Master of the Mountain Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves

"[A] brilliant examination of the dark side of the man who gave the world the most ringing declarations about human liberty." --Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post ""In this deeply provocative and crisply written journey into the dark heart of slavery at Monticello, Henry Wiencek brings into focus a side of Jefferson that Americans have largely failed--or not cared--to see. This book will change forever the way that we think about the author of the Declaration of Independence."
--Fergus M. Bordewich, "The Wall Street Journal "
"As an engrossing investigation into Jefferson's change of heart and mind, "Master of the Mountain "is narrative history wrapped around an incendiary device: surely, political pundits and Jeffersonians will be wrestling over Wiencek's explosive interpretations of the historical evidence--some of it newly discovered--for years to come . . . One of the incontestable strengths of Wiencek's book is the way it transports readers deep into the hierarchical world of Jefferson's Monticello."
--Maureen Corrigan, "Fresh Air ""[Wiencek's] account of Jefferson's evolving and convoluted position on the subject is all the more damning for his restraint . . . Every American should read it. As depicted by Wiencek, the older Jefferson resembles a modern-day 1-percenter . . . We try to persuade ourselves that the author of some of our most inspiring political works was not a self-serving hypocrite. But given the bountiful evidence offered in "Master of the Mountain," it's now impossible to see him any other way."
--Laura Miller, "Salon ""[A] commanding stud[y] of a central area of American history, and [a] pioneering work[ ] in an ongoing battle for justice. Wiencek provides more detail about Thomas Jefferson's history of slaveholding than has ever existed in one place before, making an important adjustment to a bowdlerized historical record."
--Lawrence P. Jackson, "Los Angeles Review of Books ""Compelli