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 -- "the colossus of independence," as Thomas Jefferson called him -- 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 moving love stories in American history.

Like his masterly, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Truman, David McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. It is both a riveting portrait of an abundantly human man and a vivid evocation of his time, much of it drawn from an outstanding collection of Adams family letters and diaries. In particular, the more than one thousand surviving letters between John and Abigail Adams, nearly half of which have never been published, provide extraordinary access to their private lives and make it possible to know John Adams as no other major American of his founding era.

As he has with stunning effect in his previous books, McCullough tells the story from within -- from the point of view of the amazing eighteenth century and of those who, caught up in events, had no sure way of knowing how things would turn out. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, the British spy Edward Bancroft, Madame Lafayette and Jefferson's Paris "interest" Maria Cosway, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, the scandalmonger James Callender, Sally Hemings, John Marshall, Talleyrand, and Aaron Burr all figure in this panoramic chronicle, as does, importantly, John Quincy Adams, the adored son whom Adams would live to see become President.

Crucial to the story, as it was to history, is the relationship between Adams and Jefferson, born opposites -- one a Massachusetts farmer's son, the other a Virginia aristocrat and slaveholder, one short and stout, the other tall and spare. Adams embraced conflict; Jefferson avoided it. Adams had great humor; Jefferson, very little. But they were alike in their devotion to their country.

At first they were ardent co-revolutionaries, then fellow diplomats and close friends. With the advent of the two political parties, they became archrivals, even enemies, in the intense struggle for the presidency in 1800, perhaps the most vicious election in history. Then, amazingly, they became friends again, and ultimately, incredibly, they died on the same day -- their day of days -- July 4, in the year 1826.

Much about John Adams's life will come as a surprise to many readers. His courageous voyage on the frigate Boston in the winter of 1778 and his later trek over the Pyrenees are exploits that few would have dared and that few readers will ever forget.

It is a life encompassing a huge arc -- Adams lived longer than any president. The story ranges from the Boston Massacre to Philadelphia in 1776 to the Versailles of Louis XVI, from Spain to Amsterdam, from the Court of St. James's, where Adams was the first American to stand before King George III as a representative of the new nation, to the raw, half-finished Capital by the Potomac, where Adams was the first President to occupy the White House.

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.Amazon.com Review
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, whobracketed his tenure in office, Adams emerges from McCullough'sbrilliant biography as a truly heroic figure--not only for hissignificant role in the American Revolution but also for maintaininghis personal integrity in its strife-filled aftermath. McCulloughspends much of his narrative examining the troubled friendship betweenAdams and Jefferson, who had in common a love for books and ideas butdiffered on almost every other imaginable point. Reading his pages, itis easy to imagine the two as alter egos. (Strangely, both died on thesame day, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.)But McCullough also considers Adams in his own light, and the portraitthat emerges is altogether fascinating. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (886)

Meet His Rotundity, the Mad Monarchist and Warmonger
`Politics are a labyrinth without a clue'. That's what John Adams wrote during a Congress session in 1775, before the Declaration of Independence was written. At that time, he said, only about a third of the delegates were `true blue' Americans. Even during the following decades, the `founding fathers' were not exactly of one mind. The poison spread at the election in 1800 when Adams ran for re-election against his VP Jefferson was on par with what we get served today.

One of the boulders on my Mount Readmore finally got moved out of the way. This book has been standing on my shelf for years, winking at me quietly. There are others that have been calling out longer.
I have recently become a semi-Bostonian myself and furthermore, I have started a major reading expedition paddling down Henry James River. Both changes made me think that I really needed to attend to Mr. Adams in the McCullough version, finally. I knew that I would enjoy it, and I did. Have I learned much? Let me see.

I have learned that almost every street and building and bridge and river in and around Boston is called after somebody who was somehow related to Adams. Even my daughter's classmate is not just from Braintree, but from the place where Adams came from (before Quincy was spun off).
I learned that Adams was not happy with Paine's Common Sense, though that book gave a vital impulse to independence. Adams thought it was too destructive without building. He was even less happy with Rights of Man, after the French Revolution had taken off, and that started rather a feud with his pal Jefferson, who turned out to be quite on the other side of the brand new party divide.

I learned that Adams defended the shooters of the Boston Massacre in court. The man had guts. I learned that he wrote the Massachusetts Constitution, which is said to be the oldest functioning written constitution in the world, practically single-handedly. (He was a solid balance of power advocate, based on Ciceronic wisdom.)
I learned that he was a natural as a parliamentarian, but that success as a diplomat came hard. As a VP he was like a fish on dry land. As a president he lived in splendid misery.
Despite his often alleged vanity, the man lived in modesty and was practically a pauper during most of his years in service, for all his merits and sacrifice.

I learned that the level of personal enmity and spite between some of the grandees was considerable. Jefferson was a different case, much friendship mixed in with the rivalry and the backstabbing, until open antagonism and rivalry broke out, which was to be drowned in decades of correspondence later.
I learned that the practice of sticking exaggerated political labels on opponents is as old as the US: Adams was a Monarchist and a warmonger like others are called Communist or Fascist or Muslim.
Republicans and Federalists of the party divide at the time were at each other's throats just as much as current parties and teabags.

McCullough's books are of a kind that is rare in Germany, a good example of what one might call popular historiography. I owe a considerable part of my picture of the US to some of them, like his Great Bridge and his Truman biography. Possibly the Adams book gave me less news, as I had read plenty of other stuff about the period, but it is certainly worth the trouble.
If I want to look for downsides, I find them in the fact that the book must remain superficial in most of its subjects: even with 650 pages, it can just skim the surface of most problems of the man's life if it wants to tell us the bare facts of it.
Adams is painted as a solid, honest, unobjectionable pillar of the political class of his time. Not in every respect a very interesting man. Not enough flaws. Not enough big mistakes, at least not in this view (well, apart from a shameful Alien and Sedition Act; and a bad temper). Most things that he got accused of he was rather innocent of. On the other hand, Hamilton and Jefferson are the villains of the piece. Adams maneuvered himself between the camps and lost his re-election.

