Rating: 
Summary: Great, Heartfelt and Inspiring
Review: I bought this book and for about the first 50 pages or so thought I would never finish it. I had never read an historical biography before but I like David McCullough and thought it would be good. Then, all of a sudden, I got sucked into it. Everything in it was moving especially the depiction of John & Abigail Adams' loving relationship. IN FACT, I think the book should've been called John & Abigail Adams as HER sacrifices were the equal of his. The book is well balanced and never glories John Adams. It makes a clear point of showing that despite all the great things both John & Abigail did for the country, the losses were great. For example, two of their sons became tragic alcoholics. Perhaps, the book suggests, this was due to John Adams' long absences in his work for the Country. I strongly recommend this to anyone, not just history buffs. My sincerest Thanks to Mr. McCullough for providing me with one of the best books I have ever read!
Rating:
Summary: Colossal
Review: McCullough writes a colossal work on the Colossus of Independence. I have a bit of bias, as Adams has always been my adopted Founder, my favorite of the bunch. Popular history has all but ignored his pivotal role, and the success of McCullough's book will hopefully reverse that. In addition to providing the first detailed biography of Adams in years -- far surpassing Joseph Ellis's book -- McCullough also shows just what it was like to live at that time, as Adams crosses the ocean and mans a gun along with the crew, or spends months crossing mountains to meet his next diplomatic assignment. It's a great work of history, but also a great yarn. McCullough also gives ample space to Abigail Adams, one of the greatest female figures in early America, as well as budding diplomat John Quincy. But the author does lose a bit of credibility for glossing over Adams's complicity in signing the Alien and Sedition Acts -- an error history should forgive, but one that should not be ignored.
Rating:
Summary: A Historical and Literary Masterpiece
Review: Theodore Roosevelt once said something to the effect that a great Historian must also be a great writer.David McCulloch has always taken T.R.'s advice literally with such excellent books as ''Mornings on Horseback'', ''The Path between the Seas'' and His classic ''Truman''.Now He has given us a portrait of one of our greatest, but sadly forgotten Founding Fathers John Adams. The Life of John Adams is a testament to courage, honor, integrity and unshakable faith.From His bold defense of the British soldiers who carried out the ''Boston Massacre'' to His refusal to take America to war with France. Many ''Historians'' like Sean Wilentz just to name one have panned this superb book saying that John Adams is no hero because He signed the blatantly unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts.The actions of Adams in this time of hysteria is no worse than Abraham Lincoln 's suspension of the Writ of Habeus Corpus or Woodrow Wilson's signing of the Espionage Act or Franklin D. Roosevelt's signing of Executive order 9066 authorizing the imprisonment of the Japanese-American community after Pearl Harbor.Adams later recanted his misdeeds which these other Presidents did not.My favorite parts of the book are the accounts of Adams relationship with His ''proto-feminist ''wife Abagail. And His lively correspondence in His later years with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Rush among others. Their comments have just as much resonance today as they did then.In His introduction to the book McCulloch says that we can never know enough about Adams and the other Founders. I agree, just one of many reasons for reading this superb book.
Rating:
Summary: Flattery Like This
Review: If you liked this book and would like to see things from another, earlier perspective I suggest searching for the out of print book "This Man Adams - The Man Who Never Died" by Samuel McCoy. It's also a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: spoiled to honest writing
Review: I HAVE STARTED A PERSONAL LIBRARY OF OUR FOUNDERS AND JUST HOW OUR COUNTRY HAS ENDURED THE HARDSHIPS THAT CAME ABOUT TO ESTABLISH WHAT WE HAVE TODAY.IAM PERSONALY WRITING A NOVAL AND FIND THAT DAVID MC:CULLOUGH AND HIS HARD WORK VERY REWARDING. I HAVE READ EVERY BOOK THAT THIS AUTHOR HAS WRITTEN EXCEPT FOR TWO,AND PLAN TO PURCHASE THOSE SOON. JOHN ADAMS OPEN MY EYES TO ALOT OF THINGS I JUST TOOK FOR GRANTED AND HOPE TO PASS THESE WRITINGS ON TO MY GRANCHILDREN.
