"[Jefferson's] life is a riveting story of our nation's founding--an improbable turn of events that seems only in retrospect inevitable. Few are better suited to the telling than Jon Meacham. . . . Captivating."--The Seattle Times

"[Meacham] brings to bear his focused and sensitive scholarship, rich prose style ... The Jefferson that emerges from these astute, dramatic pages is a figure worthy of continued study and appreciation ... [a] very impressive book."--Booklist (Starred Review)

"An outstanding biography that reveals an overlooked steeliness at Jefferson's core that accounts for so much of his political success."--Kirkus Reviews

"Jon Meacham understands Thomas Jefferson. With thorough and up-to-date research, elegant writing, deep insight, and an open mind, he brings Jefferson, the most talented politician of his generation--and one of the most talented in our nation's history--into full view. It is no small task to capture so capacious a life in one volume. Meacham has succeeded, giving us a rich presentation of our third president's life and times. This is an extraordinary work."--Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello

"This terrific book allows us to see the political genius of Thomas Jefferson better than we have ever seen it before. In these endlessly fascinating pages, Jefferson emerges with such vitality that it seems as if he might still be alive today."--Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals

"Jon Meacham resolves the bundle of contradictions that was Thomas Jefferson by probing his love of progress and thirst for power. Here was a man endlessly, artfully intent on making the world something it had not been before. A thrilling and affecting portrait of our first philosopher-politician."--Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra: A Life

"A true triumph. In addition to being a brilliant biography, this book is a guide to the use of power. Jon Meacham shows how Jefferson's deft ability to compromise and improvise made him a transformational leader. We think of Jefferson as the embodiment of noble ideals, as he was, but Meacham shows that he was a practical politician more than a moral theorist. The result is a fascinating look at how Jefferson wielded his driving desire for power and control."--Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs

"This is probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written; it is certainly the most readable."--Gordon Wood, author of The Radicalism of the American Revolution

"This is Jon Meacham's best book yet. Evocatively written and deeply researched, it sheds brilliant light on facets of Thomas Jefferson we haven't seen before, gives us original and unexpected new insights into his identity and character, and uses the irresistible story of this talented, manipulative, complicated man to bring us life lessons on universal subjects from family and friendship to politics and leadership. The Sage of Monticello made a considerable effort to turn his life into a mystery, but in a splendid match of biographer with subject, Meacham has cracked the Jefferson code."--Michael Beschloss