Maybe the portrait is a little too uncritical? To some people, Adams' `manifest integrity' seems to have been `unsettling'.
Jefferson wrote about him that Adams was not good at understanding people's motivations. That is of course a serious flaw not only in a diplomat, but also in a president. And in a football coach and in about half the professions that I can think of.
`Thanks to God that he gave me stubbornness when I know I am right.' (That would also have been a good title for my review.)

My conclusion (until further notice, i.e. until somebody convinces me otherwise): an honest, capable man who did his best in nearly impossible circumstances. He should be more appreciated, e.g. by granting him a 25 or 200 Dollar bill, to pull even with his nemesis Hamilton.

Hard to Top This One
A couple of years ago I read McCullough's Truman and was very impressed.So, while I had high hopes for his biography of John Adams, I was skeptical that its quality would match that of his Truman masterpiece.

Indeed John Adams did not match Truman.It exceeded Truman!

Some seem to believe that a good biographer must view his subject as equal parts good and bad, that if the author is too kind to the subject then the biography has little merit.I totally dissagree with this notion for the reason that there have been truly great men and women in our history for whom the positives of their character and achievements far outweigh the negatives.When this is the case, it should be adequately represented in the biography.

In the case of John Adams McCullough clearly finds much more to admire about Mr. Adams than to despise.His shine is bright and his warts few and small.McCullough is correct to accurately reflect the high quality of the character and achievements of John Adams, one of our truly brilliant founding fathers.

Adams and his wife Abigail (who was also clearly very intelligent and highly influential to her husband) were both prolific writers of letters, and McCullough draws heavily from this primary source.Quotes from their correspondance adds much texture and context to the historical background and trajectory of Mr. Adams's career.

But, where the book really shines is, surprisingly, in the final two chapters.Until then, it was a good, but not great book.The quality of the last two chapters made it an exceptional book.Adams as the old man, reconciled with his old friend Jefferson, reconciled to his past frustrations and grievances, and reconciled to his own mortality, is where I found the true greatness of this man as expertlly conveyed by the author.The author's treatment of the near simultaneous passing of Adams and Jefferson astonishingly on July 4th, 1826, exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence, was incredible and it brought the story of the two "fathers" of the Declaration full circle to one final, unbelievable conclusion.

I've embarked on a project to read a biography of every president in order through Reagan.Two down and 38 more to go.I doubt any of the remaining 38 will top this one.

Why John Adams is cooler than Thomas Jefferson
This should be the subtitle because it seems the author spends as much time criticizing Jefferson as he does praising Adams.His criticism is offered without substantiation and is obviously based on opinion.

Awesome on a number of levels.
McCullough has done more than simply written a brilliant biography about a great American and mensch, he has brought him to life, literarily if not literally.

As well as many of those around him, such as Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington et al.

And the American Revolution.

A superb biography of an American hero
This is one of the very best books I have read in the past decade.When I opened it, John Adams was a cipher to me: just a name ("one of the Founding Fathers"). By the time I finished it, John Adams almost felt like an old friend.A truly American hero, clearly cast in the American mold: a hard-working, thrifty, devout, and utterly incorruptible New England Yankee, who loved working his farm almost as much as he enjoyed reading the classics, and giving this country a giant assist in becoming independent.

As an added bonus, you get an entire picture of the American Revolution --- from Adams' point of view, naturally, but he saw almost everything and knew everybody.Additional fascinating portraits include: Ben Franklin as an old man, the celebrated pet of Parisian society; Thomas Jefferson (I began thinking of him as "Lord Jefferson," with his 200 slaves taking care of his every need from cradle to grave); George Washington (of course), and, shining through clearly, his beloved wife Abigail.Many minor portraits also fascinate: Alexander Hamilton, John Quincy Adams (his brilliant son), Louis XVI of France, and George III of England.Even Marie Antoinette makes a stellar appearance.

Over time, this book almost approaches being a dual biography, of Adams and Jefferson, two totally different men: Adams thrifty and Jefferson spendthrift; Adams dying with money in the bank and Jefferson dying in deep debt.These two became fast friends in France, and then Jefferson turned them into political enemies by undermining Adams while serving as Adams' Vice-President.

In a surprise turn of events, the friendship resumed many years later, when all of the political strife was so much water under the bridge.In one of history's most amazing coincidences, both men died on the same exact day: July 4th, 1826 --- the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Adams enjoyed his retirement, after his spell in the White House.He lived to see his son elected President, and as he aged, his thoughts grew deeper and deeper.The world became more and more miraculous to him.One diary entry reads:

"I never delighted much in contemplating commas and colons, or in spelling or measuring syllables, but now...if I attempt to look at these little objects, I find my imagination, in spite of all my exertions, roaming in the Milky Way, among the nebulae, those mighty orbs, and stupendous orbits of suns, planets, satellites, and comets, which compose the incomprehensible universe; and if I do not sink into nothing in my own estimation, I feel an irresistible impulse to fall on my knees, in adoration of the power that moves, the wisdom that directs, and the benevolence that sanctifies this wonderful whole."

This sounds very close to a theophany, perhaps the last thing one would have expected in a biography of an industrious, common-sense farmer and lawyer.

"Take him for all in all, we shall not see his like again."

A truly wonderful book. ... Read more

Product Description
Adams, Henry (1838-1918) - An American historian who, despite
his family’s political ties (his father was a diplomat and his
grandfather and great- grandfather were American Presidents),
dedicated his life to scholarship.

