Showing Jefferson and Monticello: The Biography of a Builder by Jack Mclaughlin

Because our homes reflect our selves - our personalities and tastes, and most significantly, our psyches - Monticello, the labor of a lifetime and possibly the most creative endeavor of an immensely creative mind, is a fitting avenue by which to approach the life of Thomas Jefferson. Such is the path taken in this biography, and unlike previous works that have centered on the political man and his public career, the portrait that emerges from its pages focuses on his domestic life. This, then, is a life of Thomas Jefferson as seen through the prism of his love affair with Monticello. Close up, this is an absorbing portrait of a towering but complex figure whose energies and interests remain a source of awe and delight. At a distance, it is an engaging look at the 18th Century mind: rational, curious, systematic, but also amusing, playful, and comfort-loving.