Thomas Jefferson: Author of America

Written as if from the perspective of a good friend or child of Jefferson's, Hitchens's biography feels straightforward and honest, if generous, to the life and thoughts of this Founding Father. The prose is interesting and varied, while never revealing any hidden bias on the part of Hitchens; on the contrary: he's forthright with his thoughts, noted in parentheticals.

The book's brevity requires a summary-style treatment of Jefferson and the various plots and intrigues of his life, though, which necessitates omission of details that would, I think, greatly improve the reader's understanding of the events in which Jefferson found himself and perhaps more of why he acted the way he did. I enjoyed the lack of overt pull from Hitchens, though, and the effortless lessons about Jefferson from the perspective of an admirer.