It would be gilding the lily somewhat for me to try to talk too much about this, so I’ll just say that author/artist Maira Kalman visited Monticello and captured the experience in one of her trademark picture-essay blog entries, entitled “Time Wastes Too Fast.” It is, in the words of one commenter, “sublime.” And the [...]
Archive for June, 2009
Sublime
Posted in Articles of Note, Jefferson in the News, tagged Maira Kalman, Monticello on June 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Whacked another mole
Posted in Reference Questions, TJ Encyclopedia Entries, tagged John Adlum, spurious quotations, wine on June 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
True Story:
In 1820-something, John Adlum, one of America’s first wine geeks and sometime correspondent of our TJ’s, writes to his friend Nicholas Longworth, “In bringing this grape [by which he meant the Catawba] into public notice, I have rendered my country a greater service, than I would have done, had I paid the national debt.” [...]
CSI: Natchez Trace
Posted in Books of Note, Jefferson in the News, tagged history's mysteries, Meriwether Lewis on June 20, 2009 | 6 Comments »
As I believe I mentioned in a previous blog post, this fall will mark the 200th anniversary of Meriwether Lewis’s untimely and weird death on the Natchez Trace. To prepare for the momentous occasion, I felt the need to read up on the whole debate on the nature of his death: was it suicide, or [...]
Alcorans, and the acquisition thereof
Posted in Jefferson in the News, tagged Islam, Jefferson's books, Kevin Hayes, Qur'an on June 15, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Since I set up my Google Alert, which allows me to track when new mentions of “Thomas Jefferson” appear on the Internet, I’ve been amazed to see that there is almost always a tiny little wave of rhetorical consultations of TJ in reaction to each big news story. In essence, every time something big happens, [...]
An Incidental Architect and his Disgruntled Wife
Posted in Books of Note, tagged Anna Maria Thornton, George Watterston, William Thornton on June 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
First off, apologies (again) for the lackadaisical nature of my blogging in the last few weeks. I fear the pace may slow down a bit as we enter the busy months of summer.
So, on with the business: just minutes ago I received a book which I feel certain will set many scholarly hearts aflutter here: [...]
New book on Marbury v. Madison
Posted in Books of Note on June 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Jefferson Library recently purchased The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court by Cliff Sloan and David McKean. It presents complex legality in a easy style for all readers. The book also sheds light on how the Supreme Court really was not seen as an equal to [...]
