Mr. Jefferson's University

Description

The University of Virginia is one of America's greatest architectural treasures and one of Thomas Jefferson's proudest achievements. At his request his headstone says nothing of his service as America's first Secretary of State or its third President. It says simply: "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." For this political genius was a supremely gifted artist as well, and of all Jefferson's stunning accomplishments, the school he built in Charlottesville is perhaps the most perfect expression of the man himself: as leader, as architect, and as philosopher.

Garry Wills is the author of 21 books, including the bestseller LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG (winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize). A frequent contributor to many national publications, including the NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE and the NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, he is also an adjunct professor of history at Northwestern University. He has been a regular visitor to Venice for 20 years.