If you're looking for a book that explores the true character of Martha Jefferson and her relationship with her husband...THEN DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS. I can only assume that the other glowing reviews on this page were posted by the author's family. This book is not history--but romance- and it's not even well-written. Anyone associated with this thing should be embarrassed.

Martha Jefferson did not live long enough to see her husband enter the White House. Because of that, so little was known about her. Through Kelly's painstakingly detailed research, intuition, and clairvoyance, not to mention her memories of love for Thomas, she has retraced Martha's life, and earned the respect of her fellow Jefferson historians. Martha's life was not always joyful and she struggled with her health. Rather than being a romantisized view of a famous President's wife, this is a portrait of a real woman, with the backdrop of the reality of those times.

This book gave me a better feel for Thomas Jefferson the living, breathing, feeling man than any biography of him that I had read, and gave me, too, a believable portrait of Martha Jefferson as plantation wife. It is a vivid, living description of colonial life, by an author who has made recognized scholarly contributions to our understanding of the time. I don't see how anyone interested in colonial and revolutionary America can fail to be interested in reading this gripping book.

After reading Wounds one has the urge to go into the street and see if there really are pale, glamorous, at times androgynous people wandering around whispering things and hidden desires into our minds... Jemiah Jefferson's book gives hope to those disillusioned by other tamer works. The book revolves around the twisted yet understandable relationship of Daniel...While favorites from the past book popup for guest appearances, Sybil, one of the truly most captivating characters I've ever read, leaps to the spotlight of the story. Scarred and extremely psychotic Sybil brings the inhuman side to humanity alive, a perfect compliment to Daniel's conflicting and struggling emotions. The engaging, sometimes shocking scenes add a layer of intensity and an overall chilling effect throughout. Along with rich descriptions, wonderful dialogue and fantastic narration Wounds is a joy to read not only for fans of Voice of the Blood or vampire stories but also for fans of well-written literature everywhere.

Jemiah outdoes 'Voice of the Blood' with 'Wounds.' In her second novel, we're treated to vampire Daniel Blum, who was sex and swagger in her first novel, but here his character is more fleshed out and more facets of his personality and emotions are explored. Daniel is a mastermind of getting into someone's head and detecting their thoughts, but when he meets former stripper Sybil, he cannot do that with her. I commend Jemiah for making Sybil a vampire's love interest who isn't your typical woman, but instead, tall and voluptuous, with a crazy sense of style. She's got many demons of her own, namely her relationship with her now-dead friend Sonic Ruth, and even though she claims to have murdered her, it's strictly from Sybil's dialogue, which makes it even more of a mystery. Daniel and Sybil utilize art as a means of shaking up the general masses and end up in a love-hate relationship where it's a constant power struggle, trying to see who could hurt each other more - and god, does it build up. Jemiah's prose is simultaneously lush and razor sharp, and just like 'Voice of the Blood', ...

This book "Wounds" Is Outstanding! Jemiah's writing is still as refreshing and addictive as it ever was. If you enjoyed "Voice of the Blood" And have not yet read "Wounds" then I would highly advise checking it out. In this Book Jemiah, Yet again Brings to life your favorite characters from 'VOTB'In a Brand new City with a brand new story. It's a very well datailed novel that will be just as hard to put down as her other book. In this story Jemiah brings to life a new character "Sybil" She,Being the only Person who's mind Daniel Could not read, Becomes His new infatuation and ultimiatley his demise. I would HIGHLY recomend this novel to anyone with an open mind,who has the time to sit and read this book for a few hours.

The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson by Daniel J. Boorstin is a look into the early years preceding the birth of the United States and the climate of thought that was current at that time.
Scientific knowledge was starting to be shared and Jefferson seemed to absorb and process a lot of that times current philosophies.

This book is invaluble if you realy want to study or "get a feel" for the times of the 18th and early 19th century. The author goes to great pains in explaining particular events and ideas that were concerning these early scientific thinkers.

This book conveys the thought process behind the events and how the minds of the thinkers moved the nation. Mostly, this book is about American intellectual history, and is engaging as it is history of ideas. These ideas are blended with a purpose to bring the thought of the time into perspective and defines the key problems facing how Jefferson appeared.

This book is worthy of a place on your bookshelf, for reference and a look into American life and thought, aspects that are hard to see today, but are brought out richly in this book.

I highly recommend reading this book by one of America's leading historians .

