John Adams

David McCullough has done it again! McCullough, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of several previous superb works of history and biography (most notably, "Mornings on Horseback," "The Path Between the Seas," and "Truman"), has written a wonderfully well rounded picture of a man to whom every American owes a tremendous debt of gratitude. John Adams' many contributions to establishing this great Nation of ours, and the freedoms we cherish, are incalculable. He was indeed, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, the "colossus of American independence.""John Adams" is literate, elegant in tone, entertaining, and, above all, highly informative. It's not, however, your typical Presidential biography. In this masterful book, there's much less emphasis on the political career of its subject, and more weight given to Adams' personal life. And it was indeed an extraordinary life!In 1735 John Adams is born into a middle class family in Quincy, Massachusetts. During his childhood and youth, his father decides upon a career in the ministry for his son; but John has other plans. He wants to become a lawyer. After attending Harvard, he practices law intermittently until the outbreak of the American Revolution.During the years before the war, he meets and marries the great love of his life, Abigail Smith Adams. Throughout their long lives together, this extraordinary woman remains a tremendously positive influence on him.Adams is one of the earliest to realize the inevitability of American independence from Britain. His arguments in favor of independence are always lucid, logical, easy to understand, and have broad popular appeal. Adams' service to America continues throughout the Revolutionary War years and beyond. He serves as an American delegate to the Paris Peace conference, and, after the war, as an American minister in Europe. In 1788, Adams is recalled to the United States, after faithfully serving his country in the courts of Europe for nearly eight years, three of them separated from his beloved Abigail and their children.Later in 1788, he is elected Vice President of the United States, an office he holds for the next eight years. Finally, in 1796, he is elected President of the United States. It is the first contested election in American history.Adams' Presidency is marked by two notable achievements, one of them positive and the other negative. In what Adams considered his greatest accomplishment, he prevents a war with France over the issue of French privateers attacking American ships. His most negative achievement is the signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts, a set of laws that gave the President the legal right to expel any foreigner he considered dangerous, and made "writing against the government, Congress, or President... crimes punishable by fines and imprisonment."Adams' four years as Chief Executive are also marked by political wrangling unknown in America up to that time. Throughout his term, he is hounded by his political enemies. Foremost among them is Thomas Jefferson, a former friend and the leader of the newly created "Republican" party. Jefferson accuses the Federalist Adams of having "monarchical" tendencies; of advocating a pro-British foreign policy; and of attempting to destroy the republic by concentrating power in a strong central government. Adams is unable to fight back effectively against these charges. In 1800, he loses his bid for re-election to Jefferson.The last quarter-century of Adams' life is spent in relative obscurity in Quincy. During this period, he experiences tremendous sadness and joy. His son Thomas dies prematurely from alcoholism, and daughter Nabby dies from cancer at age 49. His beloved Abigail follows their children to the grave a few years later, leaving Adams alone after over 50 years of marriage. Adams is consoled by a renewed friendship with his old nemesis, Thomas Jefferson. They will carry on a decade-long correspondence that heals old wounds.In 1824, John Adams experiences perhaps the moment of pride in his nearly nine decades-long life: he sees his son, John Quincy Adams, become President of the United States.In one of the great historical ironies of all time, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson - the last surviving signers of the Declaration of Independence - will die on the same day: July 4, 1826. It is the 50th anniversary of the adoption of that immortal document that both labored so hard to help create.When I picked up "John Adams" for the first time, I hadn't really paid much attention to the historical figure who became the second President of the United States. After all, the career of this short, stocky, seemingly colorless man, whose one term as President was marked by controversy, political wrangling, and an apparent lack of great accomplishment, was nowhere as interesting as the careers of our more famous and charismatic Founding Fathers."John Adams" filled in many gaps in my knowledge of this great man. From this magnificent and highly informative book, I learned not only many facts about Adams' life that I didn't know before, but I also learned about the kind of man Adams was. McCullough goes to great lengths to give readers a glimpse of the true character of this extraordinary man.As with all books authored by David McCullough, "John Adams" is brilliantly written with McCullough's trademark mellifluous, elegant prose. The book reads more like a well crafted historical novel than a straight biography. Readers will find it lively and entertaining on every page."John Adams" is the finest biography of America's second President available to general readers. Scholarly yet not stuffy, well researched, brilliantly organized, and eloquently written, it brings to life the man who rightfully belongs in the pantheon of the greatest Americans of all time. Read and enjoy!

