Jefferson's Demons

Jefferson's Demons
Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Total Pages : 533
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781439138151
ISBN-13 : 143913815X
Rating : 4/5 (51 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Jefferson's Demons by : Michael Knox Beran

Download or read book Jefferson's Demons written by Michael Knox Beran and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-05-11 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I have often wondered for what good end the sensations of Grief could be intended." -- Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson suffered during his life from periodic bouts of dejection and despair, shadowed intervals during which he was full of "gloomy forebodings" about what lay ahead. Not long before he composed the Declaration of Independence, the young Jefferson lay for six weeks in idleness and ill health at Monticello, paralyzed by a mysterious "malady." Similar lapses were to recur during anxious periods in his life, often accompanied by violent headaches. In Jefferson's Demons, Michael Knox Beran illuminates an optimistic man's darker side -- Jefferson as we have rarely seen him before. The worst of these moments came after his wife died in 1782. But two years later, after being dispatched to Europe, Jefferson recovered nerve and spirit in the salons of Paris, where he fell in love with a beautiful young artist, Maria Cosway. When their affair ended, Jefferson's health again broke down. He set out for the palms and temples of southern Europe, and though he did not know where the therapeutic journey would take him or where it would end, his encounter with the old civilizations of the Mediterranean was transformative. The Greeks and Romans taught him that a man could make productive use of his demons. Jefferson's immersion in the mystic truths of the Old World gave him insights into mysteries of life and art that Enlightenment philosophy had failed to supply. Beran skillfully shows how Jefferson drew on the esoteric lore he encountered to transform anxiety into action. On his return to America, Jefferson entered the most productive period of his life: He created a new political party, was elected president, and doubled the size of the country. His private labors were no less momentous...among them, the artistry of Monticello and the University of Virginia. Jefferson's Demons is an elegantly composed account of the strangeness and originality of one Founder's genius. Michael Knox Beran uncovers the maps Jefferson used to find his way out of dejection and to forge a new democratic culture for America. Here is a Jefferson who, with all his failings, remains one of his country's greatest teachers and prophets.


Jefferson's Demons Related Books

Jefferson Abroad
Language: en
Pages: 376
Authors: Thomas Jefferson
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 1999 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A masterly treatment of the epic 3 day Gettysburg Campaign. Complete with detailed maps, Stars in their Courses brilliantly recreates this great battle of the C
Jefferson's Demons
Language: en
Pages: 533
Authors: Michael Knox Beran
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-05-11 - Publisher: Simon and Schuster

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"I have often wondered for what good end the sensations of Grief could be intended." -- Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson suffered during his life from periodic
At Home Abroad
Language: en
Pages: 331
Authors: Henry R. Nau
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-09-05 - Publisher: Cornell University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The United States has never felt at home abroad. The reason for this unease, even after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is not frequent threats to
In Pursuit of Jefferson
Language: en
Pages: 425
Authors: Derek Baxter
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-03-15 - Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A debut that combines historical nonfiction with travel books, for fans of Bill Bryson and Tony Horwitz, In Pursuit of Jefferson is the story of an American on
Constitution Jefferson's Manual and Rules of the House of Representatives of the U. S. (House Rules and Manual)
Language: en
Pages: 1504
Authors: House of Representatives
Categories: Business & Economics
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-10 - Publisher: Government Printing Office

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Contains the fundamental source material for parliamentary procedure used in the House of Representatives.