Jefferson on Jefferson.By Paul M. Zall. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. , c. 2002. Pp. [xvi], 160. $25.00, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-8131-2235-X.) The author of Franklin on Franklin (Lexington, Ky., 2000) and Lincoln on Lincoln (Lexington, Ky., 1999) attempts to encapsulate en·cap·su·late v. 1. To form a capsule or sheath around. 2. To become encapsulated. en·cap the life of yet another historical figure using the subject's own words. For the first two-thirds of Jefferson on Jefferson, Zall relies heavily on Jefferson's autobiography (1821), though even here Zall intersperses a few pertinent letters. Since Jefferson never completed the autobiography, Zall must rely on letters and other writings for the period after 1790, three-and-a-half decades that include Jefferson's service as secretary of state, vice president, and president as well as his retirement years. Fortunately, Jefferson estimated that he had written eighteen thousand letters in all, most of them during the second half of his life. While it is impossible to convey the life of any historical figure--let alone one who possessed the diverse pursuits of Thomas Jefferson--in 139 pages of text, Zall manages to touch upon all of Jefferson's primary concerns. Though most of the book is devoted to Jefferson's political career, Zall also includes letters that highlight Jefferson's interests in architecture, music, philosophy, religion, science, public education, and the classics. Nevertheless, Zall's decision, to present Jefferson's life solely in his own words has serious pitfalls. Zall's avoidance of critical analysis leaves the reader bereft of any corrective to Jefferson's biases. This is especially true of Jefferson's paranoid view of the Federalists as monarchists conspiring against the republic. Zall does not note, for instance, that John Adams's public and private writings completely refute re·fute tr.v. re·fut·ed, re·fut·ing, re·futes 1. To prove to be false or erroneous; overthrow by argument or proof: refute testimony. 2. Jefferson's accusation that Adams supported hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is the most common style of monarchy and is the form that is used by almost all of the world's existing monarchies. Under a hereditary monarchy, all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one member to another member and aristocracy aristocracy (ăr'ĭstŏk`rəsē) [Gr.,=rule by the best], in political science, government by a social elite. In the West the political concept of aristocracy derives from Plato's formulation in the Republic. . Zall does include textual notes, but he uses them mainly to supply additional factual information. Worse, these notes, which Zall injects directly into Jefferson's texts, are sometimes more distracting than illuminating. In one case Zall even inserts a textual note in the middle of one of Jefferson's sentences. Furthermore, the reader often receives no warning (other than by tracing the sources in the endnotes) when Zall moves between Jefferson's autobiography and his contemporary letters. In one instance the reader's only clue is that Jefferson's words shift abruptly from the present to the past tense past tense n. A verb tense used to express an action or a condition that occurred in or during the past. For example, in While she was sewing, he read aloud, was sewing and read are in the past tense. Noun 1. . While specialists in the early American republic will find nothing new in Jefferson on Jefferson, general readers may value it as a concise and colorful (albeit uncritical) summary of the life of one of the nation's leading founders. Readers of every variety will enjoy the eloquent prose of a gifted man, whose vast knowledge and varied interests uniquely qualify him for the title of "Renaissance Man Renaissance man n. A man who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences. Noun 1. ." CARL J. RICHARD University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette,[1] is a coeducational public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana. |
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