Rating:
Summary: Very biased review!
Review: Since my mother's mother is an Adams, I looked forward to clues concerning my own heritege. Family charactersitics not withstanding, McCullough has produced a remarkable work. Warts and all, I have come to see John Adams as never before. Almost every page was a new story with more anticipation than a "Hitchcock Mystery". I learned more of American history than in all of my many, many years in school and reading. And I thoroughly enjoyed it all. My only regret was coming to the end . . . I wish that the book were two volumes, or three . . . instead of just the one...
Rating:
Summary: Rejoice Ever More in the Old Oak
Review: I have spent the past few days reading ADAMS; in fact, I have not wanted to put it down. Not a student of history, like many Americans, I have little depth in my understanding of the period which created the USA. McCullough brought to life a time mainly held captive in museums. His rich portraits of the men, who are often presented one-dimensionally, and the women, who are seldom presented at all, are rich and compelling. The relationship between John and Abigail Adams, and theirs with the members of their families, are tender and strong. The trials of separations, family illnesses and deaths, and the enduring love between Abigail and John Adams brought tears at times and a deep respect for the sacrifices made to bring the United States to life. Adams's service with Franklin and Jefferson in France, prior to the impending French Revolution, brings illumination to the political struggles of their time. Adams was no saint but an exceedingly hard-worker and a prolific, to his detriment at times, writer. Jefferson was the tall, smooth slave-owner who retains history's blessing. Both held "these truths to be self-evident" and come to life with a force and a friendship understandable over 200 years later. I look forward to a volume on Jefferson.
Rating: 
Summary: Book review of John Adams
Review: In David McCullough's biography on "John Adams" he reveals the human side of one of Americas founding fathers. Using mostly primary surces, diaries and letters, McCullough unmasks John Adams' foibles, fears, and passions. McCullough begins with Adams as a young man and continues through to when Adams lived and endured hardships during the American Revolutionary war; to when he became president of the United States, to finally when he spent his last days in Quincy Massachutts. The letters by John and Abigail Adams, to each other, and the many letters between friends, reveal a candor and a forthrightness unparalleled from any other founding father. For example, Abigail wrote her husband once complaining how she missed him and that shes "been living like a nun in a cloister", for lack of sex. With vivdness and honesty readers can move into their lives and almost see and feel what the Adams felt. According to McCullough there are some "608 microfilm reels" or more than "five miles of microfilm" of the Adams' correspondences (Pp. 653). However, McCullough fails to show, with clear thought as Russell Kirk has done in "The Conservative Mind" that John Adams was a conservative. McCullough does show that Adams was at odds with the Jeffersionians and even with members of his own party, such as Hamilton. He dos not clarify, with clear perception, what exactly his political philosophy he embraced. Moreover, McCullugh fails to clarify what religious persuasion Adams embraced. Was he a Calvinist, like his forbears? Or was he a Unitarian like so many was and becoming in Massachutts in his day? McCullough does show that Adams was a very deep religious man but to what bent or persuasion the reader finds asking. Over all McCullough's book on John Adams is a fantastic read and it reveals the human side of Adams, with all his strenghts and weaknesses. It pulls back the veil of a founding father and allows modern day readers to get a glimpse of a great man and his family.
Rating:
Summary: a historical page-turner
Review: I have read a lot of history books, and I never expected this one to be as good as it was. It was one of those books that make you feel bad when you come to the end, because you just wish it could go on and on.
Rating:
Summary: Some perspective on the Alien and Sedition Acts
Review: In response to david w. starfield who titled his review "An Apologist for Adams": Please get some perspective. How can you seriously claim that the Alien and Sedition Acts are "arguably the greatest infraction of civil liberties in American history"? Ever heard of slavery? Japanese internment camps? Hello!
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