"Most Blessed of the Patriarchs"

Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination

By: Annette Gordon-Reed, Peter S. Onuf

Narrated by: Karen Chilton

A groundbreaking work of history that explicates Thomas Jefferson's vision of himself, the American Revolution, Christianity, slavery, and race.

Thomas Jefferson is still presented today as a hopelessly enigmatic figure despite being written about more than any other Founding Father. Lauded as the most articulate voice of American freedom even as he held people in bondage, Jefferson is variably described by current-day observers as a hypocrite, an atheist, and a simple-minded proponent of limited government.

Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed teams up with the country's leading Jefferson scholar, Peter S. Onuf, to present an absorbing and revealing character study that finally clarifies the philosophy of Thomas Jefferson.

Tracing Jefferson's development and maturation from his youth to his old age, the authors explore what they call the "empire" of Jefferson's imagination - his expansive state of mind born of the intellectual influences and life experiences that led him into public life as a modern avatar of the enlightenment, who often likened himself to an ancient figure - "the most blessed of the patriarchs".

©2016 Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf (P)2016 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Karen Chilton's fluid alto is a good fit for this biography of Thomas Jefferson.... Chilton's pacing and inflection are never off. She narrates with a calm demeanor, competently affecting various accents for quotes and ably giving subtle expression to the narrative. It all adds up to an enjoyable listening experience." ( AudioFile)

Interesting book.

Learned things I did not know. Would recommend to history enthusiasts. Try it out now.

Best biography

I’m not a scholar, that being said, in my view this was perhaps the best biography that I have read. The author does a remarkable job getting into the mind of Jefferson and helps us judge him in both our time in his.

A good listen.

"Most Blessed of the Patriarchs" was an interesting read into Jefferson. Here, Gordon-Reed and Onuf attempt to show how Jefferson’s personal philosophies, and the intrinsic clashes that occurred between these philosophies, not only made Jefferson who he was, but also the world around him.

The book is split into three parts, "Patriarch", "Traveller", and "Enthusiast", each giving us an insight into Jefferson's differing philosophies, and how they clashed. Considering that, History more or less gives us one or two views through which to see a person's character via Historiography, I found this book offered a third way to look through the historical lens. One that shows how history, environment, and personal philosophy made Jefferson. Patriarch deals mainly with what Jefferson thought being an Independent American Man was which would later lead to his push for an agrarian society. Traveller deals with Jefferson’s life away from his home, Monticello. Here, we see Jefferson’s thought begin to change in regards to reform in America. It is here that we see that Jefferson began to value “the pure, uncorrupted institutions of the republican new world” (135). Here, the vision of a republic of yeoman farmers was truly cemented in Jefferson’s mind.

Finally, in Enthusiast, we see a side of Jefferson that is uniquely human. We see a side of Jefferson that enjoys music and one who likes to entertain at Monticello, and one who spent time in solitude for prayer and faith. Here Jefferson is adamant in his philosophy that a patriot would never force his religion upon others, including his own family.

Gordon-Reed and Onuf use a variety of sources, such as Jefferson’s personal letters, as well as Gordon-Reed’s own books. While I find her argument to be enlightening and more or less convincing, one of her weakest points was trying to pull a philosophy that clashed from Jefferson. Any philosophy can clash with any other personal philosophy in varying ways, thus resulting in something similar to Jefferson’s own clashes. However, I will say that the authors do offer a new look at Jefferson, one that doesn’t classify him as a founding father or a slave owner. In a way, Gordon-Reed and Onuf cast Jefferson as uniquely human, giving him back his agency as an independent thinker, an independent American, and a Patriot.

Amazing book!!!!

This book and narrator is unbelievable! Vocab is amazing. Perfect account of information. I learned so much!

Most Hammered of the Patriarchs

As a Southerner who has always been a huge TJ fan, I can quite readily accept the fact that he was seriously conflicted between his stated ideals of citizen equality (which he failed to fully extend to women and even moreso come to grips with toward the enslaved) and his personal life that clearly included taking advantage of his slave Sally Hemmings as his mistress. While this inconsistency certainly merits exploration, by the midpoint of the book I was really getting tired of the unrelenting way the author continually beat the listener over the head on this point. I felt this continual focus resulted in giving short shrift to the many other activities and accomplishments of this classic Renaissance man.