American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas

American Sphinx is not a standard beginning-to-end biography but more of a character study that attempts to explore the thought life of Thomas Jefferson at key points in his life. As such, I would really only recommend it to those who already have a general grasp of Jefferson’s life and career. As the title suggests, Jefferson was a complicated man who had a wide range of opinions and views over his eight decades of life. As such, there is something in his writings for nearly every conceivable group to grab onto and call their own. Over the course of American history, the mantle of Jefferson has been claimed by populists, states’ rights advocates, nullifiers, abolitionists, slave owners, atheists (or agnostics), religious liberty advocates, New Deal Democrats, and limited government Goldwater-Reagan era conservatives. As should be obvious, many of these groups mentioned above are diametrically opposed in their worldview and desired political objectives.