For 60 years, Princeton has been publishing the third president’s papers. Very few get the “Full Jefferson,” as it is known. The collected papers of a statesman is a bit more unusual.
His biographies range from the hagiographic (Mary Benson’s in 1980), to the authorized (Fatima Meer’s in 1988) to the really really authorized (Anthony Sampson’s in 1997) to the solid (Martin Meredith’s also in 1997) to the underrated (Tom Lodge’s in 2006) to the gossipy (David James Smith’s just this past June in England-the American edition appears in December). His autobiography Long Walk to Freedom (1994) might be the most popular book ever written by an African. Nelson Mandela has the first two, both of the international bestselling variety. As literature, a famous politician’s story usually comes in three packages: the self-serving memoir the biography and the collected papers.
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