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 enlarge | Author: David Mccullough
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
List Price: $100.00
Buy New: $52.46
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Avg. Customer Rating:  778 reviews
Media: Audio Download
ASIN: B000CQK05C
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| Customer Reviews:
 An Extraordinary Life November 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Many Americans have scant knowledge of our country's 2nd President. He is typically eclipsed by those who came before and after him: George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Those who may have an inkling of his Presidency most likely point only to one of his worst policy decisions: passge of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
This book attempts to address this problem by providing an indepth look at the life of one of this country's most significant statesmen. McCullough approaches Adams through a unique lens: his writing style and narrative tries to put the reader in John Adam's shoes and it does so very well. As with most biographies from this time period, a majority of his content is drawn from the healthy amount of correspondence that flew between John Adams and those he was writing to. Insight into the 2nd President's personal life are taken from a rich correspondence between Mr. Adams and his wife Abagail.
The result is a stunning biography that is both a tale of this man's life and a story of the forming of the United States. By extension, you learn about the stories of those Adams interacted with, the great statesman that came to be called our "Founding Fathers". The narrative is engaging and provides a unique insight into who these people were, their political viewpoints, and where they stood on the great policy debates of their time.
What Adams Would Have Wished For November 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
McCullough has done his usual thorough research of all contemporary source documents: letters, diaries, newspaper articles - made easy because John Adams, his wife Abigail, and contemporaries like Jefferson were prolific writers - and organized it all to tell a compelling and coherent story of one of America's greatest men.
Once again, McCullough's research is a testimony to what going back to the original source documents can do toward discovering the real history of a period. Ask ten Americans to name the three primary figures of the American Revolution and you'll probably hear Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin listed. Read this book and you'll come to understand just how important a figure Adams was - perhaps the most important of all the Founding Fathers.
McCullough enables us to see Adams and the other giants of his time as real people - warts and all. Thus we come away with a clear view that while Washington was every bit the admirable charismatic hero we have been taught, Franklin and Jefferson were flawed geniuses, with very human foibles and idiosyncrasies. We learn that Adams had his faults as well - he tended to be a bit vain, overly strict with his children, and have a tendency to overreact to bad news, sometimes making mountains out of molehills. But for the most part we can see him as a truly admirable man - who at all times sought to do the right thing no matter what the cost to himself.
Toward the end of the book - and this scene is captured in the HBO miniseries as well - an elderly and retired Adams is viewing a famous painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Adams objects to the painting because it does not depict reality - it instead mythologizes the events of that time. Adams laments that the real story of the American Revolution has already been lost, and that no one will ever know what really happened. And the truth is that up until now that may well have been the case. Fortunately David McCullough has at last ensured that history has been set straight, so perhaps now Adams can finally rest in peace.
 An excellent biography of an often overlooked figure. October 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
David McCullough continues to impress with this very well done biography, which is masterfully woven into a grand and sweeping broader historical narrative. The biographical content is not limited to Adams, but also encompasses wife Abigail and their children. Also figuring very prominently are Thomas Jefferson and, to a lesser degree, Benjamin Franklin.
John Adams' life and career are traced from his primary educational experience and introduction to the practice of law, to his participation in the Contintental Congresses, to his duties as minister to France, Holland and England, to his tenures as vice-president and president, and beyond. For example, Adams' role as a primary architect of the Declaration of Independence is highlighted, while his absence from the Constitutional Convention is equally notable. Of particular interest is the emphasis on the vagaries of early diplomatic efforts with the French, English and Dutch courts.
The great strength of this book is the veritable treasury of primary source documents quoted and cited throughout, particularly the correspondence of the Adamses and Jefferson, among others. These provide seldom-seen insights into the deepest thoughts and emotions of people who, to many readers, have been little more than vague names in history books. McCullough skillfully brings them to life and breathes into them a vibrant humanity that causes his narrative to read more like a novel than a history. My only complaint is the author's intermittent tendency to get bogged down in picayune details such as the arrangements of the various Adams residences or the finer points of their social lives and fashions. While these lend color to the tale, they prove more of a tedious distraction than a benefit. Overall, though, I was very pleased with this volume and would recommend it to anyone with more than a passing interest in American history.
Deserved attention for John Adams October 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are well known as founding fathers of the USA. Less well known but at least equally important is John Adams, the second President. David McCullough brings John Adams back to life in this very well-written and mostly easy to understand biography. It is gratifying that such a great man is receiving some well-deserved attention. However, the reader who is unfamiliar with the history of the USA will have some difficulty tying all the pieces together, such as the role of the Continental Congress. Of course, John Adams didn't work alone and McCullough does an admirable job of discussing some of Adams' contemporaries, including Thomas Jefferson. Indeed, this book was to have been a biography of both men but the author decided to focus on Adams. This is made obvious by the text because McCullough spends a disproportionate amount of space on Jefferson. Another key figure in the book is Abigail Adams, John Adams' wife and a remarkable woman in her own right. Unfortunately, McCullough quotes extensively from letters between John and Abigail, but given the changes to English over the past 200 years, this wasn't really meaningful. Interestingly the book ends with a conversation with the author section which was actually quite interesting. Overall this book taught me a lot and was well worth the time investment.
Page Turner October 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I absolutely loved this book! I enjoy reading history and biographies, but as anyone who does the same knows dry and dull writing can simply kill the experience. David McCullough is an amazing writer and honors his philosophy of making history interesting and turning it into a story. The book is very well researched, historically accurate, and interesting to read. I found it a "page turner" and finished the entire book in a very short period of time because it read like a novel and not some dry academic tome. To anyone that has an interest in American history and the Founding Fathers you will not be disappointed with this book.
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