The conceit of a biography of Thomas Jefferson through the lens of his writings is a conceit tailor-made to interest me and Kaplan, by and large, does an excellent and interesting job of it. He is willing to criticize some writings for not being his best and to draw attention to some under appreciated writings, like his inaugural addresses, especially his second one. He acknowledges that his approach leaves out entirely important aspects of his life, especially Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemming and their children together. This is understandable and he does a good job of recognizing that his conceit has limitations.

What I found unforgivable was that he spent no time on the late epistolary relationship between Jefferson and John Adams, after their presidencies were over and Benjamin Rush had patched up their friendship. It is one of the most brilliant and learned series of letters you will ever read and it feels shameful that they aren’t discussed. The only excuse I can give is that they don’t, so far as I have read, offer much a glimpse into their previous political careers (a sore subject, they surely avoided).