The Education of Henry Adams,
An Autobiography

Adams’ most enduring work states his
pessimistic view that moral progress has not kept pace with the
advance of technology. Incomplete as an autobiography, it
nevertheless provides a complete and fascinating view of many of
the facets of his life.Amazon.com Review
Many great artists have had at least intermittent doubts about their ownabilities. But The Education of Henry Adams is surely one of the fewmasterpieces to issue directly from a raging inferiority complex. Theauthor, to be sure, had bigger shoes to fill than most of us. Both hisgrandfather and great-grandfather were U.S. presidents. His father, arelative underachiever, scraped by as a member of Congress and ambassador to the Court of St. James. But young Henry, born in Boston in 1838, wasdestined for a walk-on role in his nation's history--and seemed alarminglyaware of the fact from the time he was an adolescent.

It gets worse. For the author could neither match his exalted ancestors nordismiss them as dusty relics--he was an Adams, after all, formed from thesame 18th-century clay. "The atmosphere of education in which he lived wascolonial," we are told,

revolutionary, almost Cromwellian, as though hewere steeped, from his greatest grandmother's birth, in the odor ofpolitical crime. Resistance to something was the law of New England nature;the boy looked out on the world with the instinct of resistance; fornumberless generations his predecessors had viewed the world chiefly as athing to be reformed, filled with evil forces to be abolished, and they sawno reason to suppose that they had wholly succeeded in the abolition; theduty was unchanged.

He was not, by any measure but his own, a failure. And the proof of thepudding is The Education of Henry Adams itself, which remains amongthe oddest and most enlightening books in American literature. It containsthousands of memorable one-liners about politics, morality, culture, andtransatlantic relations: "The American mind exasperated the European as abuzz-saw might exasperate a pine forest." There are astonishing glimpses ofthe high and mighty: "He saw a long, awkward figure; a plain, ploughedface; a mind, absent in part, and in part evidently worried by white kidgloves; features that expressed neither self-satisfaction nor any otherfamiliar Americanism..." (That would be Abraham Lincoln; the"melancholy function" his Inaugural Ball.) But most of all, Adams'sbook is a brilliant account of how his own sensibility came to be. Aliterary landmark from the moment it first appeared, theAutobiography confers upon its author precisely that prize he felthad always eluded him: success. --James Marcus ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

"His humor was glow, like iron at dull heat; his blow was elementary, like the thrash of a whale."
I'm half inclined to blame this book for choking up my reviewing agenda. It took me a very long time to read, and also a very long time to review. I found I needed quite a bit of time to capture my reading notes, and to try to come to terms with what I had read.

And, to be truthful, I'm not really sure I have succeeded. Despite all the time this book took me, and despite my notes, I'm not really sure I have the feeling I really read the thing. I feel as though I wish I had. But have been tested and found wanting-- or something like that.

This is an autobiography, and as a reader Adams' habit of describing himself in the third person is quite jarring. I suppose this is because it is still written like a journal, or an autobiography, which really are quite first person forms. Third person voice implies a measure of description, a kind of central point. Marrying the two kept causing me to draw myself out of the text, sputtering. I never really got used to it & had to relax again into it every time I picked it up at night.

The subject matter is fascinating. Unlike some of other reviewers, I was fascinated by the minutae of the time. I would have rather Adams had stayed with that material. The book jumps around quite a bit in his life, and I found myself making liberal use of both introduction and footnotes in order to sort out where I was.

He was a sad man, who mocked himself. The use of the third person voice seems to hold off any possibility of comfort or justification. I'm not sure if I really got a look of Adams as a man-- don't know enough about his life to judge. But it was a very vivid image of someone.

I'd recommend it, I suppose. With caveats. I'm still trying to get my head around it, to be honest.

I just don't enjoy it - is that wrong?
Who am I to say that this is not a great book? Numerous scholars have called it one of the best non-fiction books ever. But man, what a grind it is. Now that I've plowed through about half of the book, I'm throwing in the towel.

To my tiny, contemporary brain, this book is hopelessly ponderous and self-indulgent. The constant use of the third person and the education theme wore thin in the initial chapters. Perhaps I've misread him, perhaps he's poking fun at himself, but the author sounds truly insufferable. Even when he's being self depricating, it rings false.

There are some interesting nuggets in this book, like the descriptions of the 1860's London social scene, a few witticisms, and some of his travel experiences as a young man. But, I felt that the effort I had to expend to dig to them was not worth it. The book is a tough trek, and your companion for the trip, Mr. James, makes it all the longer by prattling on, sneering at the unwashed masses, and bragging about his family.

Worth revisiting
I tried reading this book in my twenties.Couldn't do it.Too much of it was inaccessible to me.The book, which was written privately for his friends, assumes a certain knowledge of events that most readers, understandably, will not have.It also is deeply metaphysical and reflective and written from the perspective of someone who has lived a full and varied life, which, well, bored me.If I had written a review of it then, it probably wouldn't have been a very positive one.

But, when you're forty, half of you belongs to the past, as the saying goes, so I picked up this book again.I loved it.

Adams offers probably the best insight into the century that transformed America of any author from his time.He must have been astounded-especially given his revolutionary heritage-to witness the Sons of Liberty turn into empire builders, all within the span of a few generations.His political observations especially often are prescient.He saw, it seems, the coming of war in Europe and German nationalism.In fact, many of his observations in general are prescient, when they're not too inscrutable.

Not a book for everyone, but definitely a book worth visiting or revisiting, if you think you might be interested.

Would also recommend The Flowering of New England, 1815-1865 and New England: Indian Summer, 1865-1915 by Van Wyck Brooks as companion pieces.

