Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War

New
Paperback
2011
$19.46

On June 4, 1781 Thomas Jefferson fled Monticello mere minutes ahead of the British soldiers rushing to capture him. He nearly became the most valuable American prisoner of the Revolutionary War: his life-and the momentum of the entire war-balanced on a razor's edge. In Flight from Monticello, Michael Kranish illuminates the central importance of this harrowing moment to Jefferson's life and to the fate of the young nation. Flight from Monticello is a sweeping narrative of clashing armies, of spies, intrigue, desperate decisions, and gut-wrenching battles. In vivid, precisely observed scenes, Kranish captures the tumultuous outbreak of war, the local politics guiding Jefferson's actions in the Continental Congress, and his rise to become the second governor of Virginia. A lifelong belief in the corrupting influence of a powerful executive led Jefferson to argue for a weak governorship, one that lacked the means to raise an adequate army. The state was thus woefully unprepared for the invading British troops who sailed up the James under the direction of a recently turned Benedict Arnold. Facing only rag-tag resistance, the British force took Virginia with little trouble. George Washington, alarmed that his home state-and with it, the nation-might have fallen to the British, began preparations for the historic confrontation at Yorktown. Kranish describes Jefferson's struggle to respond to the invasion and paints an intimate and compelling portrait, illuminating Jefferson's quiet conversations, his family turmoil, and his private hours at Monticello. Jefferson would be haunted for the rest of his life by his actions as governor, and his career was dogged by accusations of wartime incompetence. The lessons he learned during those dark hours would have a profound and lasting influence on his political thinking, and on the nature of the American presidency. Flight from Monticello sheds new light on a little-known yet momentous time in Jefferson's life-and in the birth of America.

Synopsis

On June 4, 1781 Thomas Jefferson fled Monticello mere minutes ahead of the British soldiers rushing to capture him. He nearly became the most valuable American prisoner of the Revolutionary War: his life-and the momentum of the entire war-balanced on a razor's edge. In Flight from Monticello, Michael Kranish illuminates the central importance of this harrowing moment to Jefferson's life and to the fate of the young nation. Flight from Monticello is a sweeping narrative of clashing armies, of spies, intrigue, desperate decisions, and gut-wrenching battles. In vivid, precisely observed scenes, Kranish captures the tumultuous outbreak of war, the local politics guiding Jefferson's actions in the Continental Congress, and his rise to become the second governor of Virginia. A lifelong belief in the corrupting influence of a powerful executive led Jefferson to argue for a weak governorship, one that lacked the means to raise an adequate army. The state was thus woefully unprepared for the invading British troops who sailed up the James under the direction of a recently turned Benedict Arnold. Facing only rag-tag resistance, the British force took Virginia with little trouble. George Washington, alarmed that his home state-and with it, the nation-might have fallen to the British, began preparations for the historic confrontation at Yorktown. Kranish describes Jefferson's struggle to respond to the invasion and paints an intimate and compelling portrait, illuminating Jefferson's quiet conversations, his family turmoil, and his private hours at Monticello. Jefferson would be haunted for the rest of his life by his actions as governor, and his career was dogged by accusations of wartime incompetence. The lessons he learned during those dark hours would have a profound and lasting influence on his political thinking, and on the nature of the American presidency. Flight from Monticello sheds new light on a little-known yet momentous time in Jefferson's life-and in the birth of America.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: OUP USA
Published: Oct 2011
ISBN 10: 0199837325
ISBN 13: 9780199837328

Media Reviews

A superb narrative of the high-minded Virginian's turbulent wartime years. --Wall Street Journal

The story of this seldom-told episode of our early history is dramatically told by Michael Kranish...Even people with broad knowledge of the Revolutionary period will gain from his diligent research, analytical insight and sparkling prose...Flight from Monticello is a worthwhile read. -- Washington Times

A fresh look at one of America's most revered historical leaders with an attention to drama that will keep readers trekking through to the very end. -- Roll Call

[Kranish's] descriptions of the locales, participants, and zeitgeist of Revolutionary Virginia place this study alongside other excellent Revolutionary War narratives like David Hackett Fischer's Washington's Crossing (New York, 2004) and David McCullough's 1776 (New York, 2005). --The Journal ofSouthern History

A superb narrative of [Jefferson's] turbulent wartime years. -The Wall Street Journal

A brilliantly narrated account of the British invasion and Jefferson's problematic response to it. --Wilson Quarterly (Named a Top Ten Book of 2010 )

My admiration for Flight from Monticello knows no bounds. Michael Kranish, one of America's best reporters, draws a brilliant portrait of Thomas Jefferson in turmoil. His analysis of Jefferson's strategic blunders is pioneering. Only Dumas Malone equals Kranish in dissecting Jefferson the Virginian. Highly recommended! --Douglas Brinkley, author of The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for Americ

A superb narrative of [Jefferson's] turbulent wartime years. -The Wall Street Journal

A brilliantly narrated account of the British invasion and Jefferson's problematic response to it. --Wilson Quarterly (Named a Top Ten Book of 2010 )

Michael Kranish has written a vivid and compelling account, with wonderful illustrative and often unfamiliar anecdotes, including descriptions of Benedict Arnold's wearing a British general's uniform and riding along the Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg, and Jefferson's last-minute escape from Banastre Tarleton's troops. Flight from Monticello is an exciting account of a little-known but important chapter of revolutionary history. --Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy, director International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, professor at the University of Virginia, fellow of the Royal Historical Society

Thomas Jefferson's wartime conduct as governor of Virginia haunted him down the decades, and Michael Kranish has now brought this critical episode in American history to vivid life. Anyone interested in the Revolutionary War, in Jefferson, or in the formation of political character will find Kranish's book both delightful and instructive. -Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion

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 [Flight From Monticello]... Fluid prose makes the book readable; solid research makes it dependable. --Publishers Weekly

Thomas Jefferson's wartime conduct as governor of Virginia haunted him down the decades, and Michael Kranish has now brought this critical episode in American history to vivid life. Anyone interested in the Revolutionary War, in Jefferson, or in the formation of political character will find Kranish's book both delightful and instructive. --Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion

Flight From Monticello succeeds superbly well in opening a new window on Thomas Jefferson during the Revolution. In this period of his life, he proved to be an incompetent military leader, poor planner and touchy and defensive Virginian. Kranish's suspenseful narrative illuminates Jefferson's shortcomings, and with great sympathy and skill reveals why this crucial moment of his life forever haunted America's favorite Renaissance Man. --Jonathan Alter, author of The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope

Crisply written and well documented, this book is popular history at its best and will appeal to a wide readership. Highly recommended. -- Library Journal

This is edge-of-your-seat history, meticulously researched and laid out, but written with such high drama and cinematic clarity that even well-known events of America's Revolutionary War are made to seem suspenseful-as if this time their outcomes might be different. -- ForeWord

Students of Jefferson's life will want to read Flight From Monticello. -- Newsweek

.. .superb narrative of the high-minded Virginian's turbulent wartime years. -- Wall Street Journal

.. .a readable and surprisingly fresh take on Jefferson, the Revolutionary War, and Colonial Virginia...this is solid, entertaining history that debunks some myths while conveying the fog of war. -- Boston Globe

.. .provides a fresh look at one of America's most revered historical leaders with an attention to drama that will keep readers trekking through to the very end. -- Roll Call

A brilliantly narrated account of the British invasion and Jefferson's problematic response to it. --Wilson Quarterly

Author Bio

Michael Kranish is a reporter in the Washington bureau of The Boston Globe. He is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography.