The selected writings of Thomas Jefferson

"This Norton Critical Edition is the first book to include Thomas Jefferson's writings and writings about him - from his era and ours. The editor, Wayne Franklin, seeks to present readers with a full understanding of Jefferson's importance to the intellectual development of the United States, particularly in political theory and scientific learning; of Jefferson's role in the expansion of the territory and sovereignty of the United States; and of Jefferson's controversial relation to slavery and race as key issues in American history." "Jefferson's most important published texts are included - A Summary View of the Rights of British America, the Declaration of Independence, and Notes on the State of Virginia - along with An Appendix to the Notes on Virginia Relative to the Murder of Logan's Family and his Message to Congress on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In addition, more than one hundred of Jefferson's letters (1760-1826) have been selected from his rich body of correspondence, allowing readers to see Jefferson as a person as well as a public figure. All texts are accompanied by detailed explanatory annotations."--Jacket.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.