The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson provides an in depth study of the philosophies and amazing depth of scientific knowledge that Thomas Jefferson displayed during his lifetime. The renowned historian, Daniel Boorstin, wrote this wonderful historic piece decades before his more famous works of The Creators, The Discovers and The Seekers. Boorstin's ability to explain a specific set of events and ideas amid the complex myriad of late 18th and early 19th century concerns in political thought and philosophy makes this book a invaluable reference. Thomas Jefferson's basic principle that all law, social construction and philosophy should be grounded with "Natural Law" is explained at depth. Boorstin also explains how the liberal ideals attributed to Jefferson were misinterpreted in the 100 years following his death. If you an interest in either early American Anthropology (although term was not being used per se, it is the only accurate way to describe the emphasis of this book) or American Scientific thought, then this book must grace your shelf.

Boorstin is the best historian I have read. He brings history to life by examining the thought behind the events and the assumptions behind the thought. This is not so much a book about what happened as to why it happened; what the underlying ideas were of the minds that moved the nation at its birth. Boorstin manages to effectively communicate thought processes that are foreign to the modern age. A remarkable achievement. I plan on reading more of his work in the future. Highest recommendation!

This is a very difficult read: It IS difficult to read and it is impossible to agree with.

The author takes his reader down so many side streets and back alleys that at times the story being told is lost. A clearer rendition would improve readability, define the fact trail and clarify the necessary interpretations. More time should have been spent focusing on the very real threat of war with France and the intensity of the negotiation. Less time should have been spent on the character development of the principal players.

I came away feeling the story was forced to fit a preordained conclusion. At a minimum, the fact interpretation is faulty. For example, Louisiana became a state in 1812. The Battle of New Orleans was fought in 1815. How could the Battle of New Orleans have "finally secured" the Louisiana Purchase when a part, and at the time, the key part, of the original purchase had been admitted to the Union over two years earlier? If we went to war over the Brits stealing our citizens off our ships, does the author really think we would have allowed them to keep a state? Especially when the battle was fought 2 weeks after the war ended?

This is not as good an effort as it could have been. This book is clouded at best.

In Jefferson's Great Gamble, Charles A. Cerami gives the reader a look behind the scenes of the greatest real estate deal in American history. We see all of the participants, some mere glimpses, others in-depth. It was a moment in time when their strengths and weaknesses showed clearly.

Cerami has done a great service to those who study Early American history. But it is the less dedicated students who may learn things they never knew. For instance, we learn here about Robert Livingston, a man who has been nearly lost to history, yet the one who was present at the beginning of the negotiations between the United States and France. The story opens with information on Livingston and how his relationships with the leaders of France made it all possible. We learn, too, about the machinations used by Jefferson and Madison, from disinformation to sending Monroe to conclude the deal. Going from seeking to purchase New Orleans, in order to secure use of the Mississippi, to being offered the whole of Louisiana, whose boundaries were only vaguely known,

Although some of the narrative is slightly disjointed, it is not difficult to follow the story. The participants often seem petty and self-serving, yet their strength of character and dedication to their countries stand out. This is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the early history of America or the Napoleonic period.

Jefferson's Great Gamble, by Charles Cermani is a gem. The author has exhibited the rare ability to lift the historical character right off the page, and allow us to meet that person on a very intimate basis.

The strength of Mr. Cermani's book rests on the wonderful characterizations of Jefferson, Bonaparte, Talleyrand, Marbois, Livingston, Madison and Monroe. The author expertly weaves the personalities of these men, their strengths, and weaknesses, into the fabric that is the story of The Louisiana Purchase. It is a complete story as told by Mr. Cermani. The actual facts of the purchase are not neglected, but highly enhanced by the various character studies, and exploration of how personalities, and circumstances determined the ultimate outcome.

Of particular interest were the descriptions of how Jefferson and Madison used disinformation to influence a decision by the French, and the very strange relationship the Jefferson administration had with their man in Paris, Robert Livingston.

Mr. Cermani also employed a style of writing that produced a very readable book. The flow of the text was wonderful, and was almost novel like as at times I could not put the book down.

I would encourage anyone with an interest in American history, or just good writing, to read this well researched, and written offering on one of the great events in American history. You won't be disappointed.

