"In His Masterly Pen, a thoroughly engrossing study of Thomas Jefferson, Fred Kaplan demonstrates that he, too, wields a masterly pen. . . . The skill with which the author wields his own masterly pen ensures a better understanding of this brilliant and talented 18th-century man who could not fully escape the moral failings of his social class or the weaknesses of his own character as he helped give birth to a new nation. . . . [A] nicely paced and well-written narrative.” - Washington Post

"One always knows a Fred Kaplan treatment by its arresting detours into his subject’s distinctive use of language. Who, then, would be a better historical actor to get to know in this way than Thomas Jefferson? The bookish politician’s dynamic pen generates conflict, which its wielder refuses to admit to. With artful hyperbole, Jefferson takes on enemies he swears he doesn’t deserve, driven by what Kaplan denotes the “secrecy and repression” that combine in shaping a fascinating founder’s private character." - Andrew Burstein, author of Jefferson’s Secrets and coauthor of Madison and Jefferson and professor at Louisiana State University

"Fred Kaplan’s bona fides as a biographer should immunize him against the obvious charge: 'Oh, no, not another book about Thomas Jefferson.' Fortunately, Kaplan’s trademark skills shine through His Masterly Pen: exhaustive research; the instincts of a born storyteller; and a keen sense of irony and paradox. And there is a fresh idea. Namely, that Jefferson’s verbal felicity often deluded him into believing that an uplifting idea on paper assured its triumph in the world." - Joseph J. Ellis, author of The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents.

“Kaplan smoothly combines analysis of Jefferson’s rhetorical strategies with an authoritative portrayal of his world. A sensitive probing of a complex man.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Kaplan . . . . delves into more private writings, including a series of “personally expressive and revealing” letters Jefferson wrote to Maria Cosway . . . . Kaplan draws out some revealing themes in Jefferson’s writing, including his hypocritical use of the “slavery trope” to describe the plight of American colonists under the British crown; the tension between his support for “small independent farmers” and his membership among the elite class of landowners who accumulated most of the country’s wealth; and his paternalistic tone when addressing Native American tribal leaders. - Publishers Weekly

"[An] absorbing new book…. Kaplan is effective in showing how the young lawyer and slaveowner gradually inched away from his steadfast loyalty to the Crown, until by 1774 he was actively involved in the effort to end British rule…. Much of Jefferson’s most important writing was completed by the end of the 1780s, when he returned from five years as America’s minister to France, a fascinating spell that Kaplan handles adroitly.... About the glaring contradiction at the core of the Declaration’s statement for equality – the institution of slavery – Kaplan is both clear and measured." - Times Literary Supplement (London)

"Kaplan fluently, and in fascinating detail, portrays all aspects of Jefferson’s character." - Portland Press Herald

“Kaplan undertakes an unparalleled analysis of Lincoln the creative writer, digging more widely and deeply than any of his predecessors in examining Lincoln’s writing from early notebook jottings and poems, to love letters and legal breifs, to the masterful presidential speeches and writings that are a significant part of American literature. . . . Kaplan’s great strength is his experience and expertise in examining literature and those who make it. Because of this, he can go farther than any previous commentator in showing the growth and maturation of Lincoln’s literary skill and how his great talent helped to form his policies and ideas. Lincoln is an innovative offering in a crowded filed and will become a staple for Lincoln enthusiasts and scholars.” - American Heritage on Lincoln

“Insightful and engrossing. . . . as much a literary biography as a political one.” - Annette Gordon-Reed, The American Scholar, on John Quincy Adams

“Fascinating. . . . This book’s focus on the role that language and writing played in one president’s life promises to shed light on the role they may play in another’s. . . . Mr. Kaplan does a persuasive, highly perceptive job of explicating the influences that various authors had on Lincoln’s thinking.” - Michiko Kakutani, New York Times, on John Quincy Adams

 "The accomplished biographer of great writers, Fred Kaplan turns his keen insights on an author usually thought of as something else: revolutionary, president, architect, and slaveholder. His Masterly Pen reveals Thomas Jefferson's genius for deploying words to persuade, inspire, manipulate, and deceive others. In the process, Kaplan helps us understand how the author of our most dazzling declaration could generate so much controversy in his lifetime as well as ours." - Alan Taylor, author of American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850.

“Fred Kaplan’s new life of Jefferson is a beautifully written portrait of a great writer and a welcome contribution to our understanding of a controversial founder.” - Peter S. Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History, Emeritus, University of Virginia

"In discussing the role of rhetoric and persuasion, His Masterly Pen identifies a key lens for understanding the political influence of Thomas Jefferson. Engagingly written, with lively chapters, it contains admirable discussions of some of his major writings, such as The Summary View of the Rights of British America and Notes on the State of Virginia." - Dr. Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy, Vice President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, University of Virginia

“Readers interested in American history will enjoy this deep dive into a different aspect of Thomas Jefferson." - Booklist

"Tantalizing." - Publishers Weekly

“Fred Kaplan’s Lincoln offers penetrating insights on Lincoln’s ability to explain complex ideas in language accessible to a broad range of readers and listeners.” - The New York Review of Books on Lincoln

“A fine, invaluable book. . . . Certain to become essential to our understanding of the 16th president. . . . Kaplan meticulously analyzes how Lincoln’s steadily maturing prose style enabled him to come to grips with slavery and, as his own views evolved, to express his deepening opposition to it.” - Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World on Lincoln

Fred Kaplan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, which was named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times and Washington Post, among other publications. His biography of Thomas Carlyle was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Maine.