Rating: 
Summary: Restores Adams to his rightful place of prominence
Review: McCullough has done our country a great service by reintroducing us to Mr. Adams. What a giant. What integrity. And what sacrifices he (and Abigail) made for our country. Most interesting were his years in Europe and all of his behind the scenes negotiations which kept our young country afloat. There are wonderful stories of his meetings at Versailles, his appearance before George III, his visit to the church in Holland where the Pilgrims came from, and his long ride over the mountains in Portugal (on horseback, in winter). Also, very candid and revealing tidbits about Franklin, and an unvarnished look at Jefferson. What Adams did for this country is unfathomable, and this book should be read by every American over the age of 16. Too many other things to tell (his law practice, his defense of the British soldiers from the Boston Massacre, his insistence that Jefferson write the Declaration, the devesating losses of his son and daughter, his retirement, etc.) Six years in the making, McCullough does Adams justice with his excellent research, and does a masterful job at weaving it all into a great story which gives Adams his due; he has been so underappreciated. You owe it to yourself to read this book and have it in your library.
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Summary: A definitive history that must be in every library!
Review: If there is one book that should be required for every high school student studying american history, this is it. Given the numerous letters Adams had written to all the important (and unimportant) figures of the american revolution, McCullough had plenty of material to guide his pen. Not only is this a book about John Adams, it also provides insight into the voices and actions of the other founding fathers, particularly Jefferson (and Franklin). In fact, assuming you don't already know the dynamics of Jefferson's character, you may walk away from this book with a different opinion of him. Given all that has happened in the past year, this is a great book to explore the origins of american political thought. A good read that is a must for every library, american or not.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Written History
Review: A common fault with most biographers is to either to polarize on the side of the subject or against the subject. McCullough tends to side with Adams in this case. For the most part this favoritism does not affect the story, Adams was undeniably a great man . However the 'Alien and Sedition' acts of his period were a definite blot on his record, a blot that McCullough seems to gloss over. Aside from such minor lapses in favoritism the book still remains a excellent history. It has been well researched. McCullough has used wide use of primary source quotes to prove his points, a key indicator of a good historian. What's more McCullough also has a keen literary sense which is commonly missing in many history's.
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Summary: Fact Reads Like Fiction
Review: There is lots that will seem familiar to you about "John Adams." The author, David McCullough, is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'Truman.' The portrait on the cover is the familiar one of Adams by Gilbert Stuart. We all know our American history so what we would read between the cover won't be new, right?
Well, for me, the answer is 'no.' This book turned out not only to be good review, but a fascinating, novel-like read.
Not only that, but, as my grandson said, 'This is not your grandmother's history any more.' History has been rewritten since I was in school. I learned (or re-learned) little tidbits like: 1. The first celebration of the birth of our country didn't occur on July 4th but on July 6th. That was in Philadelphia. Word didn't get to South Carolina or Virginia for their celebrations until August! 2. There were only seven teachers in the hallowed halls of Harvard when John Adams was a student there. 3. Harvard students in those days had to take their own cutlery which they wiped on the table linen after each meal in preparation for the next. How gross! This book should have a wider appeal than 'For History Buffs' only. I highly'very highly'recommend it.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition
Rating:
Summary: Good Objective View of an Otherwise Ignored President
Review: McCullough's account of John Adams is not only a complete review of the second President's life from cradle to grave, but by proxy, a good look at the struggle to make a new country. This is especially evident on the diplomatic front where Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and others fought for recognition, and more importantly, financial commitments from Europe. Readers always need to be wary of biographies because many authors, either through partisanship or unconscious affection, tend to omit or minimize criticisms aimed at their subjects. McCullough does well in reminding readers that Adams was not well liked by many of his peers due to insecurity, vanity and confrontationalism. Nor does he let slide Adams' support for the heinous Alien and Sedition Act. For those who don't know much about the lives (as opposed to only the overt contributions) of Franklin, Madison and Jefferson would do well to read biographies of those men, as they are generally portrayed as villains to Adams' protaganist. Although the accomplishments of each are highlighted, Adams' criticism of them should be checked by a reading of their lives, so that students of history can make up their own minds. Overall, McCullough does a service by showing Adams as a quarrelsome and uncompromising patriot as well as a loving (although absent) husband, father and farmer. In the end, we see him as a common man, frequently outclassed and outmoneyed on an intimidating world stage, pushing to create a country where we can live in peace and quiet.
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Summary: A marvelous story of the greatest importance
Review: It's no surprise that this book has been a bestseller. It's an amazing story of an unbelievably full (and long!) life, told by a master storyteller. McCullough seems to truly understand John Adams's character, how he felt, why he reacted in certain ways. That said, McCullough does have a tendency toward hagiography. He occasionally excuses Adams behavior rather than dealing with it. A good example, as noted by many critics, is McCullough's discussion of the Sedition Acts of 1798, an unconstitutional law that completely contradicted the First Amendment. Adams, once a strong supporter of including a bill of rights in the Constitution, signed the bill, and according to McCullough, was probably happy to see his opponents squirm a little. Unfortunately, McCullough never points out the irony of Adams's support for the Bill of Rights, or his long history of protecting speech. Granted, the incident is somewhat exceptional in his life, but McCullough makes no attempt to deal with it directly. In a sense, it's as if he himself has gone inside Adams's head, and is writing how Adams himself might have written. While this works marvelously well for much of the book, it does come up short in a few areas. Overall, however, this is still an incredible work. Set aside some time to work on it, because it's long, but it is very readable, and time moves very quickly.