Jefferson Brim Crow is an unadulterated fan of Randolph Scott, and his adoration of the great Western star is evident. Unfortunately, Crow is no film history scholar, and his book is really not much more than an impressively printed fan's scrapbook. Real biographical information is sparse, there are no substantial interviews of Scott's colleagues (of the four "interviews" in the book, two are one-sentence remarks and the other two are almost remarkably uninformative Q&A's of this sort: "Q: 'Do you know his birthplace?' A: 'I don't know.'").
The vast majority of the book is a collection of photographs, many quite interesting, but scattered randomly without connection to the adjacent text, i.e., photos of Scott's late 1950s Westerns in a chapter dealing with his early romantic juvenile period. There is a filmography with minimal detail, and a long section consisting of photocopied newspaper articles about Scott, many of which are no more than publicity blurbs. There is virtually no criticism of any kind; even the worst Scott films are beloved of the author and no critical evaluation of Scott's acting skills is attempted. And whether or not one believes or cares one way or the other about the rumors and innuendo regarding Scott's relationship with Cary Grant, it is astounding to find the one purportedly objective book to focus specifically on Scott's career completely ignoring the fact that such rumor and innuendo had significant effect on Scott's career and personal life. Crow never mentions it. It would be perplexing were it not evident that this is a fan book, written by a fan who has no interest in anything beyond promoting adoration for his idol. It's quite a nice book to look at, barring the abundant misspellings and middle-school syntax. But a real Randolph Scott biography or filmography, one that is useful to serious students of American film, has yet to be published.

Excellent phots but weak on information about production of the films and their audience or critical reception.

As a matter of fact it is a great book on Randolph Scott, our favourite big screen cowboy heroe. I recommend it.

Mario Peixoto Alves

So, it's a little far-fetched, a little bit technical and ascary scenario to think about, I still liked it a bunch! Joshua, theFBI agent; and John, the unlikely sports writer turned secret agent, drew me in and kept me on the edge of my chair throughout the entire read. I enjoyed the tension between the two men--and the terrible bond that held them together. I'm happy to have discovered T. Jefferson Parker recently. Loved The Blue Hour also. Parker has the ability to capture the inner workings of his characters' minds--and besides that he can tell a mighty interesting story. I must also say I was drawn to the villain in the story. It was so very hard to hate him... I recommend this book....I really liked it.

I think I understand why some folks gave THE TRIGGERMANS DANCE a fair review.

It starts really SLOW..so slow that I was thinking about the next book I was going to read. The character's..at the beginning..are not very interesting..and the story plods along.

But..as I said..near page 100 or so..I began to care about John and the FBI agent, Joshua.

The story is basically about revenge and what some are willing to do to achieve it. Two men in love with the same woman join forces to bring down the guy they think is responsible for a murder and there broken hearts. Is this guy guilty or innocent?

When the author introduces Van Holt, a former FBI agent things really begin to take off. The tension builds and builds. Summing up..I would say..Stay with this one.
T.Jefferson Parker knows how to write a good thriller, this time it just took a little while to get going.

A page turner from the beginning..

The elements of a great mystery are here. A book that interweaves the issue of slavery, the questions around Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, and the imperatives of the Lewis and Clark expedition with a story about a serial killer sounds promising, but the book does not deliver...There's simply not enough suspense or mystery here, the writing is often annoying, and the characters aren't very interesting. Perhaps some will enjoy this as a light read. Not recommended.

Before reviewing this book, let me warn potential readers that this book contains much off-color language and disgusting details of extreme sexual misbehavior. This is not your normal Jane Langton novel where some sedate professor performs a fairly clean murder. Instead, there is a relatively uneducated serial killer of a most disgusting sort involved. To me, the gross aspects of the serial killer were not essential to the story, and simply lessened the appeal of the book.

Almost all of the characters in Murder at Monticello are obsessed by some aspect of Jefferson's life or of the Lewis and Clark expedition into the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. A July 4th celebration of the bicentennial year of Jefferson's becoming the third president draws these characters to Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. While some characters are looking forward to the big fireworks show, others are planning to make their own fireworks.

The familiar Homer and Mary Kelly come down from Cambridge, Massachusetts at the invitation of a friend who offers them a free place to stay. A former student, Fern Fisher, is working on a new biography of Jefferson to help improve his reputation despite having been a slave holder and having possibly had sexual relations with one of his slaves, who was the half-sister of his deceased wife. Augustus Upchurch, a local benefactor of Jefferson studies, has helped raise the money to fund the book, but also becomes interested in Ms. Fisher despite the wide difference in their ages. Ms. Fisher sees apparitions of Jefferson in and around Monticello. Tom Dean, a local man who is about to enter medical school, is fascinated by Lewis and Clark, and through this meets Ms. Fisher and extends his interests to include her. The local police chief owns the Oxford English Dictionary and spends his free time looking up what the words in the Declaration of Independence meant in Jefferson's time. The serial killer imagines himself being related to one of the men in the Lewis and Clark expedition, based on having been raised on the Missouri River in Bismarck, North Dakota. Homer Kelly starts reading up on Lewis and Clark. Each chapter begins with a quote from the expedition's journals.

