John Adams

This is an elegant book, drawn from the incredible correspondence and notes from the Adams collection in Boston. The book begins in the early 1760's, as the tensions with Great Britain begin to boil, and ends 60+ years later. One develops many senses--the length of time it took to cross the ocean or travel to Philadelphia; the difficulties in crafting a new government at a time before mass...more

This is an elegant book, drawn from the incredible correspondence and notes from the Adams collection in Boston. The book begins in the early 1760's, as the tensions with Great Britain begin to boil, and ends 60+ years later. One develops many senses--the length of time it took to cross the ocean or travel to Philadelphia; the difficulties in crafting a new government at a time before mass communication, and the importance of exchanging letters over a lifetime. The book really changed my perspective on the founding fathers.   hide

One of the best Historical Biographies ever written! McCullough goes inside the life of this man who loved to work on his farm, but called to fate stepped up to the plate to become a founder of our nation. The interaction - warfare between Adams and Jefferson is clearly brought home to the reader through the letters written between them, as well as the deep love and admiration shared by...more

One of the best Historical Biographies ever written! McCullough goes inside the life of this man who loved to work on his farm, but called to fate stepped up to the plate to become a founder of our nation. The interaction - warfare between Adams and Jefferson is clearly brought home to the reader through the letters written between them, as well as the deep love and admiration shared by John and his wife Abigail is poetically shared with the reading audience. I truly enjoyed reading this book, and like my father I was almost sad when I came to the end of the book.   hide

Ever since HBO put out their John Adams miniseries based on the David McCullough book, I knew I had to read it. I decided to buy the book and read it, then buy the HBO miniseries and watch it afterwards. The book was great. I really enjoy reading biographies by McCullough. I read his biography on Harry Truman over 10 years ago and that was a good one too. If you look down this list...more

Ever since HBO put out their John Adams miniseries based on the David McCullough book, I knew I had to read it. I decided to buy the book and read it, then buy the HBO miniseries and watch it afterwards. The book was great. I really enjoy reading biographies by McCullough. I read his biography on Harry Truman over 10 years ago and that was a good one too. If you look down this list you'll see his book 1776 which was also great! I learned so much more about John Adams than I had known. I think that his relationship with his wife was a very special one - so much so that I don't know how this country would have turned out if he had married someone other than Abigail Adams. The book is as much a love story between two people as it is a book on the history of the Revolutionary period.   hide

What a wonderful, refreshing, engaging read! McCullough does an excellent job in some 600 pages plumbing the depths of John Adam's character, without lapsing into any boring recitation of dry historical facts. Revolutionary personages like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, Benjamin Rush, and especially Adam's intelligent and engaging wife, Abagail, are all brought alive,...more

What a wonderful, refreshing, engaging read! McCullough does an excellent job in some 600 pages plumbing the depths of John Adam's character, without lapsing into any boring recitation of dry historical facts. Revolutionary personages like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, Benjamin Rush, and especially Adam's intelligent and engaging wife, Abagail, are all brought alive, mainly through their letters to each other and others. Great read which only spurs me on to read and learn more about this fascinating and ground-breaking period. And the movie series (by HBO, I believe) based on this book, starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney, is superbly done as well.   hide

I had started the book not really caring much for Adams. What little I knew was based on rumors of the times and the notorious Aliens and Sedition Acts. I found myself appreciating him much more and caring much less for long-time hero Jefferson. One of the most interesting things from a modern perspective was how quickly parties developed in our political system, as well as how these were...more

I had started the book not really caring much for Adams. What little I knew was based on rumors of the times and the notorious Aliens and Sedition Acts. I found myself appreciating him much more and caring much less for long-time hero Jefferson. One of the most interesting things from a modern perspective was how quickly parties developed in our political system, as well as how these were inflamed by a really nasty press. The situation echoes the modern age, with parties promoted by a press willing to make outlandish predictions of benign political choices, so much so that even Washington was accused of being a "monarchist" by his second term, and Adams' preference for English over French alliance was seen as a motive for a secret plot to reconstitute a monarchy and peer system in America. Of course Lincoln suffered the same, with South Carolina so sure that he would abolish slavery immediately that it seceded before he even had a chance to take office. It will make me consider even more closely any "slippery slope" and disguised-intention arguments that arise today.   hide

