The Long Affair: Thomas Jefferson and the French Revolution, 1785-1800 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780226616568)

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

Author: Conor Cruise O'Brien
ISBN-10: 0226616568
ISBN-13: 9780226616568
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Language: English
Published: 04/28/1998
Pages: 386
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.28lbs
Size: 8.93h x 5.94w x 1.11d

Review Citation(s):
New York Times 07/05/1998 pg. 20