The Intellect and History of Henry Adams
The Kindle edition of THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS conveniently provides the reader the opportunity to read one of the most fascinating autobiographies that deciphers the history in which Henry Adams lived.Originally printed privately in 1907 but published in 1918 and later earning a Pulitzer Prize and accolades as the world's great autobiographies, the book is a long conversation, which stretches limitless boundaries and eclipses various topics from the history of science that included geology and anthropology as well as the humanities, history, literature, and philosophy.But one will also see Adams's inner qualities as a self-reflective, intelligent and narcissistic man.

Undoubtedly, Adams's narrative is a stark reflection of his life that was immensely enriched with history and buttressed between intellect and inquiry or so-called "galloping mind."With the mere fact that his great-grandfather was John Adams and his grandfather was John Quincy Adams, two of the most illustrious presidents in US history, and his father, Charles Francis Adams, served as President Lincoln's appointed American minister to the Court of St. James, there would be no escaping the political history that was engraved within his pedigree.Having lived throughout the nineteenth century and observing all aspects of history-in-the-making during the period of the Republic and the Gilded Age, Adams attempts to examine the most pivotal parts of history.However, as one reads, there is a somewhat limited and ambiguous quality of Adams's understanding of the East, which falls precisely under the category of the straight and narrow and highly romanticized and misconstrued.

After reading THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS, one may see that learning is a never-ending cycle.Although parts of the book appear dated, there is plenty of food for thought within his narrative that shows how Adams's education clearly resonates the most pinnacle part of intellectual history that was the Enlightenment.

And your point is ...?
I may be the very first person to make this comparison, but this book reminds me of the play "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead."In that play, the two title characters wander about the stage while great events are taking place, looking unsuccessfully for a role to play.By the end, of course, they are dead, and have learned nothing, influenced nothing, and contributed nothing.

I could easily describe "The Education of Henry Adams" with the exact same words (substituting the singular Henry Adams for the plural Rosencrantz and Guildenstern).

Adams did not intend the book to be a biography, and it certainly isn't, if only because it completely omits about twenty years of his life.And if it HAD been a biography, it would have been an unusually boring one, since he didn't lead a particularly interesting life.He didn't intend it to be a history book either, since he was not a close or first-hand observer of most of the significant historical events that occurred during his lifetime.The most important event during his lifetime was the Civil War, and he didn't even spend that time in the United States!

Adams apparently intended this book to be a book about education, but if he had anything noteworthy to say on the subject, I certainly missed it - and I'm an educator!In fact, after relating almost every event he chose to describe in the book, he ends up saying something like, "This did nothing to contribute to my education."

The last major event he talks about in the book is the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904.After visiting the fair and seeing the prototypes of the new inventions that would dominate the social and technological changes in the developed world during the 20th century, he concludes that time has passed him by and that there will be no room for people like him in the future.The reader may well wonder why he didn't reach the same conclusion about the era in which he lived his life, since he seems to have stood outside the scene of action, puzzling over the meanings of the events.

If your interest is 19th-century American history, there are scores of better books.If your interest is in biography, there are hundreds, and probably thousands, of better biographies.If your interest is education, almost any competently written book ever written on the subject will be more thought-provoking than this one is.

And this is the greatest non-fiction book of the twentieth century?What on earth were people thinking? ... Read more

Product Description
John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850) was a leading United States Southern politician from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. He was the first Vice President to resign his office. He was an advocate of slavery, states' rights, limited government, and nullification. In 1817, President James Monroe appointed Calhoun to be Secretary of War, where he served until 1825. It should be noted that during this time period, he was perhaps the most tireless and selfless proponent of the nationalist agenda in American politics. His works include: Against the Force Bill (1833), A Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United States (1851) and Disquisition on Government (1851). ... Read more

Product Description
Benjamin Franklin should chronologically take his place here. There is probably not, in the compass of all literature, a biography more full of entertainment and valuable thought, than a truthful sketch of the career of Benjamin Franklin. He leads us to Philadelphia, one hundred and fifty years ago, and makes us perfectly familiar with life there and then. He conducts us across the Atlantic to the Court of St. James, and the Court of Versailles. There is no writer, French or English, who has given such vivid sketches of the scenes which were witnessed there, as came from the pen of Benjamin Franklin. For half a century Franklin moved amid the most stupendous events, a graphic history of which his pen has recorded. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A truthful sketch of an amazing mind.
Next to George Washington, we must write, upon the Catalogue of American Patriots, the name of Benjamin Franklin. He had so many virtues that there is no need of exaggerating them; so few imperfections that they need not be concealed. The writer has endeavored to give a perfectly accurate view of his character, and of that great struggle, in which he took so conspicuous a part, which secured the Independence of the United States. Probably there can no where be found, within the same limits, so vivid a picture of Life in America, one hundred years ago, as the career of Franklin presents.

This book covers what made him one of the most extraordinary human beings the world has ever known. Born into the family of a Boston candle maker, Benjamin Franklin became the most famous American of his time. He helped found a new nation and defined the American character. Writer, inventor, diplomat, businessman, musician, scientist, humorist,civic leader, international celebrity . . . genius. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1854.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of Presidential Speeches from George Washington's first Inaugural Address in 1789 to the second term Inauguration address by George W. Bush.

... Read more

Product Description
Using simple language that beginning readers can understand, this lively, inspiring, and believable biography looks at the childhood of Abigail Adams. Illustrated throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Too Good to be True
Abigail Adams life was a miracle.The book was so good, that I did not want to finish it.So I didn't read it for about two months.I am thinking about reading more books from this series.It is truly amazing how she survived when she was born.The whole entire world should read it.

