Being Thomas Jefferson

An Intimate History

By: Andrew Burstein

Narrated by: John Chancer

The deepest dive yet into the heart and soul, secret affairs, unexplored alliances, and bitter feuds of a generally worshipped, intermittently reviled American icon.

Perhaps no founding father is as mysterious as Thomas Jefferson. The author of the Declaration of Independence was both a gifted wordsmith and a bundle of nerves. His superior knowledge of the human heart is captured in the impassioned appeal he brought to the Declaration. But as a champion of the common man who lived a life of privilege on a mountaintop plantation of his own design, he has eluded biographers who have sought to make sense of his inner life. In Being Thomas Jefferson, acclaimed Jefferson scholar Andrew Burstein peels away layers of obfuscation, taking us past the veneer of the animated letter-writer to describe a confused lover and a misguided humanist, too timid to embrace antislavery.

Jefferson was a soft-spoken man who recoiled from direct conflict, yet a master puppeteer in politics. Whenever he left Monticello, where he could control his environment, he suffered debilitating headaches that plagued him for decades, until he finally retired from public life. So, what did it feel like to be Thomas Jefferson? Burstein explains the decision to take as his mistress Sally Hemings, the enslaved half-sister of his late wife, who bore him six children, none of whom he acknowledged. Presenting a society that encouraged separation between public and private, appearance and essence, Burstein paints a dramatic picture of early American culture and brings us closer to Jefferson’s life and thought than ever before.

©2026 Andrew Burstein (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

Most biographies of Thomas Jefferson are focused on his intellect. Andrew Burstein lays open his heart. He has answered a question that has always puzzled me: why was Jefferson so adroit at playing hide-and-seek inside himself. (Joseph J. Ellis, author AMERICAN SPHINX: THE CHARACTER OF THOMAS JEFFERSON)

Biased view

There are not many writings in my opinion relative to Jefferson as biased as this one. The author clearly dislikes and disagrees with almost everything having to do with him. The author is well spoken and at times insightful... yet takes every opportunity to criticize Jefferson or find a sinister design to every action or word. Fawn Brodie's book is almost as biased against him to me and is referenced many times. Thomas Jefferson was not perfect... just like the rest of us. But... to try to put yourself in his heart or psychoanalyze him is folly especially over 200 years later. The greater one is in America it seems... the more determined some people are to drag them down. The fact is there would be less liberty in America and around the world without Thomas Jefferson... perhaps no America at all.