individuals, and no short lecture is going to completely explicate their ideas. But Morgan brings his typical verve and clarity to the subject, and speaking as a AP history teacher, I found them to be well worth my time.

I first encountered Morgan's wonderful book in a college history class (thanks, Dr. Bourdon!), but this is no dry academic tome (personally, I think that there is no reason an academic book has to be dry, anyway). The book's three essays--one each on the named presidents and their points of view on the struggle that produced this nation--are both insightful and pleasurable reading. For the casual reader, there is Morgan's gift for anecdote. His description of the personality conflict between Adams and Benjamin Franklin is hilarious, as is Adams' timeless description of the tedium of legislatures (some things really do never change!). That said, there is also serious analysis of these three men, and what each contributed, thought, and said, written with a critcal but respectful tone. It's hard to say which essay is the best, but those who despise Thomas Jefferson for hypocrisy should certainly read his section, and learn about his genuine, if tempered, idealism--a trait we could use more of in the 1990's. This is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to broaden and deepen his or her knowledge of the origins of this country.

At the beginning of the book I could not put the book down. I live so close to Charlottesville and I was very interested in the very possible idea that Thomas Jefferson had a "second" family that was forbidden. The way Thomas Jefferson was portrayed in the book as a man who truely cared about his "second" family, but was unable to express that in front of anyone including them was hard to relate to. I think I am open minded and could not tolerate this behaviour from someone in today's society. Thomas Jefferson is believed to have had several children by Sally Hemmings however the only thing he ever gave to any of them was the privilege to leave Monticello at the age of 21 to live as they wish. Only he would not give them the papers they needed to be legally free. The book portrays Harriet Hemmings as the President's Daughter who passed as white in Philadelphia. She married into a prestigious white family and became a very wonderful person only she can not escape the fact that she has 1/8th black blood. She has a white skin tone with green eyes however she lives everyday wondering if someone, anyone knows who she really is. At the end of the book she finds out that someone has known for several years that she was "black" but never cared! I thought the book was great except towards the end I started to lose interest. This book is a great pic for anyone who is interested in the very possible history of their county's history.

I enjoyed this book, even though i don't agree with some of the decisions harriet made in the book. It was good she was able to buy one of her family member at the slave auctions. I think both of her husband's would have loved her even though, she had black in her, but overall it was a good read, to let you know what happened to some of the characthers first met in Sally hemming.

Truly, this writer is a historian. The size of the book had me somewhat concerned prior to reading. However, I am glad I took the plunge. Wow! I just finished this book yesterday, and much to my chagrin, I discovered how much history I did not know. Even though this book is a novel, it is jammed packed with truisms. She dealt with the difficult history of race i.e. white president, black slave, and all of the dynamics of the era. It is not an easy read and some of the family letters did become somewhat cumbersome near the end. The book left me wanting to know more about the Civil War. She skillfully placed human characteristics on our historical figures. As a result of reading the book I am going to buy her previous work "Sally Hemings" to provide me the background. Educational read.

This, reader, is an unvarnished narrative of one doomed by the laws of the Southern States to be a slave. It tells not only its own story of grief, but speaks of a thousand wrongs and woes beside, which never see the light; all the more bitter and dreadful, because no help can relieve, no sympathy can mitigate, and no hope can cheer. -William Wells Brown, Clotel, or The President's Daughter

Clotel would have historic interest simply by virtue of the fact that William Wells Brown appears to have been the first African American to write a novel. But it's not merely a literary curiosity; it is also an eminently readable and emotionally powerful, if forgivably melodramatic, portrait of the dehumanizing horrors of slave life in the Ante-bellum South. Brown, himself an escaped slave, tells the story of the slave Currer and her daughters, Clotel and Althesa, and of their attempts to escape from slavery. The central conceit of the story is that the unacknowledged father of the girls is Thomas Jefferson himself.