This book is very interesting and exciting from pg.1-pg.192!
This book is very exciting and interesting from from the begining to the end. It tells how Abigail almost dies as a child. She lived through the Revolution. Abigail also marrys the second President and is the mother ofthe sixth President. ... Read more

Product Description
The New York Times Book Review, Editor’s ChoiceAmerican Heritage, Best of 2009In this vivid new biography of Abigail Adams, the most illustrious woman of the founding era, Bancroft Award–winning historian Woody Holton offers a sweeping reinterpretation of Adams’s life story and of women’s roles in the creation of the republic. Using previously overlooked documents from numerous archives, Abigail Adams shows that the wife of the second president of the United States was far more charismatic and influential than historians have realized. One of the finest writers of her age, Adams passionately campaigned for women’s education, denounced sex discrimination, and matched wits not only with her brilliant husband, John, but with Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. When male Patriots ignored her famous appeal to "Remember the Ladies," she accomplished her own personal declaration of independence: Defying centuries of legislation that assigned married women’s property to their husbands, she amassed a fortune in her own name. Adams’s life story encapsulates the history of the founding era, for she defined herself in relation to the people she loved or hated (she was never neutral), a cast of characters that included her mother and sisters; Benjamin Franklin and James Lovell, her husband’s bawdy congressional colleagues; Phoebe Abdee, her father’s former slave; her financially naïve husband; and her son John Quincy.

At once epic and intimate, Abigail Adams, sheds light on a complicated, fascinating woman, one of the most beloved figures of American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

The female half of the American Revolution's power couple
Not a fiction reader ... even the intricacies of historical fiction? Then stroll down the book store aisle to historical biographies and pick up Woody Holton's "Abigail Adams".One of the reviews I read called this "epic and intimate" and that's a perfect description.Having read so much of John Adams, I was thrilled with a readable, enjoyable walk down the path of an extraordinary woman's life ... both personal and professional. For Abigail Adams was so much more than a wife and mother to two presidents.Self-educated in a time when even well-to-do families thought educating girls was a waste of time; self-taught in business and real estate investments at a time when women were the keepers of home and hearths; intellectually independent from her famous husband and confident enough to express her independent thoughts and decisions to him."Remember the Ladies" has taken on exaggerated proportions over the centuries, but Abigail's exhortation to her husband, then in Philadelphia writing the Declaration of Independence, went on to ask him to "... not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands" and focused her pleas to her husband on actual physical abuse of wives by their husbands for which, in those days, a husband was never held to account. And then there is Abigail, the entrepreneur ... the woman who demanded that her husband send her every pin he could find in Philadelphia telling him that there were no pins for ladies' sewing needs in Boston and she could thus corner the market and make a profit ... which she did! Absorbing, highly-entertaining, charmingly instructive ... "Abigail Adams" opens the reader's mind and heart to the other half of the American Revolution's power couple in ways that show us how powerful the Adams' friendship was to the incredible accomplishments of this political couple from the Colony of Massachusetts.

Fascinating look into one our Founding Mothers
If only history could be taught this way in school, we'd have a lot more kids interested in it.Woody brings Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, to life.She was key force behind John Adams's success and truly a woman ahead of her time.What couldn't Abigail do?

Woody Holton meticulously re-creates what it was like to live during the Revolutionary War and the early years of our country (mid 1700's to early 1800's).

What I found especially inspiring about this book:

**Abigail's belief in her husband.She endured several long (2-3 year) separations from him while he served his country.Their letters during these times give great insight to their daily life.

**Abigail's self-confidence. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind; she also freely gave advice to John on running the country.

**Abigail's accomplishments.She ran several businesses, including an import business, she bought and sold properties, and she made some astute investments.This all during a time when husbands had total control over their wives' assets.

**Abigail's devotion to her family.She was a tireless advocate for education of both men and women. Even after her children were grown and had families of their own, she wanted them living back at Peacefield with her.

**Abigail's faults.Woody presents Abigail as a real person, not some mythical wonderful saintly person.She was jealous, she was controlling, and she was devious.This is what makes her so appealing and real.

I thought the later chapters, starting with 1800's, dragged a bit.They seemed more of a recitation of facts and not as interesting as the earlier years.On the whole, I really enjoyed this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to see what life was like during the Revolutionary War and during the early years of our country.It's especially interesting to read about what life was like for women during this time.

a spellbinding life story
Abigail Adams was all over the place in the Revolutionary era, her life entwining not only with that of her husband John, her son John Quincy Adams, and her daughter-in-law Louisa Catherine Adams, but also with those of Benjamin Franklin, George and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings, Mercy Otis Warren, George III and Queen Charlotte, and other famous men and women, some she admired and some she deprecated.In this brisk and engaging new biography, Woody Holton highlights Adams's keen observation of the public events and public figures of her day, but even more importantly, he shines a steady light on the recesses of her private life, her relationships with her sisters and brother, husband, children, and grandchildren, her economic ventures, her daily activities, and her private dreams and values.

Much of Holton's analysis focuses on two intertwined themes: Abigail Adams as economic agent and Abigail Adams as commentator and critic of women's roles in society.Holton convincingly argues that Adams was responsible for managing and shepherding much of the Adams family's wealth and that her investments turned a better profit than her husband's investments did.The final chapter features an intriguing account of Adams's will, which she used to endow granddaughters, nieces, and other female relations (some already married) with modest economic portfolios of their own.Throughout her life, Adams testified to her concern for women's education-- she believed that the revolution in girls' schooling was one of the most important social changes of her lifetime-- and her wish that women might have more of a voice in society.Yet, as Holton notes, she stopped short of being a feminist in the modern sense and always insisted on wives' ultimate subordination to their husbands' judgment, even when that principle came hard for her.

