In fairness to Annette Gordon-Reed, I must correct Fred Fausz's
characterization of the review of "The Hemingses of Monticello" that used
the word "outrageous."  If he was referring to the review by Columbia
University historian Eric Foner that appeared in the New York Times Book
Review on October 3, 2008, it was not Gordon-Reed's methodology that evoked
this epithet, but (as Foner writes) her suggestion that "that 'opponents of
racism' who emphasize the prevalence of rape in the Old South occupy 'common
ground' with racists who despise black women, because both see sex with
female slaves as 'degraded.' This," Foner adds, "quite simply, is
­outrageous."   

Foner also faults Gordon-Reed for being insufficiently "circumspect" (his
word) in interpreting the limited evidence about the nature of the
Jefferson-Hemings relationship: a relationship whose historical reality,
however, he does not question.  Yet even that criticism is in the context of
a positive review--one that concludes, "I am glad to hear that Gordon-Reed
is at work on a second volume tracing the further history of this remarkable
family."

You can read the review for yourself at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/books/review/Foner-t.html .

--Jurretta Heckscher


On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:33:47 EST, John Frederick Fausz <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Whether she told "lies" or employed "imaginative fabrications"--
>a methodology that one esteemed reviewer called "outrageous"--
>that author has discredited the historical profession and revealed
>the sham of commercial publishing and the once-credible National
>Book Award.  That so few have criticized one of the worst-titled and
>least reliable books of "history"--which sadly beat out a fabulous
>book by the president of Harvard--is a sad commentary on our
>times and the clearest signal yet that factually-accurate research
>and writing are DEAD in this country.  More hype and hyprocrisy
>of a celebrity culture to match our dismal economy and disastrous
>politics!
>
>Fred Fausz
>St. Louis
>
>
>**************
>Get a jump start on your taxes. Find a tax
>professional in your neighborhood today.
>(http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=Tax+Return+Preparation+%26+Filing&amp;ncid=emlcntusyelp00000004)
>
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