Master of the Mountain

Master of the Mountain - Paperback

$25.99
$25.99
Skip to product information
Master of the Mountain
  • Master of the Mountain
Master of the Mountain - Paperback

Master of the Mountain - Paperback

by Henry Wiencek
$25.99
$25.99

Book Overview

by Henry Wiencek (Author)

Henry Wiencek's eloquent, persuasive Master of the Mountain--based on new information coming from archival research, archaeological work at Monticello, and hitherto overlooked or disregarded evidence in Thomas Jefferson's own papers--opens up a huge, poorly understood dimension of Jefferson's faraway world. We must, Wiencek suggests, follow the money.

Wiencek's Jefferson is a man of business and public affairs who makes a success of his debt-ridden plantation thanks to what he calls the "silent profit" gained from his slaves--and thanks to the skewed morals of the political and social world that he and thousands of others readily inhabited. It is not a pretty story. Slave boys are whipped to make them work in the nail factory at Monticello that pays Jefferson's grocery bills. Slaves are bought, sold, given as gifts, and used as collateral for the loan that pays for Monticello's construction--while Jefferson composes theories that obscure the dynamics of what he himself called "the execrable commerce." Many people saw a catastrophe coming and tried to stop it, but not Jefferson. The pursuit of happiness had become deeply corrupted, and an oligarchy was getting very rich. Is this the quintessential American story?

Author Biography

Henry Wiencek, a nationally prominent historian and writer, is the author of several books, including The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1999, and An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America (FSG, 2003). He lives with his wife and son in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Number of Pages: 368
Dimensions: 0.92 x 8.69 x 5.87 IN
Publication Date: September 03, 2013
ISBN9780374534028
Author Henry Wiencek
PublisherFarrar, Straus and Giroux
GenreBiography, History, and Education
FormatPaperback
PublishedSeptember 2013
LanguageENG- English
Pages368
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography History Nonfiction Social Science

1% fer Each of the Seven Seas

Every purchase sends 7% of our profits to The Ocean Cleanup. No fine print, no opt-in — just how we sail.

Whoever Ye Be, Welcome Aboard

Queer lit, music, art, philosophy, fiction — stories for every kind of soul. Come as ye are, matey.

More by Henry Wiencek

The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White

The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White - Paperback

The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White - Paperback

By Henry Wiencek

About Henry Wiencek

Henry Wiencek, a nationally prominent historian and writer, is the author of several books, including The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1999; An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize Award; and Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

You may also like