In Pursuit of Jefferson
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- Create Date：2022-03-15 10:19:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Derek Baxter
- ISBN：1728225388
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Summary
A debut that combines historical nonfiction with travel books， for fans of Bill Bryson and Rinker Buck， In Pursuit of Jefferson is the story of an American on a journey through Europe， following the epic trail of Thomas Jefferson。
A controversial founding father。 A man ready for a change。 And a completely unique trip through Europe。
In 1784， Thomas Jefferson was a broken man。 Reeling from the loss of his wife and humiliated from a political scandal during the Revolutionary war， he needed to remake himself。 And to do that， he traveled。 Traipsing through Europe， Jefferson saw and learned as much as he could， ultimately bringing his knowledge home to a young America。 There， he would rise to power and shape a nation。
More than two hundred years later， Derek Baxter， a devotee of American history， stumbles on an obscure travel guide written by Jefferson―Hints for Americans Traveling Through Europe―as he's going through his own personal crisis。 Who better to offer advice than a founding father himself？ Using Hints as his roadmap， Baxter embarks on a new journey， following Jefferson through six countries and countless lessons。 But what Baxter learns isn't always what Jefferson had in mind， and as he comes to understand Jefferson better， he doesn't always like what he finds。
In Pursuit of Jefferson is at once the story of a lifechanging trip through Europe， an unflinching look at a founding father， and a moving personal journey。 With rich historical detail， a sense of humor， and boundless heart Baxter explores how we can be better moving forward only by first looking back。
A controversial founding father。 A man ready for a change。 And a completely unique trip through Europe。
In 1784， Thomas Jefferson was a broken man。 Reeling from the loss of his wife and humiliated from a political scandal during the Revolutionary war， he needed to remake himself。 And to do that， he traveled。 Traipsing through Europe， Jefferson saw and learned as much as he could， ultimately bringing his knowledge home to a young America。 There， he would rise to power and shape a nation。
More than two hundred years later， Derek Baxter， a devotee of American history， stumbles on an obscure travel guide written by Jefferson―Hints for Americans Traveling Through Europe―as he's going through his own personal crisis。 Who better to offer advice than a founding father himself？ Using Hints as his roadmap， Baxter embarks on a new journey， following Jefferson through six countries and countless lessons。 But what Baxter learns isn't always what Jefferson had in mind， and as he comes to understand Jefferson better， he doesn't always like what he finds。
In Pursuit of Jefferson is at once the story of a lifechanging trip through Europe， an unflinching look at a founding father， and a moving personal journey。 With rich historical detail， a sense of humor， and boundless heart Baxter explores how we can be better moving forward only by first looking back。
Reviews
ManOfLaBook。com
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For more reviews and Bookish posts visit: https://www。ManOfLaBook。comThe concept of the books sounded， to me， very original and exciting。 Mr。 Baxter has read Jefferson’s Hints for Americans Traveling Through Europe and decided to follow his footsteps。 I have read several books about Thomas Jefferson， and shamefully admit that the title didn’t sound familiar。The author， his wife， and two children took a series of vacations， following Jefferson’s 1788 book through England， France， Germany， Holland For more reviews and Bookish posts visit: https://www。ManOfLaBook。comThe concept of the books sounded， to me， very original and exciting。 Mr。 Baxter has read Jefferson’s Hints for Americans Traveling Through Europe and decided to follow his footsteps。 I have read several books about Thomas Jefferson， and shamefully admit that the title didn’t sound familiar。The author， his wife， and two children took a series of vacations， following Jefferson’s 1788 book through England， France， Germany， Holland， and Italy。 These weren’t just sightseeing tours， the family visited vineyards， farms， as well many towns。 Attempting to observer what the Founding Father saw， or experienced， whether it be architecture or “new” technology。 On the way they learned about local cuisine， cheesemaking， and， of course， wines。About half way through， the tone turned a bit somber。 The Virginia native realized that Jefferson was a slave owner， and a hypocrite when it comes to that and other aspects as well。 The American Founding Fathers， however， were well aware of their hypocrisy， and wrote about it often。 It was either selective amnesia， or just a subject Virginia schools chose to gloss over。Or simply， the old adage of “you don’t want to meet your heroes” turned out to be true。To Mr。 Baxter’s credit， he dives into the subject。 He does not shy away from it and does his best to learn more about slavery， as well as Jefferson’s role in it。 At first， I found the subject out of context for the book。 However， trying to make sense of it， if possible， by a native Virginian was certainly an interesting read。If I had to describe In Pursuit of Jefferson by Derek Baxter in one word， it would be “honest”。 Mr。 Baxter writes in a chatty tone， warm， and often corny – but it works。 。。。more
Susanne
