The research that went in to The Hemingses of Monticello: an American Family, by Annette Gordon-Reed is absolutely mind boggling! (It's a 798 page book and over 100 pages make up notes, sources, bibliography, etc.) I was in intrigued by the explanations of how Jefferson was raised, what he thought of having slaves, his daughters,the attitudes of that time period, and so on. It is dense and detailed, sobering and illuminating, and altogether very readable. As luck would have it, I happened on to a show while I was reading this very book that aired on one of the C-Span channels. It was a talk given by the author on September 26, 2008 and was wonderful! The author is an excellent speaker. She first became interested in Jefferson when she read a book about him at a young age. She thinks social history trumps biography. She likes to see how evidence is used (many Jefferson biographers were quick to dismiss any involvement with Sally Hemmings, for example). I like how she writes about how Jefferson, his friends family, and the slaves, and their friends and family, fit into the times in which they lived.Thanks go to Constant Reader for this recommendation.

Author Jonah Winter and illustrator Terry Widener collaborated on My Name is James Madison Hemmings, one of the children of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. They give much credit to Annette Gordon-Reed for her "ground breaking work" about Jefferson and the Hemmings family. Written in the first person, Madison ponders questions such as how can he be both son and slave. And why could they never refer to Jefferson as 'daddy' even when playing in house with his grandchildren? A thoughtful read indeed, and goes well with Gordon-Reed's book.

Reading Hermit With Dog