he is published biographies of thomas carlyle, mark twain, henry james, charles dickens, john quincy adams, abraham lincoln gore vidal, and now thomas jefferson in his masterly pen. kaplan offers us a biography of thomas jefferson by giving an english professor's kind attention to jefferson's written words. jefferson only published one book in his lifetime notes on the state of virginia. but, of course, jefferson wrote consul treatises like a summary view of the rights of british north america legal briefs, memoranda the declaration of independence, and above all letters, thousands of them, which kaplan calls among his most powerful and revealing writings throughout his masterly pen, kaplan brings a skilled biographers attention to how jefferson reveals himself through his writing, often without without intending to, as kaplan says of notes on the state of virginia. it's a book about jefferson partly because jefferson did not want it to, a book about himself. the jefferson we meet here is not surprisingly learned and forceful. but kaplan also shows this jefferson as a writer who's of