edited by Robert C. Baron

The other books in this section largely deal with the public and political Jefferson; this book deals with the private man and citizen. Baron has gone through Jefferson's personal correspondence, journals, and other written records to find the man behind the legend. In his own words, you'll read Jefferson's thoughts on major events in his life, such as the heartbreakingly simple entry he made in his journal on September 6, 1782: "My dear wife died this day at 11:45 a.m." In a letter written in 1825 to a grandson, he adviced, "When angry, count ten before you speak: if very angry, an hundred." Jefferson was an enthusiastic gardener and farmer ("I am become the most ardent farmer in the state," he wrote in 1795), and this book has many of his observations about crops, harvests, and the weather. Jefferson's deep interest in science and mechanical arts is illustrated through his letters to Dr. Edward Jenner (developer of smallpox vaccination) and Eli Whitney (inventor of the cotton gin). And his letters to his children and grandchildren are filled with surprising warmth and enduring good advice. Perhaps no other book does a better job of condensing the private life and thoughts of Jefferson.