There are a few curious ellipses in this book.Holton says very little about Adams's Christian faith, even as he acknowledges that it was important to her, and relatively little about sexuality (aside from a speculative comment that she may have employed some form of contraception), even though Abigail and John's letters, with their passionate undertones, by-play about the prospect of infidelity during their long separations, and allusions to Abigail's evident appreciation of the sexual magnetism of one of her daughter's suitors, would seem to provide ample material for a more considered discussion.But on the topics on which he chooses to focus, particularly Adams's economic ventures and relations with her extended family, Holton is incomparable.I breezed through the 400-page book in 48 hours; I simply couldn't put it down.Highly recommended.

Another A+
Another A+ book by Woody Holton.I had already read just about everything about John and Abigail Adams, and this book was a pleasure to read.
His earlier book, "Unruly Americans & the Origins of the Constitution," is the best book I've read on the origins of our constitution.

An intriguing read about an intriguing woman
Much emphasis is rightly given to the founding fathers of America such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.But rarely do we get such a detailed glimpse into the homes and personal lives of these men as we do the Adams' in Woody Holton's biography of Abigail Adams.With riveting detail, Holton introduces us to the complex woman who helped shaped America more than perhaps any other of the "founding mothers" through her influence on her husband.

Strong-willed, intelligent and willing to speak her mind, Adams was decades ahead of her time when it came to women's rights and involvement in the everyday affairs of life and politics.Relying heavily on Adams' correspondence between her husband and others, Holton places much emphasis on Adams as an advocate of women's rights.We glimpse the struggles that the Adams family endured through the many long absences of John Adams; but through these struggles we also get to see Abigail's knowledge and fortitude in being able to "keep the home fires burning" as it were.In a culture that frowned on educating women, she was very intelligent, widely read, and very active in promoting the education of her gender.She made financial investments often without the knowledge of her husband - also a cultural taboo.

Holton does an excellent job of highlighting Adams' strengths as well as her weaknesses, giving us a well-rounded, quite readable biography of this great woman.He certainly does Adams justice in examining her life as a woman and not simply as the wife of a founding father.I would highly recommend this book to any reader of American history or of women's rights. ... Read more

Product Description
Throughout American history, presidents have come and gone, but the words they spoke will never be lost. Their words have touched millions and their speeches will live on forever.

C&C Web Press brings you the most comprehensive Kindle book dedicated to America's 44 presidents and the speeches they gave. This book contains hundreds upon hundreds of presidential speeches/literature (over 500)---from George Washington all the way to current president, Barrack Obama. Every inaugural speech imaginable, plus virtually every important speech that occurred thereafter.

Selection includes an active table of contents ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book of American history
Here's a fantastic book if you're interested in American history. It has between 1 and 50 speeches from each president. There are inaugural addresses, farewell addresses, 30 of Roosevelt's fireside chats, Nixon talking about Watergate, speeches given at important events in American history and lots more.

Unfortunately there's a problem with the index. It's chronological, which is good, and every speech is active so you can click one and go right to it, which is also good, but if you want to go to a certain president you have to either search for his name or press Next Page many many times until you get to him. It would be nice if the first thing in the book was a list of all the presidents with each name active so you could click the president you want and go right to his list of speeches, and then click which speech you want.

Other than that, this is a wonderful book. ... Read more

Product Description
A wonderful part of history which includes the letters of Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, John Adams, John Jay, John Laruens, M. Dumas, Francis Dana, William Carmichael, William Lee, Ralph Izard, and others discussing the foreign relations of the United States during the American Revolution. Also included are the letters in reply from the Secret Committee of Congress and the Secretary of Foreign Affair as well as correspondence of the Fench Ministers, Gerard and Luzerne with Congress. Published under the Direction of the President of the United States, from the original Manuscripts of the Department of State, conformably to a Resolution of Congress, of March 27th, 1818. ... Read more

Product Description
The contents of these volumes of 'Celebrated Crimes', as well as the motives which led to their inception, are unique. They are a series of stories based upon historical records, from the pen of Alexandre Dumas, pere, when he was not the elder, nor yet the author of D'Artagnan or Monte Cristo, but was a rising young dramatist and a lion in the literary set and world of fashion.
... Read more

Product Description
The contents of these volumes of 'Celebrated Crimes', as well as the motives which led to their inception, are unique. They are a series of stories based upon historical records, from the pen of Alexandre Dumas, pere, when he was not "the elder," nor yet the author of D'Artagnan or Monte Cristo, but was a rising young dramatist and a lion in the literary set and world of fashion. ... Read more

Product Description
The life of Thomas Jefferson as told by James Schouler in 1893.

According to Wikipedia:

James Schouler (March 20, 1839 - 1920), American lawyer and historian, was born in West Cambridge (now Arlington), Massachusetts.

He was the son of William Schouler (1814-1872), who from 1847 to 1853 edited the Boston Atlas, one of the leading Whig journals of New England. The son graduated at Harvard in 1859, studied law in Boston and was admitted to the bar there in 1862. In 1869 he removed to Washington, where for three years he published the United States Jurist.

After his return to Boston, in 1874, he devoted himself to office practice and to literary pursuits. He was a lecturer at Boston University School of Law between 1885 and 1903, a non-resident professor and lecturer in the National University Law School, Washington, DC, in 1887-1909, and a lecturer on American history and constitutional law at Johns Hopkins University in 1908. In 1896-1897 he was president of the American Historical Association.

Schouler is best known, however, as an historian; his most important work being a History of the United States under the Constitution, 1789-1865 (7 vols, 1880-1917). The components include: v. 1. 1783-1801. Rule of Federalism.-- v. 2. 1801-1817 Jefferson Republicans online--v. 3. 1817-1831 Era of good feeling.-- James Schouler (1917). History of the United States of America. --v. 5. 1847-1861. Free soil controversy, online v. 6. 1861-1865. The civil war.-- James Schouler (1913). History of the United States of America.

