Why people recommend it
Master of the Mountain by Henry Wiencek is a critical historical examination of Thomas Jefferson and the complex, deeply flawed realities of his life as a slaveholder. On Behind the Bastards, Robert Evans heavily praised and recommended the book across several episodes, describing it as a wonderfully constructed and damning indictment of Jefferson. Evans brought up the text to explore the moral dimensions of Jefferson's relationships with enslaved individuals, pointing to specific historical accounts regarding his childhood companion Jupiter and the harsh child labor systems operated on his plantation. He also utilized Wiencek's research to examine intricate post-Civil War racial dynamics and the complex loyalties reported by former slaves. By drawing extensively from primary documents housed in Jefferson's farm books, Evans demonstrated how Wiencek's scholarship dismantles romanticized myths surrounding the founding father. Ultimately, the podcast host recommended the biography as an essential resource for accurately parsing out the deeply contradictory moral universe inhabited by America's early political leaders.
Who recommended it
- Robert Evans Recommended
Robert Evans — 6 mentions
“and it's uh you know all this stuff in the farm book is a big part of what weinek bases his book master of the mountain on”
“yeahh from Master of the mountain”
“and I one of the reasons I like Henry wein sec's book master of the mountain is that he reflects on the complex dimensions of this relationship with a line that I think is really useful to parsing out what's going on here on a moral level”
“I read that book Henry wine sex master of the mountain and it's just so [ __ ] good um it's such a damning indictment of Jefferson in in such a such a well laid out one”
“in the book master of the mountain henry weinik writes he had grown up with Jupiter born at Shadwell the same year as he if they followed the custom of the time the two of them were Playmates and companions in fishing and hunting”
“and in master of the mountain weinek goes into more detail on this phenomenon I'm going to read this quote and we can talk about it as after the Civil War visi after the Civil War visiting northerner astonished at the story she had heard asked a former slave how he could risk his life for the family that enslaved”