I am a little bit late to the party with this book. Released in hardcover in 2001 and paperback in 2002, John Adams is regarded as one of David McCullough's greatest achievements. This is no little praise for a man who had previously won a Pulitzer prize (for his biography of Harry Truman)--a reward he was to receive again for John Adams. The precursor to 2005's 1776, this is a stirring biography and one of the best I've ever read. Like McCullough's other titles, this book is not hard to read and never bogs down in detail. Instead it is fast-moving and gripping, reading almost like a novel.I am no scholar and am unequipped to comment on the accuracy of McCullough's portrait of Adams. I will leave that to the historians. So rather than provide a blow-by-blow account of Adams's life, let me simply suggest a few of the lessons and observations I drew from this book.John Adams loved life and sought to truly enjoy it. Even in his final days, when he was ill and suffering from fading eyesight, he continued to enjoy his life. He loved sharing life with others. He was content to live a simple life consumed with hard work and lots of good books. His greatest pleasures were his wife, his books, and his friends. Though his life was often difficult and though he was often the subject of vicious personal attacks, he really seemed to relish life and seemed loathe to waste even a day of it. I was inspired by his desire to enjoy life, even through its tough moments.Adams loved and respected his wife in a deep and abiding way. His long and frequent separations from her were the greatest trials he faced in life and he really seemed to be only half a man without her. At one point she is described as his "ballast"--a term I can well identify with as my life continues and as the love for my wife continues to grow. Adams loved Abigail more than anyone and his affection was clear throughout their long marriage. Adams lived a life free from scandal--or at least the kind of moral scandal that plagued contemporaries like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. His wife kept him grounded and was his best friend and closest confidante--just the way I would want it in my life.From this book we can learn the importance of a father's involvement in the raising of his family. Adams was often called overseas and he served many years away from his family. Later in life at least two of his children became alcoholics and essentially wasted their lives. Though John Quincy went on to fame and became the nation's sixth President, both Thomas and Charles struggled through life. Reflecting on being a father, Adams seems to have accepted some of the blame for their ways, acknowledging that his long absences from the family deprived them of the father they needed.I would have enjoyed reading more about Adams's religious beliefs and practices. McCullough made it clear that Adams claimed to love some kind of deity and that he was a committed church-goer who had respect and affection for many clergymen, but what was less clear was just what he believed about this God. Looking elsewhere it seems reasonably clear that Adams was more deist than Christian, but this did not come through clearly in the book. A little more attention to Adams's religious beliefs, as important as they were to the rest of his life and to the founding of the nation, would have been welcome.Like John Adams I find reading to be a source of great pleasure. Reading this book was pleasurable--not just in learning about a man of such importance, but also just in the act of reading. McCullough is a masterful communicator. This book could so easily have been dry and disinteresting, but with his treatment it has become as good a biography as I've ever read. It is a must-read for anyone with an interest in American history or with a particular interest in biographies. I can't recommend it enough.

John Adams foi o primeiro vice-presidente e o segundo presidente dos Estados Unidos. Disputou a reeleição e perdeu para seu vice, Thomas Jefferson. Anos depois seu filho, John Quincy Adams se elegeu presidente e igualmente só conseguiu um mandato.Adams, o pai, foi indiretamente responsável pelo nascimento do controle de constitucionalidade das leis, que surgiu durante a presidência de Thomas Jefferson (1803/1811) e pelas mãos do Chief Justice (Presidente) da Suprema Corte dos Estados Unidos, John Marshall. Ocorre que um ato de Adams não foi implementado na presidência de Jefferson o que motivou o ajuizamento de um Mandado de Segurança, que teve como autor William Marbury e "réu" os Estados Unidos, representado pelo então Secretário de Estado James Madison, daí o caso Marbury v. Madison (1803).No livro "Suprema Corte dos Estados Unidos - Principais Decisões" (Atlas, 4a edição, 2021) o autor João Carlos Souto discorre minuciosamente sobre o tema, dedicando-lhe todo o capítulo II.Com relação ao livro de David McCullough, é um clássico, escrito por quem conhece a fundo a História/EUA e escreve com clareza e objetivdade.

Uno dei più bei libri che io abbia mai letto.Emozionante, avvincente.Scritto con maestria ed accuratezza.E poi John Adams.Una vita incredibile, un uomo che diede, e dà ancora, lustro al suo Paese, al quale dedicò tutta la sua vita con devozione, senso del dovere ed equilibrio.Un esempio anche oggi, tremendamente attuale, per l'amore che profuse per la libertà, la democrazia e la pace, che ricercò sempre lottando strenuamente e incessantemente per ottenerle.Un grande uomo che McCullough, un maestro in questo campo, ha saputo valorizzare egregiamente.Indimenticabile.

Mein Sohn studiert Anglistik und Amerikanistik und war über diesen großen Schinken sehr erfreut und angetan! Alles richtig gemacht :-)

A very well written book which covers a momentous period in American history. John Adams contribution to the early development of the USA was incredible.

Like all David McCullough's books, this one doesn't disappoint. It's the story of John Adams, America's second, and underappreciated, President. It's a biography and not an in depth look at the historical and political issues surrounding his life, so you'll have to have a good working knowledge of the events surrounding the American Revolution. But it will surprise you too. The 4th of July is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a day every school child in America knows. But it was actually 2 July when Americans declared their independence and the day Adams thought would be the "most memorable epocha in the history of America." And I was equally surprised to know that Adams represented the British(!) in the trial of the Boston Massacre, that famous moment of British tyranny before the Revolution. As a child, learning about the Revolution in school, it seemed almost inevitable to me that the Americans would win. Until I read this book, I never appreciated how close America came to losing and how many promiment colonial men supported the Tory cause! It's an amazing book, well written, and brings to life one of America's greatest statesmen. It's also a bit irreverant when it comes to that other great statesman, Thomas Jefferson! Adams has always taken second place behind those prominent and celebrated leaders (Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, among others), but McCullough shows us that Adams was much more than he has been remembered for. I would highly recommend it (as I would any of his other books). Five stars is not enough.