Jefferson's America Review

 I think Jefferson would have recognized himself in this book -- and that isn't true of all of his biographies. If you read a lot about him, then Jefferson's America will surprise you with a trove of fresh material, like a whole undiscovered chapter in his life. I also agree with other reviewers who said that if you thought you knew all about Lewis & Clark ... you probably didn't until you read it. The author makes the point that Jefferson was in no position, nor would he be inclined, to use government funds to sponsor an exhibition just for the sake of scientific curiosity (as we usually hear). The American frontier was in danger from European countries. We were treading on a war then, a war Jefferson was determined to avoid and so he used Lewis & Clark, along with the basically unknown Hunter & Dunbar, Freeman & Custis and by extension, Zebulon Pike to put America in the west, without gunfire. All of them are in the book, with additional depictions of ancillary figures such as George Rogers Clark (William's uncle) and Andrew Ellicott. Importantly, Native Americans are featured with specifics not usually seen in books about this era. Jefferson's philosophy on land is a running theme; it colored his treatment of Indians, which could be heinous. In the world of books about this era, I'd compare Jefferson's America to Undaunted Courage by saying that as a story-teller, Stephen Ambrose was great at simplifying and staying on a straight course. As a storyteller, Fenster revels in the complexities, which I do too, and she has a host of ways to make them gripping. I read most of it twice.