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Thank you to the author， Sourcebooks and NetGalley， for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。I loved the premise of this book， following in the footsteps of a well-known historical figure and contrasting the written record to the present day， including what stood the test of time - and what didn't。 However， I do have to say at the outset that I have never fully understood why people from the United States put Thomas Jefferson on such a pedestal。 He certainly was not short of faults， but these Thank you to the author， Sourcebooks and NetGalley， for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。I loved the premise of this book， following in the footsteps of a well-known historical figure and contrasting the written record to the present day， including what stood the test of time - and what didn't。 However， I do have to say at the outset that I have never fully understood why people from the United States put Thomas Jefferson on such a pedestal。 He certainly was not short of faults， but these tend to be glossed over in any narrative of Jefferson's life。 I found this book going in the same direction， until mid-way through the author confronts the hypocrisy and casual racism， elitism and misogyny inherent in Jefferson's life。 The author struggles to reconcile his previous veneration with what he is now realizing about Jefferson， and I found this well worth reading。 Overall， an interesting read， although it did ramble quite a bit， with a very slow pace。 。。。more
Beth Cato
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I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley。In Pursuit of Jefferson is a travelogue through both the late 1700s and the modern age， with an increasingly deep personal journey along the way。 Derek Baxter grew up in Virginia with an adoration of Thomas Jefferson。 That continued into adulthood。 Sure， he knew about Sally Hemings， but Jefferson did so many other things！ He was a genius， a polymath， a Founding Father！ He also wrote what is now a rather obscure advice book called Hints for Am I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley。In Pursuit of Jefferson is a travelogue through both the late 1700s and the modern age， with an increasingly deep personal journey along the way。 Derek Baxter grew up in Virginia with an adoration of Thomas Jefferson。 That continued into adulthood。 Sure， he knew about Sally Hemings， but Jefferson did so many other things！ He was a genius， a polymath， a Founding Father！ He also wrote what is now a rather obscure advice book called Hints for Americans Traveling Through Europe。 Baxter hit upon the idea of traveling where Jefferson traveled， chronicling how things changed and stayed the same。 That alone makes for an intriguing read， but I really appreciated the narrative the most when it reached the halfway point and the author realized he couldn't try to ignore that Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal， yet owned and sold slaves--that he owned his own children。 Baxter does a deep dive into how Jefferson， largely absent from Monticello for 40 years as he traveled and worked elsewhere， started out as a young idealist well-aware of the corruptive influence of slave ownership， who became the very thing he warned about。 Jefferson lived luxuriously while abroad and reached a point where his slaves were his financial stability。 The details around that--from the nailery shop to his escaped slaves to what the Hemings family horrifically endured in France and in Virginia--is enlightening and disturbing。What begins as a kind of worshipful exploration of Jefferson becomes a profound effort to understand the man and his frustrating contradictions。 Along the way， you get to read a lot about wine in France， Jefferson's rigorous scientific hobby and how it provides a perspective on climate change， why we should all be proud of the grand North American moose， and more。 The story gains even more because Baxter's family with two young kids essentially grows up within their dad's obsession。 Seeing how they learn and mature through their experiences truly shows the benefits of education through travel， uncomfortable as it may be at times。This truly is a stand-out nonfiction title for the year。 What I learned from this read will linger with me for a long time。 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
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Derek Baxter is obsessed with Thomas Jefferson。 He planned trips and excursions for almost a decade， based on Jefferson’s travels in Europe。 One amusing highlight is the anecdotal comments made by his children， especially during the great garden escape chapter。Baxter does dip into the pool of lecturing and pontificating in several of the chapters， which makes for tedious reading。However， it’s a book worthy of reading， if nothing else， check out the endnotes for bibliographic branching。Thanks to Derek Baxter is obsessed with Thomas Jefferson。 He planned trips and excursions for almost a decade， based on Jefferson’s travels in Europe。 One amusing highlight is the anecdotal comments made by his children， especially during the great garden escape chapter。Baxter does dip into the pool of lecturing and pontificating in several of the chapters， which makes for tedious reading。However， it’s a book worthy of reading， if nothing else， check out the endnotes for bibliographic branching。Thanks to edelweiss and Sourcebooks for the advance read。 。。。more
Cynthia
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An interesting book for those interested in both travel and history。 The author， intrigued by a little known tome by Jefferson offering European travel tips， decides to re-created Jefferson's travels with his family。 He starts by running a long distance race involving frequent stops at wineries， dressed as Thomas Jefferson。 He then revisits Jefferson's fascination in wine and his plans to introduce wine to America， along with many other adventures。I enjoyed this book， but it rambled quite a bit。 An interesting book for those interested in both travel and history。 The author， intrigued by a little known tome by Jefferson offering European travel tips， decides to re-created Jefferson's travels with his family。 He starts by running a long distance race involving frequent stops at wineries， dressed as Thomas Jefferson。 He then revisits Jefferson's fascination in wine and his plans to introduce wine to America， along with many other adventures。I enjoyed this book， but it rambled quite a bit。 It needed more judicious editing， but for a new writer， it was a great first effort。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=In Pursuit of Jefferson
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=In Pursuit of Jefferson&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft