The Long Affair: Thomas Jefferson and the French Revolution, 1785-1800

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University of Chicago Press, 15 nov 1996 - 367 páginas
As controversial and explosive as it is elegant and learned, The Long Affair is Conor Cruise O'Brien's examination of Thomas Jefferson, as man and icon, through the critical lens of the French Revolution. O'Brien 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 legacy.

"The book is an attack on America's long affair with Jeffersonian ideology of radical individualism: an ideology that, by confusing Jefferson with a secular prophet, will destroy the United States from within."—David C. Ward, Boston Book Review

"With his background as a politician and a diplomat, O'Brien brings a broad perspective to his effort to define Jefferson's beliefs through the prism of his attitudes toward France. . . . This is an important work that makes an essential contribution to the overall picture of Jefferson."—Booklist

"O'Brien traces the roots of Jefferson's admiration for the revolution in France but notes that Jefferson's enthusiasm for France cooled in the 1790s, when French egalitarian ideals came to threaten the slave-based Southern economy that Jefferson supported."—Library Journal

"In O'Brien's opinion, it's 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 States."—Boston Phoenix

"O'Brien makes a well-argued revisionist contribution to the literature on Jefferson."—Kirkus Reviews

"O'Brien is right on target . . . determined not to let the evasions and cover-ups continue."—Forrest McDonald, National Review

"The Long Affair should be read by anyone interested in Jefferson—or in a good fight."—Richard Brookhiser, New York Times Book Review


Dentro del libro

Índice

ONE A LONELY AMERICAN
17
Two A SOMEWHAT CLOUDED CRYSTAL BALL
38
THREE BRINGING THE TRUE GOD HOME
69
FOUR APPROACH AND ADVENT OF THE FRENCH Republic
113
SIX THE LINGERING END OF THE LONG AFFAIR
191
SEVEN A THEMATIC OVERVIEW
254
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Sobre el autor (1996)

Writer and diplomat Conor Cruise O'Brien was born in Dublin, Ireland on November 3, 1917. He studied history at Trinity College and found a job in the civil service. While working as a civil servant, he wrote two books Maria Cross (1952) and Parnell and His Party (1957). As a diplomat, he focused on creating an independent position for Ireland in the United Nations and played a critical role in the United Nations intervention in Congo in 1961. In 1969, he won a seat in Ireland's Parliament. He also was editor in chief of The Observer and was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic, and The Irish Independent. He wrote numerous books throughout his lifetime including To Katanga and Back, The Great Melody, Memoir: My Life and Themes, and The Long Affair. He died on December 18, 2008 at the age of 91.

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