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Summary: Addictive, Compelling bit of Patriotic Hagiography
Review: When reading this book, I felt at times that the author was selling John Adams like a Madison Ave Advertiser.Even though I was conscious of this while I was reading, by the end I felt that John Adams was the greatest American ever. David McCullough's prose is sometimes glib and always entertaining. This is the kind of book that can, has and will re-awaken Americans to the importance of our Founding Fathers and their accomplishments and instill a sense of the importance of our experiment in Self government. By doing so, I think that the shortcomings of this book (from an academic historian's viewpoint)are outweighed by the cultural impact it makes. I enjoyed this book so much that I immediately starting McCullough's Truman afterwards and am currently searching for a biography of John Quincy Adams, who definitely seems like a great subject. I hope McCullough continues to write more for years to come.
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Summary: History as High Drama!
Review: Pulitzer prize winner David McCullough has the gift of writing good history that reads like an exciting novel. This biography of John Adams made me appreciate the founding fathers of our country. Theirs was not an easy task. Forging our young American republic took intellectual and moral stamina. John Adams had both. While the book emphasizes John, it cannot ignore Abigail who was an essential part of John Adam's success. The two maintained an extensive correspondence which gives us a glimpse into their marriage and into the issues of the day. Thomas Jefferson comes off in these pages as brilliant but somewhat hypocritical. He was against slavery but owned slaves. He preached economy but was a hopeless spendthrift.
The friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was complicated and devoted. I'm glad I read this book and recommend it without qualification.
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Summary: Due credit given to a true founding father
Review: The first book I read about the times surrounding the American Revolution was "John Adams A Life" by John Ferling. It had the effect of tuning me in to the enormous impact the Adams had during that time. David McCullough has written an equally glorious work on the man who many are unaware of his historical relevance. McCullough has said "It's long overdue. There is no other American - no other patriot- with the exception of George Washington, who did more toward winning the Revolution and establishing our republican form of government than John Adams". I will go on record as saying that I believe Adams impact on the success of the revolution to be unparalleled. Yes, even George Washington's contribution cannot supplant Adams' role in history. Although Washington's work in the battlefield approaches genius, the key to the victory was Adams' diligent and selfless role in bringing the budding nation's leaders together for the common cause. Without his leadership, the likelihood of victory in the war would have been much more difficult for Washington. Although Adams was admittedly overly concerned with his place in history, his actions were selfless and directed to a single noble cause. Adams could very well have authored the Declaration of Independance but deferred to Jefferson as he knew that his value on the floor of the Continental Congress was much more important. His oratory skills were far superior to Jeffersons and they both knew it. Moreover, much of the verbage in the document came from Adams pen. Adams was a man with many personal flaws, but what makes him so interesting to study is his awareness of these flaws and his honesty in his personal documentation. Reading Jefferson's writings on the contrary seem to be made for the public. Jefferson was also one to avoid conflict while Adams had no fear. If the CC was filled with men like Jefferson, the revolution would surely have been relegated to the next generation. It is unfortunate that Jefferson has received more repute than Adams and hopefully books such as these will change this. Adams wrote to his beloved wife Abagail, "Yesterday the greatest Question was decided, which ever was debated in America, and a greater perhaps, never was or will be decided among Men". He may have been correct, but this question would not have been decided if not for his leadership. He also wrote "Mausoleums, statues, monuments will never be erected to me". Hopefullly this statement is not correct and the nation will more fully give him his appropraite due.
Rating:
Summary: Restoring Adams
Review: As others have noted, this is an outstanding work which not only sheds light on the life of Adams, but on the American Revolution and the Federalists debates that followed. I can add little to what other reviewers have said, so will comment on things that they may not have mentioned. (So please do not rely exclusively on this review.) What I found most interesting about Adams from this biography, and which leads me to want to learn more was about how is views of human nature, particularly self-serving self-deceptions, influenced his views about proper constitutions. Unlike the romantics of his time, he knew that mantaining a non-tyranical form of government would not be easy. It is odd that he seemed so well disposed of people while having what would otherwise be a remarkably cynical view of human nature. This view of human nature, along with his views about the forms of government that are stable is what intrigues me most now about Adams' life. But there is a great deal of other material in there that will fascinate others. His capacity to refrain from passing judgment on those that had done him harm is simply astonishing, and is what this book brings out. My one complaint (which is why I've rated this with four stars instead of five) is that the author seems to feel that he needs to trash Jefferson in order to praise Adams. Yes, Jefferson lacked the sincerity and integrity of Adams, but the implications throughout that Jefferson wasn't the scientist that popular history has made him out to be is simply unfair. The author correctly calls the Alien and Sedition Acts as the most reprehensible act of Adams' Presidency, but spends less time discussing them then he does of Jefferson's spendthrift ways. On the whole, this book is fascinating. The writing is never about itself, but serves its purpose of telling the story and communicating the ideas directly, easily and flowingly. Nothing ever feels contrived, clunky or needlessly decorative. As an aside, I would recommend to anyone looking at the peculiar lack of content debate within the European Union about the nature of that union to look carefully at this period of American history. This biography is as good a place to start as any to help place that debate within a living context.
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