18 of 24 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Warning: Contains fake quotations, April 5 2009
By JP - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Quotations of Thomas Jefferson (Hardcover)
Note: Amazon.com is mixing the reviews of two completely unrelated Thomas Jefferson books. This review is for Quotations of Thomas Jefferson, not Thomas Jefferson: Writings, Autobiography, Notes on the State of Virginia, Public and Private Papers, Addresses, Letters.
"Quotations of Thomas Jefferson" contains numerous fake quotations. Fake quotations are far more common than most people realize. Real quotations can be tracked back to specific writings of the person being quoted. On the other hand, fake quotations spread like folklore. They spread from book to book, web page to web page, simply because the quotation sounds nice and is attributed to a famous person, without anyone verifying or documenting the original source. Here's a tip: if the book doesn't provide references for each quotation, many of the quotes are probably fake.
It is really unfortunate that the person who compiled this book didn't bother to visit the Monticello website's "Spurious Quotations" page. They would have found that several of the Jefferson quotes in the book are known to be fake. The person who compiled this book also didn't provide any references to document the authenticity of the quotations contained within it.
If you want a book with real, verifiable quotations, try Bartlett's Familiar Quotations or the aforementioned Thomas Jefferson: Writings, Autobiography, Notes on the State of Virginia, Public and Private Papers, Addresses, Letters.
Update: Apparently, some people who have read my review don't understand what I said in the very first paragraph, so let me re-emphasize. Amazon.com is cross-posting these reviews to the web pages for TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THOMAS JEFFERSON BOOKS! I cannot control the fact that the review I posted for a poor-quality Thomas Jefferson book is also ending up on the web page for a good-quality Thomas Jefferson book. If the cover of the book you are looking at is green, then it is a bad book with fake quotes. That's the book I posted my review for. If the cover of the book you are looking at is black, then my review does not apply. It is Amazon.com's fault that all of these reviews are being cross-posted to two entirely different books.
Update 2: Amazon.com has fixed the problem of cross-linking the reviews. The book you are looking at is indeed the one with the fake quotations.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Where it all began, May 9 2011
By Wendell L. Gladish "Hap Gladish" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Quotations of Thomas Jefferson (Hardcover)
No living individual knows the U.S. Constitution or the fundamentals of our National Heritage as well as Thomas Jefferson. Fortunately, he was a prolific writer and this book helps us to see the convictions and the truths which inspired the founding fathers. This book should be required study in every elementary class in the American school system.
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Love Thomas Jefferson....not enough quotes for a whole book..., Dec 31 2009
By Todd Hagopian "CEO of the Hagopian Institute ... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Quotations of Thomas Jefferson (Hardcover)
This book had some great quotes in it, but it was way too short to earn a good rating. The book is only 30+ pages with 3-6 quotes on almost every page. Most quotation books have at least 400 - 4,000 quotes, so this was a huge disappointment. That being said, Thomas Jefferson said many profound things, and if you are a huge Jefferson fan, you will probably find a lot of value in this book. If that's you, Enjoy!
Todd Hagopian
President/CEO
Hagopian Institute
Author of the popular "Quote Junkie" book sereies and the brand new "Idiom Junkie" series