News and Events

Background Notes: Thomas Jefferson's Enlightenment August 06 2014

Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment – Background Notes is a self-contained collection of seventeen essays. Author James Thompson envisioned it originally as a supplement for his earlier book, “Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment – Paris 1785.” Readers will find in his detailed “background notes” a feast of little known facts, seldom noted events, and forgotten relationships. As they peer into historical nooks and crannies that only the author seems to know about, they will develop a new insight into the circumspect political loner who drafted the Declaration of Independence alone in his Philadelphia rooms. They will see how “enlightenment’ transformed Thomas Jefferson into the engaged social progressive who later waged and won the Second American Revolution. In this collection of notes, the author discusses the factors that shaped the man who went to France, the people he encountered there, the city he came to know, the circles he entered, the ideas they discussed, and other topics relating to this fascinating period in Jefferson’s life. By examining the motives and objectives that guided him through his day-to-day affairs, Mr. Thompson brings welcome clarity to an image that somehow became murky.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Thompson studied Philosophy as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. As a graduate student, he lived on the farm of Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph. During his four years there, he began what prove to be an ongoing investigation into "the philosophy" of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Thompson cultivated his interest in the History of Ideas teaching courses in Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics and Western Civilization at Strayer University in Alexandria, Virginia. He has written fives books, including “The Birth of Virginia’s Aristocracy” (2009), “The Dubious Achievement of the First Continental Congress” (2011), and “Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment – Paris 1785” (2014). He completed his first book, “Beyond the Veil of Reason - Thomas Jefferson's Early Political Initiatives,” as a Batten Fellow at the Jefferson Center for International Studies at Monticello. Two more books are scheduled for release in the coming year: “The First Revolutions in the Minds of the People” will be released in the fall of 2014. The release date for “George Washington’s Indispensable Man – Who is Will Lee” has not yet been finalized. Mr. Thompson lectures on the topics he discusses in his books. He has spoken at the US Naval Academy and the Virginia Historical Society. He has presented lecture series in continuing education programs at the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, George Mason University, and the University of Delaware among others.
ABOUT COMMONWEALTH BOOKS OF VIRGINIA
Commonwealth Books of Virginia (CBOV) is a small press that publishes about eight book sets per year. Its motto, “Where History, Philosophy, and Art Meet”, underscores the three-dimensional characteristics of the histories it publishes. It uses state-of-the-art technology to transform print histories into colorful families of products, which it sells to users of a wide variety of stationary and portable reading and viewing devices. CBOV advertises its authors and products in a dynamic marketing program that coordinates traditional public relations with a broad range of social media outreach initiatives. CBOV sells its print and e-book editions into nationals through Small Press United of Chicago and its online affiliates. It sells audio, audio-video, and video products through Amazon, Audible, and iTunes, and their global partners.
THOMAS JEFFERSON’S ENLIGHTENMENT – BACKGROUND NOTES
By James C. Thompson
American History/Biography 
ISBN (Paperback): 978-0-9904018-1-0 / ISBN (Ebook - Kindle): 978-0-9904018-2-7 / 
ISBN (Ebook - EPUB) 978-0-9904018-3-4 / ISBN (Ebook - PDF) 978-0-9904018-4-1 / 
Print: 104 pages $9.95 / Electronic: $5.95 
Release date: October 20, 2014
View book details online at: www.commonwealthbooks.org

Author Barbara Wallace joins Commonwealth Books of Virginia July 24 2014

Author of the book Small Footsteps in the Land of the Dragon: Growing Up In China, Barbara Wallace is now published by Commonwealth Books of Virginia. Now available in our online book store. Click here to buy her book > http://bit.ly/1sYiAbG

In her recent memoir, Small Footsteps in the Land of the Dragon, award-winning children’s author Barbara “Bobbie” Wallace provides a captivating account of her childhood years in pre-WWII China. What a storyteller! What a life! What an amazing book!


Great Turnout For Evelyn Swensson Book Signing June 17 2014

Evelyn Swensson, author of Notes: My Serendipitous Life With Music, held a book signing and speaking engagement in Cokesbury Village on Thursday, June 12. Mrs. Swensson entertained the crowd with stories from her exciting life and answered questions about becoming an author. Mrs. Swensson was introduced by her publisher and friend, James C. Thompson of Commonwealth Books of Virginia. (Pictured below with Mrs. Swensson.)