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Summary: It is about time...
Review: David McCullough did a superb job in showing the importance, of the often neglected John Adams, to the American Experience. It is high time that America honor this great man with a memorial in our Nations capital. He was instrumental in securing American Independence. Let us all write our representatives for a monument to this great patriot.
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Summary: One of the very best biographies I have ever read.
Review: A superb book which taught me so much American history that I never was taught at school . I knew so much about Jefferson and Washington but nothing about John Adams. It should be MUST reading for everyone. It is not only beautifully written but so informative about the forming of our country, about life in that period and about a fascinating family. Mr. McCullough is owed so many grateful thanks from us all for a book I couldn't put down.
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Summary: America the Beautiful!
Review: What a guy! John Adams it turns out is a hero of the revolutionary war, a book lover and a man with integrity. So, where is he when we really need him, huh? Integrity, what a concept! This should be required reading for all Americans. I really loved this book. It shows what courage and moral convictions can do...and did, We're a better nation because of him.
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Summary: I Adamantly enjoyed this book
Review: For many, John Adams is merely number two, the forgotten second U.S. President after George Washington. David McCullough, however, has created a detailed account of an often overlooked patriot. Some interesting facts...John Adams and his family were the first residents of the White House. Paint still wet, they moved in November 1800. Soon after their move they got lost in the woods north of the city for many hours. John Adams was a third cousin to his own wife, Abigail Smith Adams. Adams was the great-great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden, Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Some of John's favorite foods: Codfish cakes, corn, gingerbread, and hard cider. Easily the best book on the subject, McCullough doesn't exploit the all too popularized Love affair of John and Abigail Smith. Many have scribed about John's beloved "Abbie Girl", as he loved to call her. I, for one, am not so easily amused. I found great comfort in McCullough's bravery in confronting new topics in his book. However I was left curious concerning issues such as many of the first family's underground scandals. I would have enjoyed perusing through a chapter about John's philandering alcoholic second cousin, Samuel. Quite a character, but definitely a man with a palette ahead of his time. This is a concise and engaging book that has peaked my anticipation for McCullough's next work. Rumored to be a follow-up to "John Adams", McCullough will follow the genealogical lineage of the Adams from John to his present day family. Allegedly, this will include information on his famous 7th and 8th Generation Grand-Children: Bryan, Douglas, Patch, Wednesday, and Joey Lauren. -Bits 2001
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Summary: Very good book on a fascinating man
Review: David McCullough is obviously a brilliant writer under any measurement, and this book is no exception. This is more of a personal study of Adams, the man, with a narration of his times. It is sort of following in the trend of the character study biographies on the founders (i.e. Joseph J Ellis) that have been coming out of late, only longer. I think it is hardly fair to call Adams "Obscure" anymore. Perhaps to the public at large, he is, but then who isn't? The public probably knows no more about Jefferson than they do Adams when it comes down to detail. Scholars and writers have been gravitating towards Adams for years now, and they are much more inclined to like him as opposed to Jefferson or the Virginia bunch. Which brings me to a point of minor annoyance with the book. I have always myself been more inclined to the Federalist lot myself but it seems, that there is a decided transfer of heroes underway from the slave-owners to the northern group, which is fine, but it can get annoying. David McCullough rates Adams higher than Jefferson, or most other founders, and he can accomplish this feat by simply taking jabs (sometimes with very good reason) at the views of Jefferson or his character. While there is nothing wrong with this per se, it somewhat detracts from the book if you are someone who has been reading on the topic for some time, and don't really need to see any more examples hypocrisy (as we would see it today), ad nauseam. David McCullough also relies heavily on the diary of Adams, which can hardly be an unbiased source. He doesn't hate Jefferson or Franklin but he doesn't always portray them in the light he does Adams. But then again it is his biography and he can like the subject all he wants. Having said all of that, I hope it does not discourage anyone from buying this book. A great writer writes it about a great man, and that can hardly be bad. It is not the most in-depth portrait of the man or the times, but for anyone looking for an introduction - here it is. Or if you are simply interested in the period it is a very enjoyable, and well done, read. It is probably a 5-star book by most people's standards (and very nearly was for myself) but I distrust the reviews of people as they are too often either 5 stars or 1 star. Moderation, anyone?
