Customer Reviews

John Adams: A Life

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I have been reading biographies of the founding fathers from Washington to Madison. I picked up this book knowing that Adams was the one that I, and most people, know the least about. Ferling brings this man to life to the point that I felt that I knew him personally more than any of the other bios I've read so far. I was amazed at how attached I became to this intense and profoundly intelligent person who is regrettably most remembered as a vain and awkward curmudgeon. Ferling's story is complete, covering the varied facets of Adams as farmer, lawyer, philosopher, negotiator, statesman, friend, husband and father. If John Adams is more of a mystery to you than the much celebrated likes of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and Madison, then this is the book for you.

Before reading this magnificent book, the only Adams biography I had read was Page Smith's two volume book and that is now quite dated. This book must now stand as the definitive Adams biography. Ferling paints a riveting portrait of this complex and misunderstood American hero. Adams is unfairly tossed off by the uninformed as a peripheral figure in the American Revolution, but this book shows clearly that Adams was an integral force throughout.

Ferling also takes great pains in illuminating Adams' amazing breadth of intellect and this a trait sometimes not associated with him. When one thinks about the intellectual titans among the Founding Fathers, Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton generally come to mind. Add Adams to that list and the Father of the Constitution should remain on this lofty list for all time.

Many American Revolution buffs eschew Adams and toss him off as not as interesting, flamboyant or "essential" as the other leading players. I challenge them to read this biography, which shows Adams was not only extremely intelligent, but likable and thoroughly human. This is biography at its finest.

As Richard Brookshire put it in his biography of Alexander Hamilton, it's really hard not to like John Adams. Ferling paints a great picture of why it's so hard not to like him. Adams was arrogant, brash, hot headed, aristocratic, etc. These are traits of our second president Ferling doesn't dance around. But on the other hand, Adams was also what we should all be, brutally honest, outgoing in spirit, unwavering in his beliefs,and probably the biggest thing I didn't know about Adams, madly and hopelessly in love with his wife and completely devoted to his family until his very last breath. Ferling doesn't kill us with unnecessary detail as is so common in historical biographies of the founding fathers. As Adams did, Ferling lays it out, and lets us be the judge. He states Adams' position on countless issues, right or wrong, and then allows the reader to pass the judgement. A fine work. Thank you Mr. Ferling.

Several years ago, I was given "Truman", the award-winning biography about one of our most beloved presidents. I was fascinated by all of the behind the scenes details about some of the most important events in our history. It reminded me why I always loved history so much in the first place. I've since set out to read a biography of each of our U.S. presidents, from Washington to Clinton.

Of the half dozen I have read so far, Ferling's John Adams: A Life, may be the best. While Washington was revered, then and now, for his exploits in the Revolutionary War, it was Adams who had a hand in most of the behind the scenes events that made independence for the young country a reality. Adams is portrayed as he really was, warts and all. In addition, Ferling's detailed descriptions of some of the other Founding Fathers such as Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton and others help put John Adams in perspective, helping to explain why Adams has often been one of our most misunderstood presidents. Along with "Truman", simply the best biography I have ever read.

I read Ferling's biography of Adams after reading McCullough's John Adams. I was a bit disappointed with a few aspects, and thought reading Ferling would round out my knowledge of our second president. I wasn't disappointed. Ferling's masterly and scholarly work provides an outstanding insight into Adams, his activities, his motivations, and his relationship with his wife Abigail. In particular, Ferling pulls no punches in describing some of Adams' rather significant character flaws, particularly his burning ambition (and his subsequent abandonment of his family in pursuit of it). Richly footnoted, the work still remains THE biography of Adams, despite McCullough's recent work and its NY Times bestseller status.

This book drew me in with its fascinating account about John Adams life and its historical details. Ferling has written a very entertaining and inspiring biography on Adams. Although it is not as deep in detail as Page Smith's biography on the same subject, it is full of information that will edify both students of John Adams and those people who are interested in United States revolutionary period and the early years of the republic.

This book is a biography of John Adam's life from his birth in 1735 until his death on July 4th 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The date of John Adams death coincided almost to the hour with the death of Thomas Jefferson, a coincidence that is itself remarkable. This and numerous other events in his life are depicted in a clear, and interesting manner. The book is organized chronologically from Mr. Adam's early childhood thru the day of his death and is organized into the following five parts: Love of Fame, An Epocha in History, Safe and Glorious in the Harbour of Peace, One Man of Inflexible Integrity and I Still Live and Enjoy Life. The book contains a Preface, an Introduction, an Afterword, an Abbreviations Section, Notes, a Selected Biography Reference and an Index.

I found this book very interesting not only for the story of John Adam's life but also the historical period that is discussed in the telling of that story. The five-page introduction paints a concise picture of Early America and what life was like for men and women of that time. John Adams was the son of Puritan farmers and as the first son of the family was chosen as the only child to be provided an education due to the family's meager resources. Rather than being kept on the farm he was sent to local schools and then to college to become a Lawyer after his graduation from Harvard College. This opportunity gave him the ability to escape the more common lifelong rigor and manual labor of farming although he did own a farm with slaves and maintained a working farm for most of his life. He became quite successful as a Boston lawyer and this opportunity and his education provided us with one of the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution. The book chronicles his life and relationship to numerous famous early Americans and other Founding Fathers including Samuel Adams, John Hancock, James Monroe, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others.

