Author(s): David McCullough
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 752
Binding: Paperback
I learned a lot that I didn't know by reading this extraordinary biography of our second U.S. President, based primarily on his correspondence over the span of his life. I learned what a great and rare relationship he had with his wife, Abigail--who referred to him as "my friend." I learned how he was even smarter than Thomas Jefferson when it came to seeing through the falsehoods of his time--such as the French Revolution, which early on he predicted would collapse in dictatorship and authoritarianism, as it did. I came to better understand that the main contribution of his one-term Presidency, sandwiched between Washington and Jefferson, was to keep the fledgling U.S. out of war with its one-time ally, France--a war that was surely unnecessary and pointless, yet hotly desired by the majority of Americans during his time in office. I also learned just how low the American government could sink, including under President Adams, when the Sedition Acts were passed to jail critics of the new government, leading me to think that if early America could survive this, maybe today we can survive our errors as well. Perhaps most of all, beyond the history and the politics, I learned how John Adams lived a pretty wonderful life. He adored his children and grandchildren (although two of his sons were alcoholics), he adored his wife, he treasured his farm, he valued his friendships, and yet, to the very end, he found a point to living when he quite literally had nothing left but his books. He even slept in his library. Now there's a man for the ages. This book is more than an excellent biography. It's a trip into another time, when life was physically much harder--but intellectually superior to what most of us know today.