The Memoir of Thomas Jefferson

This is truly a fascinating, if unexciting memoir by Thomas Jefferson. It's a little frustrating because it ends right after he resigns as secretary of state, and before all the real excitement of his life starts. Nevertheless, in the sections that cover his diplomatic career during the war, he definitely names names and throws people under the bus, which is always the real fun of a political memoir, isn't it?

Either way, as a historical document this is important and interesting to read. We often know our founders through snippets, or political documents, or letters and journals. But we don't often read at length their own thoughts for the public about the politics of the time. It does help give some perspective, as they often find things to be of the utmost importance that we barely get taught in history classes now. It just goes to show you that we are at a historical disadvantage in the present, without clarity of what is going to be significant and what is not.

So, as history and as a document it's interesting, but as a piece of writing, it isn't riveting or flowing or funny or exciting. It's the writing of an overly serious 30-something who thinks he has had enough excitement for a full lifetime and wants to share that will also shifting blame and explaining things. Little does he know how the narrative of his life was to unfold after this ended. But I would not read this for fun.

The various appendices are interesting in one degree. It's a spattering of letters, private thoughts, and documents he wrote that shed some light on the nuances and weeds involved in creating a country from scratch. So that sort of world building is great. But again, I really wouldn't read this for fun.

For me, I read this in conjunction to some other Thomas Jefferson biographies to see Jefferson's own side of events which I had just read about. I really thought it was going to be way more exciting than it was. It's just really dry. But if you have the fortitude for such historical nerding out, then you'll enjoy it.