The story of these men and how they came together in a common cause to break the chains of tyranny from the British Monarchy is told in an interesting and readable style. Mr. Ferling also notes perspectives on the Founding Fathers actions that are often lost on the reader. For instance the fact that these men, including John Adams, were either very successful or soon to be or like George Washington were very wealthy with large land holdings. And yet, they were willing to risk all that they had in a revolutionary war against the "Parent State" for the sake of liberty and freedom from British rule. These men were well aware that by forming the Continental Congress and acting as they did they would spark a Revolution and that their fate for such treasonous acts would be death at the hands of the British Monarchy should the revolution fail or falter. The book recounts the early days of the revolutionary period and how events were intertwined to become the American Revolution. John Adams played a pivotal role in the saga and sacrificed much of his person life and early marital and family time to his duties as one of the Founding Fathers. John Adams spent numerous stretches of months and even years away from his wife and family during the early years of the forming of the United States Union and the ensuing Revolutionary Years. He traveled to Europe and worked with Benjamin Franklin (whom he loathed) and later with Thomas Jefferson as ambassadors to France and peace negotiators with the British. Mr. Ferling details the daily habits and events, letters and correspondence between the various players in these grand events and helps us understand how individual personal desires and goals drove these men to their achievements and describes the sacrifices made by them during this time.

John Adams became the second President of the United States after serving for two terms as George Washington's vice-president. Thomas Jefferson was vice-president under John Adams and later succeeding him in the Presidency by defeating him in the election of 1800. John Adam's son, John Quincy Adams, was later elected President and served from 1825 to 1829. These events and numerous others are covered in the book and told in a compelling manner. I particularly enjoyed the last section of the book, which focuses more directly on John Adams, the man, and how he lived out his life after the Presidential years. John Adams throughout his life was torn by mood swings and periods of self-doubt about his abilities and later in life complained that even for all he had done, that he would be forgotten and that he was not a great man. Mr. Adams, I respectfully differ with you. You were indeed a great man and all Americans and millions of other people of the plant owe you a great debt of gratitude for what you did in your lifetime.

I find Mr. Ferling's writing style clear and very readable with the subject covered in an interesting manner and at an appropriate level of detail. The Index of the book is a nice feature and helps to easily locate people and events discussed in the book.

This book is great reading and I would recommend it for anyone interested in Presidential History, early American History and the Revolution or the Founding Fathers. It was well worth the price and my time to read it.

This is an excellent biography, following Adams from birth to death in one volume, and detailing both the positive and the negative aspects of the man clearly and fairly. I've been fascinated by Adams ever since seeing the movie "1776", which gives a marvellous "based on fact" dramatization of the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence, and this book gave me a more thorough, more strictly factual look at the man. I wasn't disappointed on that score; he's just as interesting without the dramatic liberties taken by the movie.

My only quibble with this book is that the editing, at least in the edition that I have, is rather poor. There are numerous errors in grammatical structure and word choice, the kind of errors that I have become accustomed to in mass market paperbacks but refuse to accept in a scholarly historical work. Things like "he requested that the Congress name his successor be named in his place" and "...the British ... was ready" and "the New England sates" (rather than "States") and "the House of Representative" (even back then, there was more than one representative in the House) and "the dreary weather proved not be a herald of the months ahead" and many others. I understand that mistakes happen, and don't demand perfection. But there are just too many of this kind of error in this book for me to say that it is well-written; probably two dozen, if I had to guess.

Overall, this is a worthwhile biography of a fascinating president. Hopefully, future editions will clean up the writing a bit more.

This book captured my attention from the first chapter. JOhn Adams was a fascinating person and left behind an extensive amount of his own words in journals and letters. The problem for a biographer is to make it interesting and Mr. Ferling does a wonderful job of showing the good and bad of John Adams.

I think the best part of this in-depth one volume biography is how the events taking place around John Adams as well as many of his important historical contemporaries are also explored, giving the reader a true vision as to how John Adams fit into the world of the 18th and early 19th century. Franklin, Sam Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton are all discussed and examined.

Although John Adams is not typically thought of as a notable president, after reading this book, you will understand why two recent polls of historians showed that he was rated as a "great" president who was as instrumental as any in the formation of the United States. By going directly against his own party while president, he was humiliated and initially ignored, but his actions were later realized to have likely saved the US from ruin soon after it's formation. If you are interested in John Adams, or colonial history...Buy This Book.

John Adams is one of the most fascinating characters in American History and Mr. Ferling's treatment of the second president is splendid. As a student of American history while growing up, I had always been taught that Adams was somewhat of a "lesser light", a supporting player in the founding of the Republic behind such luminaries as Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. The more I have read of John Adams, the more I realize that this man was extraordinary in so many ways. He may not have had the personal charisma of some of his contemporaries, but he was nonetheless a brilliant politician and statesman. Mr. Ferling presents Adams the man as a complex character in extremely interesting times. His examination of those times is well written and engaging. This is one of the finest biographies I have ever read.