John Adams

This is the type of book that destroys the belief that history is mostly boring. McCullough has a gift for making history real. Best book of any type I've read in a while.

I've read two other biographies by the same Pulitzer-prize-winning author, and his ability to turn correspondence and historical documents into living narratives still astounds me. John Adams was one of the Founding Fathers, and the issues he wrestled with are still important in American life today. Highly recommended.

I can't tell if this is about the guy who screwed George Washington out of a job or that guy who doesn't like to drink Merlot.

I'll be honest: prior to reading this book I knew precious little about John Adams. I assumed he was very much the "obnoxious and disliked" man portrayed in the musical 1776 who had the unfortunate task of following up George Washington as President. Yet having read David McCullough's book my viewpoint has changed thanks to this well written book.

With John Adams author David McCullough has brought one of the most overlooked founding fathers back to life. McCullough's book reads not like a biography but rather like a novel. Many biographies simply focus on the events of that person's life but not necessarily the influences upon them but that is something that McCullough does admirable. He does not simply tell us about Adams or his actions but traces the life of this amazing man.

McCullough does this is a number of ways. McCullough brings to life the various stages that Adams life played out upon with a skill usually reserved for novelists, the best examples being Philadelphia in the lead up to the Declaration being signed and Adams retirement. McCullough also makes the various people who populate the events of Adams life not just names (both famous and obscure) but true living people as well. Yet perhaps the biggest way that McCullough brings Adams to life is by making extensive use of the correspondence of Adams and his beloved wife Abigail. While Adams might be a founding father he was also a human being, an ordinary man in extraordinary times to evoke a cliché, and that is something that the correspondence that peepers the book makes clear.

With the skills of a novelist McCullough paints an amazing portrait of an amazing man. From studying the influences of Adams early life to bringing to life the various places Adams visited to the use of the correspondence of Adams and his wife Abigail, this is no ordinary biography. David McCullough's John Adams is the illumination of history and a highly readable biography.

A wonderful book. I feel I am there in Massachusetts with John & Abigail Adams, & know them both as friends. Historically thorough and complete, it should be required reading in American schools. I loved it!