Jefferson Author:Albert Jay Nock Reprint of 1926 edition. — "A superb biographical essay, beautifully written and penetrating in analysis. Albert Jay Nock understands Jefferson so well that one despairs of going at all beyond him." — Richard Hofstadter in The American Political Tradition — the most captivating single volume in the Jefferson literature. — "The book makes no pretense... more » of being more than it actually is "a study in conduct and character." It lacks, deliberately, the fullness of biography and the thickness of history. Its true distinction lies - where Nock meant it to lie - in the revelation of an incredibly subtle and elusive human being. Given the task he set himself, Nock selected for emphasis those characteristics and strivings of Jefferson's life that best revealed the man. Thus he dwelled on Jefferson the Farmer and skipped Jefferson the Author of the Declaration of Independence, thereby outraging the canons of historical importance. The method was essentially that of an accomplished English essayist, which Nock was. He was also a finished scholar, a brilliant editor, and a connoisseur of taste and intellect. Bringing these several talents to bear on an agreeable subject, Nock produced a literary portrait which makes its impression through a multitude of fine touches."
From the INTRODUCTION by Merrill D. Peterson« less