John Adams by David McCullough Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of John Adams
Book Review: An Exceptional Man Revealed
Summary: 5 Stars
David McCullough has told the story of an exceptional man in a manner as engaging as fiction. He has come a long way since his Truman biography. History has neglected John Adams and left us facinated by some of our other founding fathers. When it comes to interesting and principled, John Adams is the "it" man. Without the support of his loving and intelligent wife, his full self might not have come to the fore. I felt I had gone back in time and could see events clearly in my mind's eye as I went through the years with this man who was as solid as a rock. I have a new hero - his name is John Adams.Book Review: An Overdue Tribute
Summary: 5 Stars
Undeservedly, John Adams has not been given his own spotlight on history's stage. Perhaps he is overshadowed by the presidents who came immediately before and after his presidency (i.e., Washington and Jefferson). After all, Washington was an unwilling demigod in his time, and Jefferson was so intent and so good at building his own legacy while building his beloved Monticello that no one could compete. Adams' signing of the disastrous Alien and Sedition Acts has outweighed his many positive achievements, and this, too, further pushed him into the recesses. Even though Adams was aware that he possessed a great intellect and a strong will, he was resistant to vanity. Compare this to the glory/publicity seekers, like Hamilton, Franklin, Burr, and others, it becomes obvious that Adams was more focused on other, more important matters. He didn't even write his memoirs, as was customary back then. But thank God that he and his beloved wife, Abigail, wrote each other so often. These letters are some of the linchpins of David McCullough's brilliant biography which finally brings to light the great man who served as the young nation's second president.
I won't attempt to summarize the book or go over the details of Adams' life and politics. What I think is important to know is that this is a biography of intelligence and passion. We get alternating glimpses of John Adams the statesman, John Adams the loving parent and husband, and John Adams the melancholy loner. McCullough brings all this to life. The generous amount of illustrations served its purpose of making me see the human beings behind the words and documents. I can't say enough about this book except it deserves to be read, and that John Adams didn't deserve to wait so long to have such a tribute paid to him. Now, when I teach this part of American history to my classes, I always make sure to give John Adams equal time with Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Hamilton.
Rocco Dormarunno, author The Five Points and The Five Points Concluded
Book Review: An excellent re-introduction
Summary: 5 Stars
McCullough's "John Adams" is a smart, well-researched and engrossing biography of America's second president. This is a warts-and-all look, written in an engaging style that gets under the skin of Adams and his partner-in-life Abigail. McCullough's use of Adams's papers (including letters and diaries) is a major plus, using these primary sources to tell the story.Much can be said of how the book portrays Adams and his part in American politics, in the creation of the American Declaration of Independence, and his engaging love/hate relationship with Thomas Jefferson. What I like here is McCullough's detailing of events Adams participated in during the country's early days that ultimately set the stage for the Civil War.
Well worth reading!
Book Review: An outstanding biography
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm more of an ancient history buff than a reader of American or modern history, but I picked up this book because of everything I'd heard about it, and I was glad I did. McCullough has likely written one of the greatest American biographies in this very well written and researched book. Adams really comes alive, as we get important glimpses into both the private and public Adams who managed to be both a devoted father and husband as well as the important public figure who was a key player in the momentous events of the early republic. Many of the stories told here are fascinating and not much discussed elsewhere, such as his appearance before the British king, and his ride across Portugal in the middle of winter on horseback. One difficult problem when writing history or biography of this breadth and depth is achieving a fine balance between necessary details and the need to keep the narrative flowing without getting bogged down too much in the details. McCullough accomplishes all this with a deft touch, and his treatment of the different phases of Adams's life also seems both thorough and well balanced. Altogether a fascinating and essential contribution to American history and letters that is likely to become a classic in its own right.On a side note, I learned something interesting about McCullough's methods recently. He is also the author of The Johnstown Flood, his only book on a disaster. Anyway, he patterned the book after a famous, earlier book done about the sinking of the Titanic, A Night to Remember, which became a sensational, international best-seller back in the 50's when it was published, and which was also made into a movie of the same name. McCullough studied the author's methods and the resulting work closely (unfortunately, I don't recall the author's name, anymore) and consciously modeled his disaster book after the earlier work. The Johnstown Flood was also a success, despite it's being something of a departure from his usually less sensational historical and biographical subjects.
Book Review: An over-rated book
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm sure scholars love the book, even if they quibble about points emphasized or not emphasized. For me, I'm sorry to say I got bored after the first 200 some pages. The problem is McCullough's tendency to go off on tangents: do we really need to know at length, for instance, that Ben Franklin was the darling of the French court when we're trying to focus on Adams? I liked Catherine Drinker Bowen's biography much better even if it did dwell a bit on John 's romance with Abigail. It was cogent and it moved along instead of getting bogged down.