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John Adams | 
 enlarge | Author: David Mccullough
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $20.00
Buy New: $11.70
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Avg. Customer Rating:  714 reviews
Sales Rank: 251
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reissue
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 768
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 141657588X
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.44092
EAN: 9781416575887
ASIN: 141657588X
Publication Date: January 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling books online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080515211443T
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Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Left to his own devices, John Adams might have lived out his days as a Massachusetts country lawyer, devoted to his family and friends. As it was, events swiftly overtook him, and Adams--who, David McCullough writes, was "not a man of the world" and not fond of politics--came to greatness as the second president of the United States, and one of the most distinguished of a generation of revolutionary leaders. He found reason to dislike sectarian wrangling even more in the aftermath of war, when Federalist and anti-Federalist factions vied bitterly for power, introducing scandal into an administration beset by other difficulties--including pirates on the high seas, conflict with France and England, and all the public controversy attendant in building a nation. Overshadowed by the lustrous presidents Washington and Jefferson, who bracketed his tenure in office, Adams emerges from McCullough's brilliant biography as a truly heroic figure--not only for his significant role in the American Revolution but also for maintaining his personal integrity in its strife-filled aftermath. McCullough spends much of his narrative examining the troubled friendship between Adams and Jefferson, who had in common a love for books and ideas but differed on almost every other imaginable point. Reading his pages, it is easy to imagine the two as alter egos. (Strangely, both died on the same day, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.) But McCullough also considers Adams in his own light, and the portrait that emerges is altogether fascinating. --Gregory McNamee
Product Description
In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second president of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; who was learned beyond all but a few and regarded by some as "out of his senses"; and whose marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the most moving love stories in American history. This is history on a grand scale -- a book about politics and war and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, John Adams is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 709 more reviews...
 Outstanding Biography May 16, 2008
I had heard about this book on NPR when they did an interview with the author. It sounded fantastic but I normally do not read biographies so I didn't bother with it. THEN I got my Kindle and remembered the NPR interview and thought WHY NOT? reading it on my Kindle is not going to break my hands (It's 762 pages long)! I quickly downloaded it and dove in.
What a surprise. This book is well-researched and correlated to present a side of the formation of our nation/government and several well-known historical characters that I previously never knew. Adam's own letters and those written to him by others, including his beloved with Abigal, show real-time action and opinions as things happened. I saw a side of Jefferson I never knew existed and the characterization of Benjamin Franklin makes one wonder how either of them would get on in politics today.
The one thing I learned was the more things change, the more they stay the same, and the struggles of our fledgling nation in that time and space do not seem so different than the things we face today. The names have changed and time has marched on, but people will be people and nothing makes that more clear than this amazing biography. I strongly suspect that were John Adams alive today he'd be in the thick of things in Congress sticking to his morals and fighting for the rights of the PEOPLE versus the rights of the government to interfer.
(Did I mention that I love my Kindle?)
McCullough wants to take you there ... and he does. May 12, 2008
Wonderful picture of the times and the man. McCullough gives us a fascinating picture of a great man with public and private flaws (the Alien and Sedition Acts were wrong, and his relationship with his second son Charles could have been repaired if he was more compassionate). He also shows us the tumultuous times in which he lived and the people in his orbit (you rock, Abigail). Although I agree with reviewers that note that McCullough does become too fond not only of John but most of the Adams family, I think as a whole the biography works well. I'll never again underestimate how truly perilous the founding of our country was.
 History-lite (tastes good, less filling) May 6, 2008
David McCullough is to history was John Grisham is to literature: he's lite fare, easily digestable but not particulary nourishing. To me, the book seemed like a watered-down and streamlined portrayal of an important historical figure. It's reasonable well-written and moves along at a good clip; it just seems superficial. I guess that's o.k. if your target audience is people who don't normally read history. If you fall into that category, the JA is probably the book for you. Personally, however, I usually like to read "serious" works of history. History-lite just doesn't seem worth my time....
Not terrible but not recommended.
Brilliant biography May 6, 2008
There are many more erudite descriptions of John Adams. I decided to write a review because it is my favorite non-fiction book and I felt that the HBO series took the wind out of Adams' sails in so many ways. The HBO miniseries, which I long awaited, bored me to tears. There was none of the excitement in the series that I read in the book. Paul Giamatti's Adams could not speak above a whisper and did not convey, at least to me, the spirit of John Adams, which I read in 2001 and still remember vividly. John Adams had such an interesting and varied life, that to distill it as it was done in the HBO series leaves the viewer questioning how this complex man was anything more than a bombastic autocrat.
David McCullough's use of primary sites and his use of the many letters written to his wife Abigail makes this book one of the most memorable and romantic of all the founding fathers. He clearly writes about his personal life - his treatment of his children, the favoritism of John Quincy, his life-long love affair with his wife and their juxtaposition with his duty to his fledgling country as well as his interest in his own epitaph. He brings to life a human who was so multi-faceted and brings most of those facets to life.
I am not an historian, so I realize there are many things missing knowledge of John Adams. However, that which was included was readable, interesting and kept me turning those many pages with ease.
Where are the John Adams of today? May 3, 2008
Of course it is only a metaphorical question, but if there were more politicians around who adored their wife and their country, America would be a pretty different place. He said what he thought and he thought deeply. He had a strict moral obligation to his God, country and his family and would never consider going against any of these things. This book reveals all these things about a complicated man. It is not a dry academic novel but a fascinating story. You cannot find too many of these out there and I have had to read many of those to get through bachelors degree and halfway through my masters. One of the things that impressed me the most was the level with which he treated his wife. In the time that he lived this was phenomenal.
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