Like all Homer and Mary Kelly stories, there's not much mystery here. There are simply tangled skeins of lives and story lines that overlap. The individual stories are more of an excuse to delve into a particular period of history than serious fiction. Being quite familiar with Jefferson and the Lewis and Clark expedition, the only new knowledge that the book imparted were more details than I wanted to know about the sexual habits of the men on the expedition.

The overall theme of Murder at Monticello is that obsessions are bad for us, because they blind us to more positive opportunities to connect with others and more meaningful activities.

Unless you feel a compulsive need to read all of these stories by Ms. Langton, I suggest you skip this one. Of her recent efforts, I thought that Dead as a Dodo was far superior to Murder at Monticello. The ideas developed in that book about Darwin are far more interesting than the slim intellectual foundation of Murder at Monticello.

I do like Ms. Langton's new habit of taking the Kellys to new locations outside of Massachusetts. I hope Ms. Langton continues this trend in her upcoming novels.

Search for the opportunities to expand goodness, and then act on them!

I am always impressed by the ability Jane Langton shows in each of her books to encompass varying subject matters in such details. This book uses the expedition of Lewis & Clark to intertwine various lives and loves. As usual with Homer Kelly books, the reader knows the culprit, or at least knows who did NOT do the crime(s). This book contains some rather brutal murders, although the subject is handled in the usual Langton finesse. Homer and Mary do not figure so very much in this episode, with much of the action centering on guest characters. It is, as always, well-written, and, also as always, the pencil drawings by the author add to the enjoyment of reading this book. All in all, this is a fine addition to the series and I am looking forward to reading the next.

Jefferson: Great defender of human rights or hypocrite? You will still be wondering after finishing this novel. This book bogs down in detail and neither grabs the reader with a great plot or interesting characters. Easily eclipsed by Byrd's second historical novel, Jackson (5 stars!). However, the book is full of interesting historical people and is set in a very interesting time (prerevolutionary France). History buffs should enjoy while literature buffs should avoid. Psychology buffs maybe (the author suggests that Jefferson disliked his mother and that shaped his feelings on many things such as his view of England). I think that both the good and bad reviews of this book are fair and on the mark.

Through happenstance, I've read three of Max Byrd's novels in reverse order. The first (for me) being "Grant", then "Jackson", and finally this book, "Jefferson". At first, I felt that Byrd's books got better with each novel but toward the end of "Jefferson", I began to alter my view. It is a wonderful account of fictionalized history of Jefferson's time in Paris. They're some constants in each book. There's enough sex, including James Heming's visit to some of the brothels of Paris, to provide a lurid view for those that need such enticement and there's also the book within a book. In this book, William Short, who was Jefferson's secretary while he was this Nation's diplomat to France writes his memoirs of Jefferson. Byrd does a wonderful job with these memoirs, including a description of Patrick Henry's famous speech at St. John's church in Richmond. Furthermore, the book does an excellent job of contrasting very vocal Henry, who wrote little and seldom stayed for the "pick-and-shovel" work of committees and meetings, with Jefferson who seldom gave speeches but could put words onto paper that endure for all time...the Declaration of Independence among them. As a fan of General Lafayette I was pleased to see so much reference to this exceptional hero who is often overlooked. Byrd accurately portrays Lafayette as not overly brilliant but maintaining close ties to the American society of Paris and fueling the fires for the overthrow of the King. As with all of Byrd's work his detailed research lead to wonderful "tib-bits" of history that might otherwise reside only on dusty selves of scholar's holdings. This book is a wonderful account of Jefferson's time in Paris and deserving of a place in any library.

Max Byrd writes this book of historical fiction through the eyes of William Short as Jefferson's secretary and protege while they were in France. A man young enough to enjoy all that France had to offer; a man close enough to observe Jefferson as his mind observes the French people and the wonders of France.