Splendid biography of one our less glamorous founding fathers, who not only started a nation, but also a great family. Although he is often accused of vanity by his contemporary detractors throughout the book, Adams comes across as a facillator of other's greatness, promoting Washington to lead the Army, selling Jefferson's words and ideas to the Continental Congress, and encouraging John...more

Splendid biography of one our less glamorous founding fathers, who not only started a nation, but also a great family. Although he is often accused of vanity by his contemporary detractors throughout the book, Adams comes across as a facillator of other's greatness, promoting Washington to lead the Army, selling Jefferson's words and ideas to the Continental Congress, and encouraging John Quincy's scholarly ways so much so that the younger Adams became the most intelligent man ever to hold the American Presidency. Adams never seemed to get around to writing the long, stuffy autobiography expected from today's ex-Presidents. Rather, he became a prodigious letter-writer and McCullough has sifted through these to give us, the lucky readers, the hidden pieces of American history. Many from Massachusetts have set about to follow Adams footsteps to the White House and fallen short. McCullough's conclusion seems to be that it takes an incredibly supportive family to back one's ambition.   hide

In Adam Ted Dekker returns to an earlier style reminiscent of Blink and Thr3e. Be forewarned, Adam is a hardboiled crime story that makes no attempt to sugarcoat evil with civil niceties. Daniel is hunting a serial killer only known to authorities as Eve. Daniel’s obsession with finding Eve before he kills his 17th victim is a vortex into which fellow agent Lori, his estranged wife Heather, and...more

In Adam Ted Dekker returns to an earlier style reminiscent of Blink and Thr3e. Be forewarned, Adam is a hardboiled crime story that makes no attempt to sugarcoat evil with civil niceties. Daniel is hunting a serial killer only known to authorities as Eve. Daniel’s obsession with finding Eve before he kills his 17th victim is a vortex into which fellow agent Lori, his estranged wife Heather, and a retired priest who has seen his fill of evil are all inexorably drawn. While the ending is a little strained and the dialogue not stellar, Adam still rises to the bar of Dekker’s best works. Plotting and energy are Dekker’s strength and he plays to them well in this novel. Unlike House, which seems to have tacked on a spiritual lesson as an afterthought, Adam saves the lesson for the ending but nevertheless makes it without apology; evil is powerful but God is more powerful.   hide

Well-written and interesting, but extremely middle heavy. McCullough races through the first 45 years of Adams's life in a scant 120 pages (yep, that's Adams's childhood, schooling, marriage to Abigail Adams, law career, and the signing of Declaration of Indepedence) to get to the era that really interests him - Adams's diplomatic appointments abroad from 1778 to 1788. The bulk of the book is...more

Well-written and interesting, but extremely middle heavy. McCullough races through the first 45 years of Adams's life in a scant 120 pages (yep, that's Adams's childhood, schooling, marriage to Abigail Adams, law career, and the signing of Declaration of Indepedence) to get to the era that really interests him - Adams's diplomatic appointments abroad from 1778 to 1788. The bulk of the book is spent detailing these interesting and complex years in the Republic's early history, seen through the lens of a man who spent these years in Europe. Finally the pace of the book slows down here, and we get more of a sense of the man and his times. Once he returns to the US in 1788, though, it's back to the pell-mell pace - Adams's vice-presidency and own presidency pass by like lightning. My theory is that McCullough originally intended to write a book about Adams's diplomatic career, but his publisher or editor persuaded him to write a full biography. It was an interesting book, but reading it I had the strong experience that only half of it really engaged the author's interest.   hide

If you love American history this book is a must. David McCullough is a favorite of mine and I picked this book up on strength of author only. I knew little of John Adams and this was before the HBO series (that I have yet to see). Once I began reading I could barely put it down. This is more than the story of the founding of our country. It is a love story between John and...more

If you love American history this book is a must. David McCullough is a favorite of mine and I picked this book up on strength of author only. I knew little of John Adams and this was before the HBO series (that I have yet to see). Once I began reading I could barely put it down. This is more than the story of the founding of our country. It is a love story between John and Abigail. It is the story of a young man that came up by his own bootstraps, the true American story we all admire. It is a man that had his own character flaws and a man that was not always admired or well treated. It is a man torn between duty to country and family, and the woman who supported him. It is a man of strong morals that he passed on to his son who would also become president. I wish I could give this book more than five stars.   hide