<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting, though somewhat limited look at Adams
Review: Ellis' fine work demonstrates that, unlike Jefferson, John Adams' vision of government still has much to teach us today. While Adams was blessed with a long and productive life, the author's focus on his retirement years deprives us of some insights and perspective on Adams' presidency and his days as an ambivalent leader of the revolutionary movement.I would recommend this book highly; however, if you are only going to read one book on Adams, read John Ferlings' biography, which is broader in scope and just as well written.
Rating: 
Summary: I couldn't put it down!!!
Review: I am like dspector -- I searched this book out after reading Ellis's "American Sphinx" on Jefferson. I am now a true John Adams fan. I have also read Ferling's biography of Adams, and agreed that it was more thorough, but not that it was as well written. Ellis has no equal in writing historical biography! I'm now interested in knowing if anyone is working on a John Adams Memorial comparable to the Washington and Jefferson memorials in D.C. Why is he ignored? How about putting him on some of our money???
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating overview of John Adam's character
Review: I searched this book out after first reading Professor Ellis's outstanding character analysis of Thomas Jefferson in "American Sphinx". "Passionate Sage" was written before the Jefferson book (which won a National Book Award) and, as a critical analysis of John Adam's character , should be regarded as a companion piece to American Sphinx. The two books tell a similar story, but from the very different perspectives of Jefferson and Adams. With a fluent, gripping and readable style uncommon among professional historians, Professor Ellis makes a compelling case that the eccentric and volatile Adams is seriously underappreciated both for his towering contributions to this nation and for his unconventional yet oddly endearing personality. Anyone who likes American history should not miss this book.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the best seller
Review: I thought the energy, mischevious wit and intellectual excitement of Adam's mind was wonderfully brought to life with this book. Though not an A to Z life story - it generally focuses on his later life - it still manages to give you a sense of the whole man and the challenges of his times. I wish Ellis would have written a more comprehensive life story, perhaps he will yet.
Rating:
Summary: Delayed Posterity
Review: John Adams, following his death in 1826, has been essentially a non-entity in the eyes of the general American public. While nearly any school child can tell you about George Washington and his cherry tree, and any middle-schooler can tell you about Jefferson and his contention in the Declaration of Independence that ALL men are created equal, Adams remains obscure. In fact most Americans know him as the Founder who by some "twist of cosmic fate" died on the same day as Thomas Jefferson, exactly fifty years following the Declaration of Independence. Beyond that however, if they know anything, it was that he was a wild and eccentric man, prone to irrational behavior. In writing and language that is equally accessible to the historian and the casual reader, Joseph Ellis reexamines the life of Adams primarily after his retirement to his family home in Quincy, Massachusetts. In doing so, Ellis brings a fresh perspective in understanding the legacy of one of the most misunderstood men of American history; a perspective that can help reform not only the historian's view, but the public's perception as well. Ellis dedicates merely the first chapter to the years that preceded Adams's retirement to Quincy. It is the essential background that one needs to know and understand in order to realize the full extent of the torment and bitterness experienced by Adams in the early years of retirement. During his years as President he suffered bitter attacks from both the High Federalists and the Jeffersonians for his attempts to "carve out a centrist political position from which he might better implement policies that served the long-term national interest" (Ellis 30). Unfortunately, most of his career as President was characterized by criticisms, just and unjust, of his temperament. It was these attacks, in particular Hamilton's Letter from Alexander Hamilton, Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams, Esq. President of the United State, in addition to what Ellis deems to be "an intense mixture of political commitment, palpable ambition, and painful insecurity" (Ellis 38) that lead to his bitterness following his failed bid for reelection. In truth, the bitterness following his retirement is what Ellis uses to demonstrate Adams growth through the years, from the impetuousness of character the blighted his political career, to the sagacity of over twenty years of self-analysis and retrospect. During the initial years of his retirement Adams spent time attacking those he felt had done him injury or had treated him unjustly. Through his friendship with Benjamin Rush, Adams was able to reestablish a relationship with Thomas Jefferson, the man who had beat him during his reelection bid. This is the starting point for the rest of what Ellis wants to communicate. He uses the Jefferson-Adams correspondence to establish many of the points he wants to communicate about Adams, and his unique view of the world. Ellis characterizes Adams as, "the supreme political realist of the revolutionary generation" (Ellis 173). He was a man who, amidst unbridled optimism and hope for the future, was willing to point out the potential pitfalls of society. Ellis states, "Even without the benefit of hindsight, Adams had warned Jefferson that individual freedom and social equality were incompatible ideas, that ignoring the conflict only assured the triumph of the privileged, as in fact happened" (Ellis 221). The brilliance of Adams was his ability to understand the problems facing fledgling America. According to Ellis his initiatives in foreign policy set the tone for America for the next hundred years (Ellis 42). He saw the precarious situation of the young country, predicted the coming of the War of 1812, the necessity of a strong navy, and a conflict over slavery that would tear the nation asunder. Adams's legacy was denied for many years simply because of its pessimistic nature was a stark contrast to the unbridled idealism of Jefferson and other Founding Fathers. Ellis demonstrates to the historian and the casual reader the greatness of a man who's contribution to American history is more often than not summed up in a few sentences, or one small paragraph. He takes a long look Adams, his beliefs, and his temperament, and elevates it, warts and all, to a level on which he can finally be understood. Ellis is establishing the posterity that has so long been denied to perhaps the greatest mind of the Revolutionary period.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, extraordinary work of history......
Review: Written with wit, charm, and a keen eye for historical detail, this book restores John Adams to his rightful place as one of our most intelligent, prescient forefathers. Dealing primarily with his post-presidential life, the author creates a fascinating image of an aging, yet mentally sound patriarch attempting to rehabilitate his image and settle old scores with former foes. In addition to highlighting the legendary correspondence with Jefferson (where Adams doubled the epistolary output of Mr. Jefferson), the author also brings to light his lengthy disputes with Mary Wollstonecraft and Mercy Otis Warren. Fortunately, Adams is neither belittled nor attacked with the unfairness of hindsight. Instead, he is presented in the fullness of his complexity; often self-righteous, obsessive, and grouchy, yet always believing that the principles of the Revolution were best served by a national, rather than provincial, approach. Few have disputed Adams' eloquence or dignity and now, thanks to Mr. Ellis, we can finally see that Adams just might be one of the most relevant.
<< 1 >>
|