There is an immediacy to the stories here--of slave auctions, of families being torn apart, of card games where humans are wagered and lost, of sickly slaves being purchased for the express purpose of resale for medical experimentation upon their imminent deaths, of suicides and of many more indignities and brutalities--which no textbook can adequately convey. Though the characters tend too much to the archetypal, Brown does put a human face on this most repellent of American tragedies. He also makes extensive use (so extensive that he has been accused, it seems unfairly, of plagiarism) of actual sermons, lectures, political pamphlets, newspaper advertisements, and the like, to give the book something of a docudrama effect.

The Bedford Cultural Edition of the book, edited by Robert S. Levine, has extensive footnotes and a number of helpful essays on Brown and on the sources, even reproducing some of them verbatim. Overall, it gives the novel the kind of serious presentation and treatment which it deserves, but for obvious reasons has not received in the past. Brown's style is naturally a little bit dated and his passions are too distant for us to feel them immediately, but as you read the horrifying scenes of blacks being treated like chattel, you quickly come to share his moral outrage at this most shameful chapter in our history.

GRADE : B

This is a exemplary novel that also deals with the harsh realities of slavery. This novel distinctly tells a true story, which is relevant to ALL Americans (believe it or not. This is a must reader for ALL.

I found this book to be one of the best books about command decisions and relationships between Politicians and generals during the Civil War I have ever read. It covers the battles and the leaders of the Confederacy, both great and flawed. I found it hard to believe that some Southern leaders/generals fought harder against their own side in stupid little infights and disputes. The book goes a long way in explaining Lee's strategy and that of Davis and how they were different and the results of that difference. This book concentrates on the Eastern Theatre, the author's other book 'Jefferson Davis and his Generals' covers the Western Theatre of operations and is brillant in its examination of this area. Both books are well worth reading.

It was ok but if your doing a report then it could get a little boring but it is great information!

When John Groover left town to enter the Marine, it was to avoid prison for his part of an armored car robbery. Now, a year and a half later, he is returning home a hero, having been wounded three times at Guadalcanal.

But not everyone has forgotten what he did in town before he left and a few people don't consider him a hero. While Kate Fallon and Beatrice Bradshaw are busy planning the festivities to honor him on his return to Robinsville, PA, trouble is brewing behind the scenes. Will the town's people forgive his past, or will he be forced to face it again.

This is the third book in the Homefront Mystery series, and each entry gets better. This book offers a twist on the usual formula by presenting the story in a series of flashbacks that Scrappy MacFarland tells a young reporter. This provides some interesting insights into what happened and how that time period is looked at 60 years later.

Most of the story takes place in 1943, and the author still does a good job of transporting us back to that era. Kate shares the spotlight more then ever in this book, but we still get plenty of her perspective. The story moves at a brisk pace, and I had a very hard time putting it down.

There was one thing that really bothered me, however. The timeline in this book, while internally solid, contradicts the timeline of the series, placing book 1 a year before it actually took place. I realize I'm being nit-picky at this point. After all, it really is minor.

If you're looking for a good historical mystery set in the US during World War II, this is the series. You'll want to start with the first (Victory Dance Murder) because this book mentions the solutions to the first two cases.

In a stylistic change from the earlier books in this delightfully old-fashioned series, M. T. Jefferson has imposed himself into the story. At the same time, he keeps the spotlight on the early 1940s in the Pennsylvania town of Robinsville. Thus we still see our old friends Kate Fallon, who is still doing her part for the war effort as a welder at the local factory while her fiance is in Africa or somewhere overseas; and Sparky MacFarland, the newspaper man who believes in the goodness of people--especially those in small towns; and Mrs. B, the British ex-pat who owns the local bookstore.

As December, 1942 turns into January, 1943, Robinsville is astonished to learn that one of its own, Johnny Groover, is coming home from the war in the Pacific--as a bona fide hero! Although never a really bad kid, Johnny ventured from the straight and narrow one time, and got caught, along with several other young men, after having committed an armed robbery. Johnny, being only the lookout, was offered the opportunity to join the Marine Corps --or go to prison. He became a Marine. And after stopping more than a few bullets in a fierce battle--a hero.

He is astonished to learn that he'll be presented with the Medal of Honor by no less than the President--Franklin Roosevelt, after a homecoming and celebration in Robinsville. But something goes horribly awry, and Johnny never gets his medal.