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Summary: McCullough Has Done It Again
Review: David McCullough has done it again with his latest work, John Adams. Leave it to McCullough to find an 18th Century version of Harry Truman to tell us about. Like Truman, Adams' correspondence with his wife was both prolific and revealing. Like Truman, Adams was an "everyman" at heart, and was most comfortable on his farm with family and friends. Like Truman, Adams could be painfully honest, was driven more by his internal compass than external politics, and made some very unpopular decisions that, as events ultimately proved, turned out to be the right ones. The History Channel recently aired a 4-part special called "Founding Fathers," (Not to be confused with the Ellis book) and in it, some historian claimed that Adams, had he lived today, would have "been on Prozac." Either that historian does not understand John Adams, or does not understand what Prozac is used for. The book "John Adams" reveals that Adams did indeed have a sour-streak of which he was well aware. But he was neither depressed or obessive-compulsive to the point of any disorder. He would not have needed "Prozac" any more than Harry Truman, who, by the way, also had a temper (he was famous for "long hand spasms," written tirades that aides would dump into the trash before they could get Harry into trouble...) If anything, it might have been Jefferson, as McCullough reveals who might have benefitted from some help! There are no national monuments to either Truman or Adams (that I know of). But McCullough's works stand as monuments to two very solid, very human Americans who had a tremendous effect on the course of history - more than we learn about in school or has been widely understood until McCullough's books came along. (Adams held out for peace with France against tremendous public and political pressure to declare war - a stand which (in time) allowed the Louisana purchase to come about. "John Adams" is another masterpiece of story telling and scholarship by David McCullough.
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Summary: surprising revelation
Review: I had always considered John Adams as the second president of the US, between two giants. Reading this engrossing biography, I found President Adams to be one of the unsung heroes of the US. His unselfish contribution and dedication should be a role model for all current politicians. The style of writing and usage of the diaries and letters from and to President Adams made for excellent reading. My prior experieneces with biographies always found them to be dry and boring not here.
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Summary: Great perspective of someone who gets passed over in school
Review: When you study American history in high school and even in basic entry level college courses, the names and writings of Jefferson, Franklin, Madison and Hamilton become the most familiar. For some reason or another John Adams gets overlooked, and I never questioned why until reading this book. Clearly Adams is a major figure in the organizing and implementing of the New American Experiment. His ideology is one of a collective group of individuals that carries through the Revolutionary War period all the way through the inauguration of George Washington as the country's first president. With the benefit of a creative and flowing writing style of David McCullough, one can enjoy learning more about the mindset of Adams and other Revolutionary era figures as they struggle with the idea of independence and the establishment of a new government. I can't comment on whether or not this is the best book on John Adams, since I haven't read any other books about him, but I can say that this is a wonderful work that goes beyond the conventional layer that historically we have given to John Adams and his legacy.
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Summary: INCREDIBLE BIO!
Review: Wow! I have so many good things to say about this book, it's hard to know where to begin! I have long admired Thomas Jefferson and what little I knew of John Adams came through Jefferson bios, which frequently painted our second president in a negative light. This book "set the record straight." I always knew that Adams was a driving force behind independence, but I never knew the hard work he put into holding the country together. George Washington has often been called "The Father of our Country," but after reading this, I'm not so sure that title shouldn't go to Adams. David McCullough's writing style is rich and poetic and turned this potentially dry and boring topic into a real page-turner!
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Summary: First rate biography of a first rate American
Review: John Adams was not an unblemished individual as indicated by his signing into law (and his enforcement of)the Alien and Sedition Acts. However, if Jefferson was the pen of the Declaration of Independence, the articulate Adams was it's voice in the Congress in Philadelphia. Also, though he was abroad as a diplomat to France and England for an extended periond, and therefore, not part of the constitutional convention, his contributions were nonetheless significant since he authored the Massachusetts constution, parts of which were a model for the US constitution. In reading this book, my respect for Adams grew greatly. Unlike so many of the founding fathers, Adams never owned a slave and was an opponent of slavery. Jefferson, on the other hand, owned many slaves and supported slavery's expansion into Missouri when it was admitted as a state. When Jefferson died, most of his slaves were not freed in his will, but rather, were sold at auction. Additionally, Adams was a strong advocate of religious fredom not just for all Christian denominations, but for Jews too. He was truly had a strong backbone as shown by his legal defense, as a young lawyer, of the British soldiers tried after the "Boston Massacre," despite the fact that Adams was a patriot who would ultimately support independence from Britain. As president, Adams successfully built a strong national defense (particularly a navy) despite opposition of the Republicans. On the other hand, he kept us out of war with France, despite the prodding of many federalists, such as the militaristic Hamilton. Thus, despite pressures from both sides, Adams achieved a policy of peace through stregnth. In his friendship with Jefferson (which had been broken off for many years but later renewed), Adams comes accross as the truer of the two friends. He wrote more letters to Jefferson than Jefferson did to Adams and, when the friendship was strained, Jefferson sometimes made stinging remarks anonymously and then denied making them when caught. Adams, on the other hand, was very rarely duplicitous. The renewed friendship of the two in their later years and their correspondence in which they discuss so much so openly is heartwarming and a highlight of this biography. McCullough has written a great biography of Adams with much space devoted to his wonderful wife Abigail and the rest of the family, particularly John Quincy Adams. This is a family with a strong foundation of principal and I enjoyed reading about Adams and his great family.
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