American Sphinx
The Character of Thomas Jefferson

Professor Ellis writes a very condensed story of Jefferson. His focus is not on what would traditionally be considered the major events in TJ's life and work, but instead on the letters, accounts, and actions that Ellis believes allows us to have a view inside TJ's head or character. As Ellis does with many of his books on the revolutionary generation, he focuses a lot on the issue of slavery. In this book, he focuses a lot on the contradiction between all men are created equal and Jefferson's owning of slaves as well as other areas of Jefferson's character that could be viewed as inconsistent or contradictory. The primary problem I have with this book is that it is peppered with Ellis' own views as if they are fact. He frequently ridicules Jefferson's actions or views as simple-minded and misguided. For instance, Jefferson's desire to and success in dismantling the American Debt is to Ellis a silly goal. He talks about how Jefferson was bad with economics and simply didn't understand that a country's debt is not the same as an individual's. He then goes on to write how it is pretty much fact that a country's debt is okay and even necessary and that TJ's attempt to slash government was simple-minded. Given the fact that many economists non-Keynesian's at least view government debt as a way to grow government at the expense of liberty of the people, it makes perfect sense that TJ would focus on govt. debt as his primary goal was to return to the people the liberty that was proclaimed as a god-given right in the Declaration of Independence. This is just one glaring example of how Ellis takes a little too much academic liberty and throws in way too much of his own personal political and economic views into judging TJ. Picture Bill Clinton writing a book judging George W. Bush's character or GWB writing a book judging Clinton's character...there would be a lot of personal views reflected in the writing.

It started when I was reading Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage, this niggling feeling of discomfort I get when reading a book when the author seems to be taking opportunities to lionize his/her subjects – or at the very least, portraying them in a simplistic, single facet. I’ve had this issue with Ambros......more

After my frustration with Meacham's Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, I was hopeful Ellis would give me a better grasp on Jefferson's character. He did not disappoint. Jefferson it is still hard to grasp, he is elusive but Ellis captures Jefferson's contradictions, hypocrisy, a little paranoia, hi......more

As I read "American Sphinx", an odd thing happened. The more I learnt about Jefferson the less I liked him. The Jefferson of Ellis' biography is an arrogant, obsessive ideologue, whose successes are the lucky results of others' hard work, and whose failures are inevitable given his substantial flaws......more

A provocative survey of an enlightenment thinker and statesman who could never outdistance his contradictions. My friend Mark Prather selected this for samizdat and a number of us read such and with a formality of discussion. The passage of a couple decades would likely have adjusted those younger i......more

This book is more a series of portraits than a biography. It doesn't tell Jefferson's story in one long arc, but rather captures him at significant periods of his life. This method works well for Ellis (see: Founding Brothers), probably because the broader view allows him to write more lyrically tha......more