The Road to Monticello : The Life of Thomas Jefferson

Our third president was also one of America''s greatest intellectuals. His immense curiosity, deep learning, and unusual vision fuelled his ambition and expanded the possibilities for life in the New World. Kevin Hayes, an expert on the everyday life of colonial America, brings a fresh sensibility to Jefferson''s life story. This is a major new biography of Jefferson; it reveals him in an intimate portrait that is compelling for its careful recounting of daily life details (instead of the familiar political watersheds) and the attention it pays to his rich and full life of the mind, for which Monticello stood as a metaphor.

The sheer variety of Jefferson''s many pursuits-he was an inventor, horticulturist, statesman, architect, and philosopher, among many other things-almost mask the singularity of his genius. But there is little doubt that our third president was also one of America''s greatest intellectuals. This superb new biography focuses on Jefferson''s intellectual and literary life. It follows Jefferson''s education from adolescence to adulthood, examines his interests, and gives new interpretations of his writings. Early writings, including A Summary View of the Rights of British America, the Declaration of Independence, and Notes on the State of Virginia are analyzed in depth. Hayes also provides substantial coverage of Jefferson''s professional, social, and literary activities in Paris and his travels through Europe. He devotes a chapter to the time he served as secretary of state and his publication, The Anas, an extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at George Washington''s presidency. His tenure as vice-president and president is considered in light of the ideas and relationships that were most salient for him during those crucial years. Separate chapters treat his correspondence with John Adams, the formation of the Library of Congress and his retirement library, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, The Autobiography, and the founding of the University of Virginia. Overall, the biography offers an intimate portrait of the life of the mind that Jefferson cultivated and dreamed of one day developing to its full potential while in retirement at Monticello.