Monticello; Thomas Jefferson's mountaintop home in Charlottesville; Virginia; has attracted public attention ever since Jefferson's own day; when sightseers regularly visited the grounds in the hope of catching a glimpse of the former president. In our own day; Monticello has been added to the United Nation' list of World Heritage Sites that must be protected at all costs; designating the house and grounds as an international treasure. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is a collection of essays and color photography showcasing this extraordinary American home. Featuring essays written by scholars at Monticello; chapters focus on all aspects of the house and plantation. Monticello; a model of elegance and symmetry; was designed by Jefferson himself; whose architectural prowess prompted a visitor in 1782 to note: "Mr. Jefferson is the first American who has consulted the Fine Arts to know how he should shelter himself from the weather." Inside; Jefferson assembled a world-class collection of objects and furnishings: art and porcelain from France; scientific instruments from England; the finest American furniture from Philadelphia and New York; natural artifacts brought back from the West; as well as furnishings made in Monticello's own joinery by enslaved craftsmen. Surrounding the house; Monticello's celebrated gardens and grounds form an experimental yet breathtakingly lovely landscape of flowers; fruits; and vegetables from the Old and New Worlds. A final chapter on the plantation and the enslaved community at Monticello provides a context in which to place and understand the house and its owner.With an introductory essay by Wendell Garrett; this compilation is a comprehensive; long-awaited study of Thomas Jefferson's "little mountain."
#2284211 in Books Littman Library Of Jewish Civilization 1996-09-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.21 x 1.12 x 6.14l; 1.80 #File Name: 1874774277552 pages
Review
21 of 28 people found the following review helpful. A Milestone; but One We've PassedBy Ricardo SignesVerus Israel is; without a doubt; an important milestone in the history of studies in early Jewish-Christian relations. Its scholarship is strong; its intentions are noble; and its conclusions are logical. That said; however; it is important to remember that it a milestone; written some time ago. Milestones show us how far we have come; but once we have passed them we must realize that they were not the destination.Marcel Simon wrote Verus Israel some fifty years ago; in the shadow of the Holocaust. Despite the strange times in which he wrote; his work is fairly unbiased; but only in relation to other works of the period. Serious modern scholarship makes Verus Israel; in comparison; seem like something of a cultural relic which; in many ways; it is. Although a mere fifty years is brief when seen beside the nineteen centuries separating Simon from his period of interest; vast stores of data have since been found; and many basic assumptions in the field have changed.Verus Israel is a classic; and a worthwhile read if you're interested not just in the field of ancient Christian-Jewish relations; but also in the subject's history. Reading this book alone; however; could lead to a false impression of what scholars currently consider to be reliable. It will be best read with several modern works on the subject.