Reading this book literally puts you into the time and place, descriptions of the sight and smells, sounds and touch of the eighteenth-century of Paris, France. The easily read narative takes you right along with the major characters as they live out their day to day lives. You feel the life breath as they interact, and the psychological insight... John Adams as stout as a tree trunk, bird-breasted with boney knees, Jefferson with an angular nose and chiseled features with blue eyes that revealed nothing, but observation. Ben Franklin short, fat, bald and always a flirt with kidney stones... Ambassador of Babel.

These are just a few of the numerous observations sprikled with humor and wit that takes the reader along on this adverture as a observer of times past.

This was an enjoyable read... I truly loved reading this book of novalized historical fiction.

This book has received unwarranted bad reviews and press simply because it is 'short.' Noble E. Cunningham's purpose, it seems, for this biography of Jefferson, was to present the essential life of Jefferson in such a way that all could enjoy. There have been so many biographies written on Jefferson and most are massive multi- volumes which can come across as very daunting to the average reader.

However, this book, while very well researched and authoritative in its content, is a biography which can be read by the average Joe and the scholar alike. Cunningham's research is very well documented, and the book is put together systematically from "The Formative Years" to "The Final Legacy." So, in a brief space, one can read this volume and learn the essential/perennial events which occurred in Jefferson's life. Moreover, Cunningham delves a little into Jefferson's personal affairs, such as his lost first love - Rebecca Burwell, to his admiration for Patrick Henry. Cunningham also details Jefferson's early intellectual influences and his love for law. In fact, in 349 pages of text, the most crucial and important events which occurred, and have been documented, in Jefferson's life are present in this text.

Therefore, Cunningham's attempt in writing this size biography was not to press his reader down in certain detail. Rather, Cunningham attempted to present a Jefferson which could be widely read by most anyone. His efforts are noble and successful on that level.

However, it must be stated that if you are wanting an intricately more detailed work of Jefferson, then this book will only wet your appetite for more. There are other biographies available (massive multi- volumes) for one to delve much deeper. But here, Cunningham just simply lets his reader know some of the most crucial events and facts. That being the case, this is a good book to begin your research and study of Thomas Jefferson.

I am only an undergrad student, so I admit I'm not all that well read. A wealth of literature has been published on Jefferson. There are a great many books carry out in-depth studies on various aspects relating to Jefferson. This book, is, however, a brief account of Jefferson's entire life.on that account,it is obviously a limited book. Even so the dicussion on Jefferson;s two terms as president are too brief. Yet Cunningham's approach to various subjects-the Embargo, for example are fairly good. The book includes a section on jefferson's last years (in the chapter "The Sage Of Monticello)which is brief yet intersting. Overall, the book tries to encompass Jefferson's personal as well as political life in its contents.Thus it compromises with many aspects.Yet it is a fairly good book overall.It is written in lucid style and would be useful to anyone wanting to obtain a bird's eye view of the life and career of Thomas Jefferson.

There is no dearth of literature on Thomas Jefferson.there are numerous books that offer detailed studies on various aspects of his life, political theory and his career. This book is obviously a brief account of the life and career of Thomas Jefferson. As such, it compromises on a detailed discussion on any one aspect of Jefferson's life, but this is understandable, given the limited scope of the book. Even so the discussion on Jefferson's presidency is a little too brief. However certain topics-such as the Emabargo, are handled fairly well. overall, this book is usefull to anyone who wishes to obtain a bird's eye view of Jefferson's life.

Matthews specializes in revisionist pseudohistory for the limousine liberal crowd. This book tries to portray Jefferson as a Democratic Radical and a quasi-socialist. The author is muddling his own socialist, left-wing philosophy with Jefferson, but misinterpreting quotes and out right fabrication. Matthews is down right distortive of both Jefferson and Madison...

I'd instead recommend Mr. Jefferson by Albert Jay Nock and The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson by David Meyer. The biographies by Dumas Malone are worth noting, but there is no better way to understand Jefferson than read his political writings. Get the Library of America volume with Jefferson's writings.