Among his other publications are:

* A Life of Thomas Jefferson (1893)
* James Schouler (1896). Historical Briefs. Dodd, Mead.
* Constitutional Studies, State and Federal (1897)
* A brief Life of Alexander Hamilton (1901)
* Americans of 1776 (1906)
* Ideals of the Republic (1908)

His legal treatises are:

* The Law of Domestic Relations (1870)
* The Law of Personal Property (1872-1876; new ed., 1907)
* The Law of Bailments (1880)
* The Law of Executors and Administrators (1883)
* The Law of Husband and Wife (1882)
* The Law of Wills (1910)
... Read more

Product Description
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S DINNERS is a highly entertaining, historically informative and deliciously engaging CHILDREN'S BOOK about the FOUNDING FATHERS' favorite foods.

The author, S.E. King, is a lawyer and journalist with a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley. Her articles on American history, politics, business, and law have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Business Journal, USA Today, Newsweek and other national publications.

... Read more

Product Description
This historic volume was published in 1855.

Contains:

- The Declaration of Independence
- The lives of the signers
- The Constitution of the United States
- The Inaugural Addresses and First Annual Messages of all the
Presidents, from Washington to Pierce
- The Farewell Addresses of George Washington and Andrew
Jackson
- Sketches of the Lives of the Presidents - Washington to Pierce
...............................................................................

Contents:

J. Q. Adams's Inaugural Address
J. Q. Adams's First Annual Message
Jackson's Inaugural Address
Jackson's First Annual Message
Jackson's Farewell Address
Van Buren's Inaugural Address
Van Buren's First Annual Message
Harrison's Inaugural Address
Tyler's Address to the People of the United States
Tyler's First Annual Message
Polk's Inaugural Address
Polk's Mexican War Message
Taylor's Inaugural Address
Taylor's First Annual Message
President Fillmore's Message
Fillmore's First Annual Message
Pierce's Inaugural Address

Sketches of the Lives of the Presidents from Washington to Pierce:

George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
James Knox Polk
Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore
Franklin Pierce








... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

No illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (127)

A nice history, but doesn't include the revolution.
Overall an interesting book that details the first fifty years or so of Benjamin Franklin's life. As one of America's most interesting and charismatic founding fathers, this book does outline nicely the methods and reason that formed the personality that he is. Unfortunately the book cuts off in approximately 1755 and does not cover any of the American revolution at all. There really is no fault to be had of that because of how and when this was written, but I would advice to any reader that, that content is no in this volume.

The only other major complaint of the book is that it can be at times difficult to read since there are no chapters. The book is one continual exposition of Mr. Franklin's life which at times jumps around in content. I often found myself lost or confused as to what was being discussed if I took long periods of time between readings.

Overall though this is a nice book to read if you are looking at some background into the life of Benjamin Franklin.

Omitting the interesting stuff
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JMLMXI/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

Franklin wrote this autobiography thinking about how he wanted to be remembered, not how he was. As a result, you won't find anything in it about his illegitimate child(ren) or the Hell-fire Club. You won't find much about the Court of St. James. You will find a reasonably good account of his youth and adolescence, but when it gets to his adulthood, he--how do we put this?--he told the truth but not the whole truth. Possibly he told nothing but the truth, but I say again, he didn't tell the whole truth. I expected this book to be longer and more interesting than it was.

Autobiography of Ben Franklin
I was disappointed. I am an admirer of the good Dr. and figured I'd go to the source! Well, what I read was fine ... but it ended rather abruptly. It seemed like maybe his effort was never truly finished.It stops in the middle of life. There was still so much left to write!!!

Great Read
I am a history bug and I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. I read it on my Mac with the Kindle application and enjoyed it so much that my wife bought me a Kindle for my birthday. Amazon has many titles at no charge. Some are so so, but for me, this was a great trip back in time with one of the most gifted minds of the enlightenment.

Suggested to all young men to enter the world
I came across this book without prior intent to find it. Having read it, I believe it beneficial to recommend any young man at the end of his schooling, about to embark on life in the "real world," To read this publication. ... Read more

Product Description
Richard Brookhiser has won a wide and loyal following for his stylish, pointed, and elegant biographies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. In America's First Dynasty, Brookhiser tells the story of America's longest and still greatest dynasty -- the Adamses, the only family in our history to play a leading role in American affairs for nearly two centuries. From John, the self-made, tough-minded lawyer who rose to the highest office in the government he helped create; to John Quincy, the child prodigy who grew up amid foreign royalty, followed his father to the White House, and later reinvented himself as a champion of liberty in Congress; to politician and writer Charles Francis, the only well-balanced Adams; to Henry, brilliant scholar and journalist -- the Adamses achieved longer-lasting greatness than any other American family.

Brookhiser's canvass starts in colonial America, when John Adams had to teach himself the law and ride on horseback for miles to find clients. It does not end until after the Titanic sinks -- Henry had booked a room but changed his plans -- and World War I begins, with Henry near the action in France. The story of this single family offers a short course in the nation's history, because for nearly two hundred years Adams history was American history. The Adamses were accompanied by an impressive cast of characters, from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, to Andrew Jackson and Ulysses Grant, to Teddy Roosevelt. America's First Dynasty offers telling portraits of the great men of our past, and many of the women around them. John and Abigail's great love affair was destined to be repeated by their offspring and offspring's offspring.

