In this unique biography of Thomas Jefferson; leading journalist and social critic Christopher Hitchens offers a startlingly new and provocative interpretation of our Founding Father—a man conflicted by power who wrote the Declaration of Independence and acted as ambassador to France yet yearned for a quieter career in the Virginia legislature. A masterly writer; Jefferson was an awkward public speaker. A professed proponent of emancipation; he elided the issue of slavery from the Declaration of Independence and continued to own human property. A reluctant candidate; he left an indelible presidential legacy. With intelligence; insight; eloquence; and wit; Hitchens gives us an artful portrait of a complex; formative figure and his turbulent era.
#251287 in Books Moore Lucy 2008-05-27 2008-05-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x 1.19 x 5.31l; .98 #File Name: 0060825278528 pagesLiberty The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. FemmesBy ReaderI hadn't enjoyed Lucy Moore's previous book; 'The Thieves' Opera'. I only decided to give 'Liberty' a try because of my interest in the women it portrayed. And I'm glad I gave the author a second chance --- this book is nothing short of gorgeous.What could an unhappy ex-prostitute like Théroigne de Méricourt have in common with a prim bourgeoise like Manon Roland? Or the decadent; pleasure-loving Thérèse Tallien with the sharp and intellectual Germaine de Staël? Well; all these women lived in times of great upheaval and social change; and the French Revolution; from its optimistic beginnings to the savagery of the Terror; molded their psyches and shaped their fates.Perhaps inevitably; some of the women are more vividly portrayed and get more attention than others. Manon Roland wrote her memoirs in prison; knowing she wouldn't survive the Jacobins' murderous frenzy; and with the aim of setting posterity right. Germaine de Staël; ferociously intelligent; was a novelist and prolific letter-writer. At the other end of the scope; the life of the vociferous sans-culotte girl Pauline Léon is much less documented; and consequently she didn't come alive for me the way the others did.Perhaps the most tragic of the six women portrayed in the book is Théroigne; who always yearned for; but never found; true and nurturing love; was misunderstood by most of her contemporaries; and ended her days in a mental asylum; mumbling to herself about liberty and civil rights. And this is one of the main themes Lucy Moore illuminates in her book --- how the (mostly male) leaders of the French Revolution systematically and deliberately neglected the issue of women's rights; and how females; thousands of whom mounted the scaffold; were not; in spite of that; allowed to mount the rostrum.All in all; an interesting and fast-paced book about six very different women; against the dramatic backdrop of the momentous times when everything changed forever. For those interested in the subject; I also recommend Marilyn Yalom's 'Blood Sisters'; another fascinating study of women in the French Revolution.14 of 15 people found the following review helpful. "Liberty" the book and liberty for womenBy Anne L. PrescottMoore's book (which could also have been called "Equality;" although not "Fraternity") may not break new scholarly ground; but it is fairly even handed on the more controversial aspects of the French Revolution and above all it brings to life a number of women who participated in that event and whose hopes for a more equitable life for women were dashed but who; often; continued to believe in the revolution's principles. She tells a number of good stories movingly; with flashes of humor and historically imaginative empathy for all concerned. The women she describes; or most of them (for the women she includes had a range of political views); would have been cheered by the recent Bastille Day celebrations; to say nothing of the mere fact of a woman's candidacy for the French presidency in the recent French election. This is a moving as well as an entertaining book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Troy BontragerVery interesting take on the French Revolution from the perspective of six women.