Over the years, I have noticed that many people make pronouncements about Jefferson without really reading him. When I was in college studying political science, Jefferson and Madison were pigeonholed together as Lockean liberals, for the most part. While his thought seems largely derived from Locke, he takes it in totally new directions.
One day, while doing research for a paper on the ideologies behind the Federalist-Antifederalist debates of the 1780s, I started reading the unabridged version of Jefferson's collected letters and papers. I was looking to get a better insight into how Jefferson viewed the Constitution, but for some reason, I started reading a letter to Madison in which Jefferson proposed his idea that no laws, constitutions, or public debt schemes should be valid more than 19 years after they were passed. Intrigued, I started reading more. The more of Jefferson I read, the more thunderstruck I was. I came to the conclusion that most of the historians I had read had completely misrepresented Jefferson. After I finished the paper I was working on, I took the next several months and read everything that survives of Jefferson's thought. And I came to the conclusion that while Jefferson and Madison were friends and political allies, Jefferson's views of democracy went far beyond anything that Madison (or any of the other leading American politicans of his time) ever dared to utter. In many respects, Jefferson was closer to the French revolutionaries who took power after the French Revolution of 1789 than he was to most of his fellow Founders.
That's why Richard Matthews' book is essential. Matthews explores at length several of the pillars behind Jefferson's thought, including his idea that the earth belongs to the living, from which he derives such ideas as automatic sunset of laws and constitutions and his idea that large estates should be broken up upon the death of the landholder and the land given to the poor. He also delves into Jefferson's concept of the "ward republic." Jefferson, unlike Madison, was confident that average citizens could manage their own civic affairs. To that end, he suggested that counties should be split up into small "wards", akin to the New England town meeting, and that these "ward republics" should directly govern all public matters within their boundaries. Jefferson believed that the man (and in Jefferson's time, it was only men) who learned to manage the affairs of such a "ward republic" would also be a better citizen of his State, and the federal union.
Now Jefferson was no head-in-the-clouds theorist. He was a successful practical politician, and, unlike many of the French Jacobins, knew that in the real world, one could only accomplish so much. So, unlike many other revolutionaries who have won political power, Jefferson was not interested in imposing his idea of the good society upon his countrymen at all costs. But he was quite serious about his ideas.
Matthews overstates his case in a few small areas. But, if one reads this book alongside one of the more conventional discussions of Jefferson's politics, one gets a more balanced view. And in most areas, Matthews seems to catch the nuances of Jefferson's thought better than have other scholars. The proof, of course, comes from reading Jefferson himself. If a library near you has the multi-volume edition of Jefferson's works, I recommend spending some time with him directly. It is no chore; Jefferson is a skillful prose stylist.
One other important area of note: Matthews does a fairly admirable job of assessing Jefferson's racism, and the moral dilemna of slavery. Like a lot of the men of his class and time, Jefferson owned slaves while asserting that slavery was evil. Unlike a lot of his contemporaries, he made no real effort to rectify the situation, and from all accounts, Jefferson was a hard slavedriver, and Jefferson's comments on the intellectual capacities of blacks are reprehensible. Jefferson was also something of a hypocrite when he addresses native Americans. On the one hand, Jefferson admired their societies; on the other hand, Jefferson was a supporter of policies that eventually resulted in the near genocide of native tribes. It is somewhat difficult to reconcile this Jefferson with the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and who came up with so many novel ideas..more than any other 18th Century democratic theorist on this side of the Atlantic. That said, the flaws in Jefferson's character do not change the fact that his radically democratic ideas still have merit.

Richard Matthews "Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson" is great interpretation on the radical nature of the philosophy of Thomas Jefferson. It is amazing to me how the first two reviewers show their how their own ideology ie: "lockean liberalism" is engrafted onto Jefferson. Matthews points out how Jefferson went farther than his fellow revolutionaries in creating a radical democratic philosophy. Jefferson was a true believer in not only a philosophy of liberty, but the best way to preserve that liberty through societal revolution, the "earth belongs to the living" concept, and his view of "ward republicanism".

Jefferson saw the American Revolution as a fulfillment not only of Locke,and Sidney, but also saw it as a new begining for liberated man. This new begining would constantly renew the faith of the American Revolution through periodic change in laws and constitutions. Jefferson wanted to preserve liberty by extending democratic republicanism to virtually all white males through his granting of 50 acres of land to every man in Virginia in the belief that property ownership would secure the liberty fought for in the Revolution. Jefferson's proposals to abolish primogeniture and entail are radical attepts to equalize property relations by as he put it " to put all on an equal footing". This was to increase propery ownership by allowing estates to be given to more than just the eldest son.

Next is Jefferson's "ward republics". This proposal Jefferson saw as his most important. The ward would be the basic unit on democratic government. Similar to New England Townships, these wards would allow for participation in the affairs of society right down to it closest level. Public schools, militia duty, opposition to tyranny from other branches of government could all be begun here. He also included the "care of the poor" and "care of the roads". This proposal I consider as one of his most profound of democratic ideals.

Matthews books is fantastic it illuminates these ideals in the freat Mr Jefferson. A great buy.