NEW hardcover

The Long Affair: Thomas Jefferson and the French Revolution, 17851800 [Hardcover] OBrien, Conor Cruise

As controversial and explosive as it is elegant and learned, The Long Affair is Conor Cruise OBriens examination of Thomas Jefferson, as man and icon, through the critical lens of the French Revolution OBrien offers a provocative analysis of the supreme symbol of American history and political culture and challenges the traditional perceptions of both Jeffersonian history and the Jeffersonian legacyThe book is an attack on Americas long affair with Jeffersonian ideology of radical individualism: an ideology that, by confusing Jefferson with a secular prophet, will destroy the United States from withinDavid C Ward, Boston Book ReviewWith his background as a politician and a diplomat, OBrien brings a broad perspective to his effort to define Jeffersons beliefs through the prism of his attitudes toward France This is an important work that makes an essential contribution to the overall picture of JeffersonBooklistOBrien traces the roots of Jeffersons admiration for the revolution in France but notes that Jeffersons enthusiasm for France cooled in the 1790s, when French egalitarian ideals came to threaten the slavebased Southern economy that Jefferson supportedLibrary JournalIn OBriens opinion, its time that Americans face the fact that Jefferson, long seen as a champion of the wronged masses, was a racist who should not be placed on a pedestal in an increasingly multicultural United StatesBoston PhoenixOBrien makes a wellargued revisionist contribution to the literature on JeffersonKirkus ReviewsOBrien is right on target determined not to let the evasions and coverups continueForrest McDonald, National ReviewThe Long Affair should be read by anyone interested in Jeffersonor in a good fightRichard Brookhiser, New York Times Book Review