As with any family, there was a darker side to the Adams story: many of its members were abject failures. Alcoholism was a familiar specter, and suicide was not unknown. Only one of the four great Adamses was a kind man and father; the others set standards so impossibly high that few of their children could meet them. Yet despite more than a century of difference from John to Henry, certain Adams traits remained the same. In the story of our first and still-greatest family, we can all see something of our own struggles with family, fate, and history.Amazon.com Review
In the spirit of his earlier books, Alexander Hamilton: American and Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington, Richard Brookhiser produces an elegant, concise volume drawing on previous scholarship but offering a fresh perspective on four prickly generations of Adamses. Until David McCullough's John Adams became a surprise bestseller, the United States' second president and his descendants seldom had good press. Acknowledging John's essential role in the American Revolution and his son John Quincy's principled fight against slavery, contemporaries and historians nonetheless judged both men poor presidents, characterized by haughty pride and stiff-necked dislike of compromise. Charles Francis Adams, John Quincy's son, lost an almost certain chance to run for president as a Republican in 1872 by disdainfully announcing "that he would reject any nomination that had to be negotiated for;" the most famous book by Charles's son, The Education of Henry Adams (1907), implicitly blames Henry's failure to achieve the prominence of his forefathers on the loss of meaning and coherence in the modern, fragmented world. Tracing the lives and careers of these four men, Brookhiser strikes a balance between their struggles with a daunting heritage and battles with the often unappreciative outer world, identifying "the constant companion of the Adamses" as "the idea of greatness. Am I as great as my ancestors? As great as my contemporaries? Why doesn't the world recognize my greatness?" This proves a sensible organizing principle for his graceful reappraisal of a well-known but not often well-understood family. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Brookhiser dislikes the Adamses
This was a very disappointing book. I bought it for $5 and feel I overpaid. It's obvious that Brookhiser dislikes, even hates, the Adamses. He painted cruel pictures of each of the 4 covered, as well as other people who came in contact with them. It was a painful read as a result. It made me wonder what Brookhiser's dislike was based on? Brookhiser certainly never offers any information that would make his subjects worthy of such dislike. While reading the book I was often more interested in Brookhiser and his obvious problems with all things Adams than with the Adamses themselves.

I won't be reading anything else by Brookhiser because I don't want to be subjected to his hatreds and pettiness.

Neat, Not-too-filling, but Ultimately Biased
For a quick and dirty basic description of the famous sons of Adams, feel free to indulge in this quick and easy read. As other have indicated, it generally lacks anything unique from other works on the family, with the exception of Brookheiser's commentary. It is, as with his other works, very well written.

It is plainly evident from this work and his others that Brookheiser isn't a big fan of John Adams and his progeny. For example, he clearly states that of the six presidents, only two were not reelected; John and John Quincy. Of the three presidents who did not attend their replacements' inauguration, two were Adams. These are true facts, but placed in the context of this book and the general tone of its writing, it is evident he is less than enamored with this family. He is entitled to his opinion, which at times is very well presented, but it reads more as a USA Today editorial than a piece of historical non-fiction.

Biased history
I'll give it one star because it does offer a concise (maybe all too brief) summary of these men's times. Other than that, it's weak. You can tell it's written by a journalist: almost like articles, the chapters are hurried, crammed and tilted toward the journalist's politics. As someone else noted, his compliments to John and John Quincy are backhanded. And I was stunned - so stunned in fact I had to read it over and over just to believe it- that Brookhiser describes Buchanan as a "gracious, gutless homosexual". And his (supposed) homosexuality has ...what?... to do with his politics? And he was gutless because he was a supposed homosexual? Don't waste your money. Read McCullough or Henry Adams instead.

It was just too bad that the author didn't like the Adams boys a little better
Having read John McCullough's wonderful biography John Adams, and having read one of the most celebrated of all autobiographies, The Education of Henry Adams (the great-grandson of John Adams), I was hungry to fill in the gaps in the Adams' family history, and thus my motivation for reading this volume.

Brookhiser gives equal time to the star members of four generations of Adamses: John, John Quincy (both United States Presidents), Charles Francis (ambassador to Great Britain and almost President) and Henry who shunned politics and devoted his time to taking potshots at life and writing history and novels.

Compared to the other two books mentioned in the opening paragraph America's First Dynasty is not a particularly great book - of course it is running in elite circles. Brookhiser had far too many opinions, many of them about as cynical as any Henry could come up with, to make this a good book of history. But it is interesting and provided a good overview of the lives of the four best known Adams men (Abigail deserves her own book). It was just too bad that the author didn't like the Adams boys a little better - or at least was not so free to place his negative spin on their lives. Overall the book accomplished what I had hoped, but if you want just one book on the Adams' family, skip this one and go straight to McCullough's.

Half a gill of hard cider
I saw this on sale and thought it would be a nice 'chaser' after David McCullough's long but excellent "John Adams" that I was just finishing up. I was right, but barely.First, on the good side: it's a well written quick review of the four famous and interesting generations of Adamses.It gets high marks for putting a lot into a small package.Also, all four get equal time, which, given the complexities of each, I appreciated.

On the negative side: it did not surprise me that Brookhiser took a less flattering (and more mainstream) view of John Adams than McCullough.But when his disparagment stretched to the following three generations I started to wonder what size burr the author may be sitting on.If you buy Brookhiser's somewhat malignant view of these four, it then begs the question how such an irascible hypocritical set of men could be so successful.Which is neither asked nor answered.

It was worth the $5 I paid, but I wouldn't pay full price. ... Read more

Product Description
James Parton's "Revolutionary Heroes, and Other Historical Papers" is a classic work read by book lovers, students and scholars. ... Read more

Product Description
The complete texts of all U.S. presidential inaugural addresses from George Washington in 1789 to Barack Obama in 2009.

The Kindle Edition includes a full Table of Contents. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

All the speeches, in one place
Following Obama's inauguration speech, I was interested in comparing it to the ones that had come before. This book brings them all together, and, through the hyper-linked front index indicating the president's name and the year of the inauguration, they are very easy to browse and read. Fascinating stuff. ... Read more