Very interesting book covering the Great Compromise—Jefferson's and Madison's acceptance of Hamilton's assumption plan (whereby the federal government took over state debts) and the latter's acceptance of the nation's permanent capitol near the Potomac River. It took a bit for me to get into this book, but once we hit the compromise part, it picked up speed and was enjoyable until the end.

What's most amazing about the focus of the book is how dangerous it was for Jefferson and Madison to give Hamilton this huge win. Had Hamilton not stumbled later on, he very well could have become the most powerful man in America. But Jefferson, being secretary of state, knew the financial stability of the nascent nation was vital to the eyes of Europe. This knowledge allowed him to override his fear of Hamilton's grab of federal power.

I've read several biographies of Hamilton, but it was good to refresh my memory as to how quickly his star faded. And while author Charles Cerami seems to be a big fan of Jefferson (rightly so), he nevertheless still points out TJ's flaws and hypocrisy.

Good read! ( )

This book focused on the life and career of Thomas Jefferson during the time between the Presidency of George Washington and his own. I was expecting more time to be spent on the Assumption plan proposed by Alexander Hamilton, but it took up maybe a chapter of the book. There was a lot of time spent on the rivalry between Hamilton and Jefferson, though. Even though it was not what I expected, it was an easy to read history. The writing was fluid and did not read like a textbook. The stories were interesting, and the author attempted to refrain from bias. ( )

I read it because.........The title intrigued me. Having been to Monticello, I expected wine for the dinner to be moved up from Jefferson's elaborate wine cellar on pulley's he devised, of his guests patiently waiting for him in his foyer filled with artifacts from his travels and a dinner of both French and American cuisine. Boy! was I over reaching! This title was a bait and switch if ever there was one.

Thoughts............This non-fiction offering by Charles Cerami, begins in 1789 and sets the table for the compromise to come. The very young nation of the United States is already in dire straits. President Washington commands the nation from New York City, Hamilton is organizing the Treasury Department, Thomas Jefferson has been appointed Secretary of State and James Madison is a Congressman. Nationally, the Union was struggling to remain cohesive, individual states were deeply in debt and to assure France and England that the United States intended to remain viable, a new and permanent capital had to be established. All of this information took 3/4 of the book. The "dinner" which Jefferson arranged and would settle some the these issues came after the all the groundwork was explained to the reader. The "dinner" was not at Monticello since all governmental business was conducted in New York. Thus, Jefferson hosted the dinner there.
Not much information was garnered from the dinner "that changed America" because the few notes that remain were written by Jefferson, who the author suggests, stretched the truth a wee bit. The book concludes with a type of where they went from here style format.
Although the book is interesting in its way it was not what was expected and reminds me to, more often, read the blurbs on the cover.

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This was a pretty good read. More about the politics of the day and the relationships between Jefferson, Hamilton and Madison, with a good measure of Washington thrown in, too. The dinner, the lead up to it and the post-dinner analysis were there, but not really the point of the book -- which was fine with me because this book continues my fascination with Jefferson in particular and this period of American history. While the author does clearly make his opinion known, this is also clearly called out by the author. He goes so far as to point out what other authors and historians he agrees with or not and why. Much is known about the dinner and the politics of the time, but a lot is still unknown and based on analysis of what is likely or unlikely.

I'd recommend this to people interested in early United States of America history. It makes me want to read more about each of the key people of the book, but especially Jefferson and Hamilton. ( )

Not really about the dinner at all. Very conjectural on the part of the author. I was disappointed in the description of the book, and would never have chosen to read it if I'd realized it was so fictional. The story is disjointed and if the reader is waiting for the dinner, the wait is long, and then over before it's even started. ( )