No great figures are now without multiple biographies, so why not slice up their lives into smaller subjects? Since that seems to be the current way, we're lucky to have a serious slice like this one. Kranish (a Boston Globe
reporter and coauthor of John F. Kerry
) focuses on Jefferson's much criticized yearlong governorship of Virginia during the last throes of the American Revolution. The British had invaded Virginia, the state militia was weak, and regular forces had not yet arrived. So Jefferson and the state legislature had to flee westward to avoid capture. By the time American forces, aided by the French, had forced a showdown at Yorktown in 1781, Jefferson's term in office had ended. Yet many held him responsible for Virginia's near disaster. That's allowed critics ever since to assail his behavior as cowardly and incompetent. Without making his book an open argument for the defense, Kranish relates the historical context and musters the facts that absolve Jefferson of the charges against him. It's hard to see how a stronger case could be made. Fluid prose makes the book readable; solid research makes it dependable. 21 b&w illus., 1 map. (Feb.)
