# What’s the best biography of Thomas Jefferson?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-best-biography-of-thomas-jefferson/844899>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 15, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-best-biography-of-thomas-jefferson/844899 "2019-12-15T18:15:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-best-biography-of-thomas-jefferson/844899/1 "2019-12-15T18:15:32Z")

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I just reread Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Is there an equivalent for Thomas Jefferson? A comprehensive look at Jefferson that doesn’t focus constantly on re-examining Jefferson, calling him out on hypocrisy constantly, and the less about Sally Hemings, the better.

I’m fine with a multi volume work as well.

Putting this in IMHO as non fiction book threads don’t tend to do well in the Café.

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-best-biography-of-thomas-jefferson/844899/2 "2019-12-16T15:40:30Z")

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Joseph Ellis’s _American Sphinx_ got very good reviews when it came out. He won the Pulitzer (deservedly so IMHO) for his _Founding Brothers_, a concise and very interesting short group-bio of the Framers as friends, allies, frenemies and foes, but I haven’t read _American Sphinx_.

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**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-best-biography-of-thomas-jefferson/844899/3 "2019-12-16T23:16:10Z")

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American Sphinx, definitely an excellent, well-written book. I recommend it.

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**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-best-biography-of-thomas-jefferson/844899/4 "2019-12-17T16:33:21Z")

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Well, American Sphinx is only $4.99 for the Kindle edition, that’s certainly inexpensive enough to give it a read.