Customer Reviews

Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Volumes 1-4: Diary (1755-1804) and Autobiography (through 1780)

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President Adams is one of my favorite presidents (Reagan, Washington, Coolidge, Harding and Jackson are also on that list). I purchased these volumes in January and have completed the first. On first glance, there was much to put-one-off----many one sentence entries that held no significance to the uninitiated. However when the reader gets into the "younger" Adams' more philosophical ponderings the reward is rich. Biographers such as Mr. McCollough and Mr. Ellis (Mr. Ellis' best work by a long-shot "Passionate Sage", his other works have been disappointing at best) have done good job of revealing our second president, but reading Adams' own words make the journey much more rewarding. The first volume is down; it's not always easy reading, but often good things don't come easy. Would recommend this collection to any reader who wants a "realist's" view from our Founders, for President Adams seems to be as real as they come. Highly recommended.
7-2008 Update----Finished most of the autobiography portion, and must say---Adams in his own words is very highly recommended. Reading the diary tends to bog down, but reading the autobiographical material, referring back to the diary is the way to go.