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David McCullough

"John Adams" Paperback – 29 Jan. 2008

by David McCullough (Author)

4.7 4,274 ratings

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A huge bestseller in America, David McCullough's JOHN ADAMS tells the extraordinary story of 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 and who rose to become the second President of the United States. Both a riveting portrait of an abundantly human man and a vivid evocation of his time, JOHN ADAMS has the sweep and vitality of a great novel, taking us from the Boston Massacre to Philadelphia in 1776 to the Versailles of Louis XVI, from Spain to Amsterdam to London, where Adams was the first American to stand before King George III as a representative of the new nation. This is history on a grand scale -- a book about politics and war, but also about human nature, love, faith, virtue, ambition, friendship and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, it is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.

Print length

768 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster
Publication date

29 Jan. 2008
Dimensions

16.51 x 3.18 x 23.5 cm
ISBN-10

141657588X
ISBN-13

978-1416575887
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Product description

About the Author

David McCullough is the author of several highly acclaimed works of biography and history including TRUMAN (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993), BRAVE COMPANIONS, THE GREAT BRIDGE and THE JONESTOWN FLOOD. He has also won the LOS ANGELES TIMES Book Award and is twice winner of the National Book Award.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Film tie-in ed edition (29 Jan. 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 768 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 141657588X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1416575887
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.51 x 3.18 x 23.5 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 3,299,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 321 in United States Political Biographies
- 2,303 in U.S. Revolution & Founding History
- 2,484 in 18th Century U.S. History

Customer reviews:
4.7 4,274 ratings

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David McCullough

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David McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback; His other widely praised books are 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood. He has been honored with the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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Dr Mervyn Eastman

Beyond exceptional

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 25 November 2022

Verified Purchase

From a life time of reading biographies, there are a number that are outstanding and a few that are exception. McCullough's life of John Adams is however beyond even beyond that. I knew about Adams from the DVD based on the book, but not surprisingly, no adaptation could possibly reflect the written word (narrative) McCullough provides.

The portrayal of Abagail ( Adams wife) is superb & the correspondence between them have not just spirit but heart to their years of marriage. I wept at her passing, and in terms of Adams, I will hold for what remains of my days admiration and even awe! I learnt so much about the early years pre & post the American Revolution, the 2nd, 3rd & 6th Presidents and the conception, birth and early years of the Republic.

A 5 star rating is totally insufficient to reflect my view of this book.

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Nicholas Casley

How Amazing Is That?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 10 September 2017

Verified Purchase

I was inspired to read this biography of the second president of the United States, as it was the basis for the excellent HBO series.

As McCullough's writes in the introduction, "John Adams was a lawyer and a farmer, a graduate of Harvard College, the husband of Abigail Smith Adams, the father of four children. He was forty years old and he was a revolutionary." Why was that so? The biography reveals a man passionate about virtue and liberty, a man who would never give up the fight, and a man who was the real driver of independence. When people think of the fight for independence, they naturally bring to mind Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin - but it was Adams who was the driving force.

I am also glad that I read this book because I was able to see where the truth of Adam's life has been sacrificed for the drama of the TV series: the Hollywood version of history is just as active on America's own as well as the rest of the world's! For example, in the first episode I learn that Captain Preston was actually tried separately from his men, and of the eight soldiers, two were found guilty of manslaughter.

But there are also scenes that should have been in the series but which did not make it, scenes such as Franklin and Adams sharing a bed and arguing over whether the window should be open or closed. David McCullough's clear and highly-readable prose also covers much of the important but undramatic work of Adams, including his drafting of the constitution of his home state, Massachusetts, written whilst back home between time spent as ambassador to Holland and France.It is "the oldest, functioning written constitution in the world."

Much of the series played on Adams's relationship with his wife, and I was glad to see how true it was that they were a meeting of minds in so many ways and had a long and happy marriage, supporting each other and their children, although Adams himself had such high ideals that he was a difficult father to please.

The end came dramatically, like Beethoven, with a thunderstorm. And I still cannot get over how he died on the same day as Thomas Jefferson - and they both died on the fiftieth Fourth of July since independence! How amazing is that?

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skiwiman

a masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 11 March 2013

Verified Purchase

Rarely have I read a book where, as I come to the end I am saddened that I must leave the character(s) and read of them no more. This is no dry historical record. McCullough has written as if he had been present at the time. I enjoyed this book from cover to cover.

I had no prior knowledge of John Adams, having first encountered him when I was enthralled by the HBO mini-series with Paul Giamatta as Mr. Adams.

The size of the book when it arrived was somewhat daunting. However the easy style of writing and the layout made for a fascinating insight into one of the chief movers of the Declaration of Independence, as well as Washington, Jefferson and Franklin.

From birth to death we follow John Adams in his single-minded approach to life, which didn't always assist him in his endeavours. We can be thankful that he and his wife, Abigail were prolific, detailed and eloquent letter writers as the author had a treasure trove of material from which to gain an insight into their personalities, relationships and the times they lived in. The horror of his daughter Nabby undergoing a mastectomy without anesthetic is an example of the tough times people endured without our modern inventions.

Adams, perhaps like no other President in the history of America travelled extensively BEFORE he became president, established the first American mission in The Hague, secured funding for the new born republic, was ambassador to the Court of St. James, vice-president and then President. It was remarkable to learn that on the day of his departure from the White House, he caught the public stagecoach at 4am for Baltimore. Can we imagine Obama catching the 4am bus as he leaves the White House? Fascinating insight after fascinating insight.

I cannot rate this book highly enough. The 18th century truly was a time of tumultuous changes in America and Europe and that so many 'famous' Americans lived in that period and were players in the times they lived in is truly remarkable. Buy the book. Take your time. Enjoy the eloquence of the letter writing. Read of a life lived to the full and to the end!

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