Presented in flashbacks, prompted by the 60 year-old newspaper stories of the event, the young reporter, M. T. Jefferson, is sent to interview the 90-something MacFarland, the only survivor of that era, who was old enough then to know something of what happened. Kate's young brother Paul, is now the editor of the local paper, and he wants to know what MacFarland knows, but has steadfastly refused to reveal. He gives the young reporter contraband cigars with which to bribe the aging but still sharp MacFarland, and the chase is on!

As in the other books, the research exhibited in this story is nothing short of awesome! The songs, the movies, the stars--all are given their due here in this story of a world we'll probably never see again--much to our detriment. However he chooses to present the next story, I'll look forward to reading it. You should, too, even if you're not old enough to remember it as it happened!

Thomas Jefferson Mayfield was only six years old when his family first laid eyes on the grand beauty of the primal San Joaquin Valley in Central California. The year was 1850 and California had just been admitted to the Union as a free state. The Mayfield family settled near Sycamore Creek, east of what is now Bakersfield. The Choinume Yocuts Indians inhabited the region and Thomas Jefferson Mayfield later recalled that the Indians were kind and compassionate to these visitors in their land. On many occasions they showed great care for their welfare.

The Indians provided meat and food stuff during desperate times, without ever being asked. After the brief illness and death of his mother, the Indian women asked Mr. Mayfield if they could watch over little Thomas during his many absences. He knew his son would be in better company with them than the white settlers and gladly agreed to the arrangement. For ten years he grew up knowing security and peace with the Choinumne Indians. He learned their ways and their language, their games and hunting techniques.

Conflict was in store for this peaceful tribe; the Monache Indians of the upper foothills and the settlers became overtly hostile. The Yocuts were the ones caught in the middle. Not only did Thomas Jefferson watch the landscape change, but he also watched his beloved guardians decimated by civilization.

This is Thomas Jefferson Mayfield's spoken testimony to historian Frank Latta of those precious ten years. The book is pleasantly laid out in a sequence that is easy to follow. The large print also makes this publication a joy to read.

As a fifth generation native of California, I had never heard of such a case where a white child lived with any of the local tribes prior to decimation and influence of outside influences. The true nature of these early natives is thus revealed with great credibility. This remarkable experience of the young Mayfield was almost lost when he revealed his story in 1928 for the first time just prior to his death at age 85. Still, it was not until 1993 that this story was published in it's pure and beautiful essence for the modern reader to enjoy and appreciate.

It's been three years since this book was published, and I must note that this book contains a LOT of mistakes!

The pilot episode mentioned on page 10 was titled "Tommy Pickles And The Great White Thing", and you can find a dialogue from it on page 22. That episode never aired on Nickelodeon, but they did use a scene from it on one of the promos for Nick. (Tommy picks the remote up and changes the channel to Nick.)

For those of you who just found out about Tommy's voice, E.G. Daily's initials stand for "Elizabeth Gutman".

"Tommy At Bat" was not the real name for that episode. The actual title was "Baseball".

The episode guide is messed-up on the last few episodes of the 1993 season. The real order goes like this: 62) Kid TV/The Sky Is Falling 63) I Remember Melville/No More Cookies 64) Cradle Attraction/Moving Away 65) Passover

Also the titles for the next three episodes are wrong in this book: They're really named "Chanukah", "Mother's Day", and "Vacation".

About Tommy and Chuckie learning about Didi being pregnant again at the end of "The Family Tree", I must note that Tommy and Chuckie weren't in the final scene for that episode.

And then there's the characters not listed: the new characters introduced from the second movie, and does anyone remember Larry and Steve from the first two seasons?

I LOVE this book! It has from bios to voices, from pictures to amazing facts behind the walls of the Klasky Csupo building. From how they make their cartoon, to the episodes they've made! (Episode List) Every Rugrat lovers must! My family saw it, and made my mom buy it for me! :)

The Ultimate Rugrats Fan Book haas everything a Rugrats fan would ever want to know! From how the series was created, to how an episode is made, to bios of the characters and photos of the cast, producers, artistes, etc! It even has a complete list of episodes! No Rugrats fan should be without this book!