Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, but favors the subject too much
Review: As with his biography of Harry Truman, I found McCullough's work on John Adams to be enjoyable, putting Adams into more accurate context with his better-known contemporaries -- Jefferson, Franklin and Washington. Through his judicious use of Adams' many surviving letters and journals, the author does an excellent job of allowing the reader to get a good feel for Adam's point of view during a very tumultuous time in our nation's history.My sole concern about the book was that I felt McCullough tended to take Adams' side on most every issue. The spin on Adams in the book is almost always positive; on Franklin, Jefferson and those who may oppose him, the spin is generally negative. In my judgment, McCullough should have questioned Adams and his motives a little more rather than take his arguments at face value. The author's natural style sacrifices some objectivity for personability. That being said, I would still recommend the book to anyone that wants to learn more about our founding fathers and the cauldron from which our nation was made.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and educational
Review: Kudos to David McCullough for putting history into a very engaging format. Even though he respected and praised John Adams, he was also sure to point out the comments that other politicians of the time said about Adams. Granted, the comments were mostly explained away as being political in nature. The annals of American history have largely passed Adams by, but after reading this book, perhaps historians may want to revisit this patriot. As mentioned in the book, it is easy to remember Thomas Jefferson since he was the better writer. Adams' forte was in oratory, and there are no recordings to show us how good he was. We only have mentions of it in others' letters and journals. All the stages of his life receive equal mention, but his time in Europe stands out to me more. His work behind the scenes there helped the nation become recognized. I not only learned about Adams, but I learned a bit about Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. It is hard to imagine our forefathers participating in political scandal and savagery. Perhaps we have not changed much from those times. I would highly recommend reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fine Biography of a Great American Patriot
Review: David McCullough has written the Adams biography that finally does our second president justice. Adams' reputation as obnoxious, vain, and disliked by his peers has for many years overshadowed the accomplishments of the man. The truth is, the United States owes a greater debt of gratitude to Adams than most people realize. McCullough chronicles Adams' tireless service to the cause of liberty and his considerable role in structuring a representative republic. Without Adams' hand, the United States as we know it today may be a quite different nation than it is. Such was the influence of Adams, and we can thank McCullough for revealing to us the actual greatness of the man. The John and Abigail Adams union is perhaps the greatest political love story in US history. McCullough understands and appreciates the role that Abigail played in John Adams' life and career, and he devotes a good portion of the book to Abigail's influence on her husband. Abigail was not a highly educated woman, but her common sense and intelligence, as well as her devotion to her "dearest friend", reveal her to be woman ahead of her time. It is difficult to imagine John Adams without Abigail, especially after reading this book. McCullough is a responsible historian, and in being so he refuses to whitewash his subjects. He does not deify Adams; he shows us his flaws as well as his attributes. Adams was human, subject to the same imperfections as anyone. This truth, however, allows readers to marvel at Adams' accomplishments even more. After all, that which may be simple for a god to accomplish can require a superhuman effort for a mortal to achieve, and Adams' list of achievements is long and impressive.
McCullough's "John Adams" is a well-researched and thorough biography, yet it is anything but dry. The author has the rare gift of capturing on paper all that is exciting about history, something to which readers of his previous books about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal can attest. McCullough reinforces the notion that the world's greatest stories are the true stories, and that our great historians can be our best storytellers.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Bio
Review: McCullough is a master of getting into the character of historcal personages and then making them come alive on paper. Exhaustively researched, this book gets into the very heart and soul of one of the most pivotal characters of American Independence.
Rating:
Summary: Overly detailed in parts, but brilliant
Review: A bit slow in parts, but from a compelling opening to the end, this is a brilliant portrait of an often-overlooked intellectual and political hero of America's formative years. By the time it's over, it's as though you've come to know a personal friend, from across the generations -- first rate historical writing.
Rating:
Summary: Never More Timely.
Review: If I were a high school or college teacher of history or social studies, I'd adopt David McCullough's "John Adams" as my classroom textbook. Part biography, part historical treatise, part memoir, the book is wholly wonderful. As a reasonably well-read forty-something product of the public school system, I was surprised to learn from reading this book more about Adams, the American Revolution, and the American ideal than from all my previous experiences combined. It's that good. McCullough relies heavily on the vast reserve of Adams' own writings to so thoroughly characterize a man who's been dead for nearly two hundred years, that you feel you know him as a best friend by book's end. And what a man he was. Absolutely devoted to reading and education, and dedicated to the pursuit of freedom and liberty, Adams may be more responsible for the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the U.S. Navy, our "separation of powers" system of government, and the very set of American values that has sustained us for two centuries, than any other man who ever lived. His wisdom, foresight, and study of world history led him to predict in his early twenties that world domination by France and England could soon end, and that America's thirteen disparate colonies could unite and rise to a greatness rivaling that of ancient Greece or Rome. As an old man, more than forty years before the Civil War, he hypothesized that the issue of slavery could one day rend the nation apart. This was a man of vision. It is hard to read McCullough's laudable prose and Adams' letters concerning the development of America without rethinking the whole question of America's worth--and patriotism in general. Virtually every country in the world observes some "independence day" or other celebration of nationalism. But so many of them are based on not-so-worthy events: coups, political intrigue, despotism, genocide, etc. McCullough's Adams helps us to see the American Revolution as a watershed event in human civilization, where a relatively small group of incredibly intelligent statesmen came together to pursue an ideal. They were--for the most part--motivated not by partisanship or personal gain, but by the simple desire to do good. John Adams epitomizes the stereotypical white-wigged Founding Father who dared to believe that the granting of rights flowed from people to government, not the reverse. I was equally satisfied to learn Adams' position on slavery. He was against it, and never owned a slave, unlike his on-again-off-again political friend/foe, Thomas Jefferson. Although he lost this argument, he felt that all men were obviously NOT created equal. They come in different colors, sizes, abilities, and temperaments. But they all deserve EQUAL RIGHTS. This is a man all Americans can revere. Thank you, David McCullough, for bringing him alive once again. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.
Rating:
Summary: John Adams
Review: Don't just read John Adams because, like the author, it is an American treasure. Read everything David McCullough has ever written!
Rating:
Summary: must read
Review: McCullough's opus is an easy to read, fascinating account of our greatest patriot. Did you know that John Adams: Defended in court the British soldiers at the Boston Massacre? Wrote the Massachussetts' Constitution? Immediately criticized the U.S. Constitution for failing to enunciate individual rights (later incorporated in the Bill of Rights)? Foresaw our country's rise to world power? Served as our first official ambassador to England? All this and more in this tremendous book.
Rating:
Summary: A magnificent biography
Review: Hats off to David McCullough! What a fine piece of biographical writing this is--one of the best biographies I've ever read. As a historian myself, and one who published a book of my own in 2001, I would have handled some things differently. But then the readership for my book will probably be less than .1% of McCullough's. The academic monograph has its place; winning the heart of the educated reader through a well-written narrative such as this is much more important. McCullough has justly earned all his kudos and royalties. And, for what it's worth, John Adams deserves a statue in some significant public space.
Rating:
Summary: John Adams
Review: McCullough did a heck of a job in capturing all the aspects of John Adams' lives. From his temper to his unfair treatment by others, this book shows, in great depth, the contributions of a man who was often misunderstood. Although a bit long at times, McCoullogh's storytelling keeps your attention and draws you into the time period. He does such a good job of this, that you will find yourself outraged at times and at the end saddened by the death of two great patriots. Great book!
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