John Adams by David McCullough

JOHN ADAMS
David McCullough
Published 2001
American Biography
The Gentle Challenge: (Book Recommendation)

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When I joined Silva's Gentle (reading) Challenge, my goal was to fit more of my un-reads into specific categories. One of the categories was a book recommendation (or a book you would read because you trusted the word of others). 

John Adams by David McCullough has been on my un-read list for a decade or more. A book blogger I admire recommended this book; but, in fact, she was not the only one who gave it excellent reviews. Therefore, I trusted these opinions. 

I am excited to announce that it was absolutely worth it, and they were correct. I am so grateful that I finally read this book.

Frankly, I do not know where to start or what to say about this epic narrative, except to begin with an emotional response. 

I embrace this book fervently and will add it to my personal canon. It was pleasantly written, exceptionally well done, and absolutely enjoyable. I often imagined that I was transported back to the 1700s and lived through every moment. I walked away with an appreciation for what these men (and women) did to form a new government based on the ideas of self-government and personal liberty and freedom, even if we "could[n't] keep it." 

McCullough's writing style was intelligible, concise, and delightful. He included an abundance of supporting evidence from correspondence, newspaper articles, books, and diaries (sadly, a lost art). If a written work supported a statement or idea, it was included. I do not think he left anything out. Often, I was amazed at how much written correspondence took place, and McCullough used many sources to cross reference who said what and when and where just to piece this history back together. 

By the way, this story was not only about John Adams, although it was very much about him; it was a window into the heart and soul of his faithful, intelligent wife, Abigail, and fellow compatriots, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush, and many others. 

I was not aware of the degree Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and some others disapproved of and betrayed Adams, and that Vice President Jefferson, in my opinion, may have committed treason under Adams during his presidency. Scandalous! (Reminds me of Mike Pence and Donald Trump. There is nothing new under the sun.)

I enjoyed the relationship between Adams and his wife, a beautiful, faithful couple, faithful to God and to one another through long periods of separation. Abigail was an excellent partner and helper, encouraging her husband in honorable pursuits. She was a well-educated and well-rounded woman, a protective mother, and a patriot. Both Abigail and John were of one mind on many moral, ethical, and  political perspectives. They had a model union, as is evident from their written correspondence. Mr. Adams absolutely adored his wife, and I can see why.

McCollough presented a genuine and true character analysis of Adams. Of course, he was not a perfect personality, while grievances about him were probably warranted. But he was an admirable, fair, and trustworthy man. Most notably, his relationship with Jefferson later in life was charming, and their collection of letters to one another was and still is inspiring of reconciliation and friendship. 

I especially appreciated the sections on Adams' love for books and reading, which actually contended with Jefferson's obsession with books. 

Unlike Jefferson, who seldom marked a book, and then only faintly in pencil, Adams, pen in hand, loved to add his comments in the margins. It was part of the joy of reading for him, to have something to say himself, to talk back to, agree or take issue with, Rousseau, Condorcet, Turgot, Mary Wollstonecraft, Adam Smith, or Joseph Priestley. "That is no doubt that people are in the long run what the government makes out of them...," Adams read in Rousseau. "The government ought to be what the people make it," he wrote in response. (LOL!)

Adams was guilty of defacing books while reading and once wrote 12,000 notes and comments in one book alone! He read French Revolution by Wollstonecraft twice "with delight" because he disagreed with almost everything she said. Adams and Jefferson "were two of the greatest book lovers of their bookish generation." Adams owned over 3,200 books and Jefferson, before he sold them, owned (if I remember correctly) over 5,000. Yikes!

John Adams by John Singleton Copley, 1784

Other adventures experienced in this chunk of history included Adams' overseas life in France and England; the terrible French Revolution, whose outcome Adams predicted; the provocation of America by the French and British; the ongoing issue with slavery; the complications with disease; and the nasty disputes among men like Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr. How many times did I scribble in the margins: There's nothing new under the sun.

This is only a small fraction of what I went through. The biography is over 650 pages, with an impressive bibliography. The pages are full of memorable quotes and passages. (I had to stop writing them down while reading, though I plan to return to the book and collect them.) This work is chronologically written, beginning in the early 1770s, the eve of the American Revolution, until right after Adams' death, July 4, 1826, just a few hours after his friend Thomas Jefferson died. Adams was 90 years old. 

WHO WANTS TO READ THIS?

Obviously, if you like: 

• biographies, 
• biographies about U.S. presidents, 
• histories, 
• American history (particularly early American History), 
• books about war or Revolutionary war histories, 
• political science or government systems 
• (or want to witness the birth of man's best attempt at good government ever), 
• stories about brilliant minds together in one time or place, 
• and love stories -- yes, love stories! 

...then this is your next book.

THE GENTLE CHALLENGE