THOMAS JEFFERSON: THE ART OF POWER

The ability to hold the listener’s ear is the measure of every audio production, and it’s exhibited at its finest in Edward Herrmann’s skilled reading of Jon Meacham’s biography of America’s third president. Thomas Jefferson was a contradictory figure, to say the least, and Meacham’s point-counterpoint narrative is brisk, enlightening, never dull. A riveting description of Jefferson’s stay in Paris during the French Revolution is followed by a reflection on inconsistencies in his viewpoints over his lifetime. Herrmann matches each shift in narrative with a variation in tone and emphasis while maintaining a pace that would benefit an action thriller. While seeming to do nothing, he does everything well. His unaffected but dynamic, upbeat but effortless delivery achieves an immediacy and freshness especially rare in historical biographies. A superb match of subject, text, and narrator. D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2012]