Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution (Paperback)

~ Natalie S. Bober (Author)
Key Phrases: splendid misery, Abigail Adams, John Adams, John Quincy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-12. Think of this biography as a portrait. Not the smooth, impassive painting reproduced on the jacket, but an intricate mosaic made of colorful bits of fact, emotion, period detail, and letters, letters, letters. Bober nudges readers to look beyond their twentieth-century expectations and become absorbed in another age. She creates a detailed eighteenth-century background showing Adams as the product of her times: an educated, intelligent, and capable woman in an age when the expectations and challenges of a woman's role were different from what they are today, but no less complex. Often separated from her husband John, Abigail wrote letters to him and to others constantly. Throughout the text, Abigail's voice is heard through quotations from her letters. Thorough research of this first-person resource gives Bober a comfortable familiarity with Abigail's personality as well as her personal history, which is interwoven with the turbulent history of her times. As in Bober's Thomas Jefferson: Man on a Mountain (1988), meticulous research and documentation give the book authority, good writing gives it clarity, and sympathetic understanding gives it humanity. An excellent biography. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Abigail Adams was an extraordinary woman who witnessed the gathering storm of the American Revolution and saw the battle of Bunker Hill from a hilltop near her home. Through her letters to friends and family, Abigail Adams lives in history--and now in this award-winning biography by Natalie Bober. Black & white illustrations .

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689819161
• ISBN-13: 978-0689819162
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #141,198 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written and very involving., October 20, 1999

By	Carmel (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed this biography, which I purchased on a visit to the Adams National Historic Site (sorry, amazon.com!). Abigail Adams was remarkable in so many ways, not least of which was her ability to convey the issues and tenor of her times through her letters. Natalie Bober does an exceptional job of bringing Abigail's world to life - not just the big ideas, but the small emotional details come to light, making these historical figures seem very real. I had always been an admirer of the Adamses and their extraordinary romantic and intellectual partnership - this book increased my admiration tenfold.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything You Want to Know about Abigail Adams, February 24, 2006

By	AbigailAdamsBuff (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

I find that when one reads a biography of this size, one also reads "little" biographies of other people in their life.

Here, Natalie S. Bober has minimized the little biographies and kept the focus on Abigail Adams.

I think that for the average person, this book is the only one you'll ever need to know. It has just the right amount of information to write a fully-informed report or paper, but Bober has kept it fresh and interesting.

A good place to begin or continue research on one of the greatest American women in history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Kids, May 11, 2005

By	L. J. Anderson (Anchorage, Alaska) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book in many ways reminded me of Lynne Withey's biography of Abigail Adams. The writing was forthright and easy to understand. However, sometimes the subject matter seemed more appropriate to an older audience and I often wondered why the book was aimed at a youth audience. Certainly, as an adult reading this book, I took great enjoyment from and interest in it. The inclusion of Abigail's letters certainly indicate the complexity of the woman and of the times she lived in, and there were many times where I felt my heart break for this woman who so loved her family, but outlived 2 of her children. Bober's attention to detail added much interest -- how many trunks of tea were tossed overboard during the Boston Tea Party, why Boston's streets were paved with cobblestones, etc.
Bottom line: This is not just a youth book. If you love American history, pick it up.