John Adams

By: David McCullough

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jan Maxwell

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

In this powerful, epic biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life-journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution. Adams thought, wrote, and spoke out for the "Great Cause" come what might; he traveled far and wide in all seasons and often at extreme risk; he rose to become the second president of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; he was rightly celebrated for his integrity, and regarded by some as "out of his senses"; and his marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the most moving love stories in American history.

Much about Adams' life will come as a surprise to many. His rocky relationship with friend and eventual archrival Thomas Jefferson, his courageous voyage on the frigate Boston in the winter of 1778 and his later trek over the Pyrenees are exploits few would have dared and that few listeners will ever forget.

McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. This is history on a grand scale - an audiobook about politics, war, and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious 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.

©2001 David McCullough (P)2001 Simon & Schuster, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Non-Fiction (abridged), 2002
• Pulitzer Prize Winner, Biography or Autobiography, 2002

"The portrait that emerges is altogether fascinating." (Amazon.com)
"Brilliant...a winner." (Publishers Weekly)
"McCullough writes to be heard as well as read." (AudioFile)

History

After watching the HBO series, John Adams, I felt the need to read more about him. These are remarkable words written by John Adams to the world at large, and John Adams to his wife, Abigail well spoken by Edward Herman, well written. By David McCullough. It is worth a listen, especially in these difficult times. The story of John and Abigail Adams told in this volume is truly worth listening to and emulation if possible.
I hope you enjoy listening to this book.

Wonderful book and performance

Thank you for the excellent narration of important historical events and heroes. I enjoyed it.

A wonderful and informative book

Before this I had never read a historical biography, but was drawn to the title by other's comments and the independence-related subject matter. Having now finished listening to the work, I can say that the author brings this individual and his time wonderfully to life and I would heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in the man or the period.

As one other reviewer comments, this IS the abridged version, though I am sure that when I bought it there was no unabridged version available. I do marvel at the length of the full version when I reflect back upon how complete this version sounded. I would recommend this abridged version, especially as you have to use two credits for the two volumes of the other version.

I liked the narration, apart from (and this is my sole gripe) the random generic female narrator's voice who replaces the normal male narrator at nonesensical intervals. Still, she is thankfully soon off the scene again and definitely in the minority versus her male counterpart. Nonetheless, this is certainly no reason NOT to recommend the book, it is just good to know...

More or less my entire knowledge of the revolutionary war and American history following it comes from this volume, since I am English and there is so much of our history that we unfortunately do not really get around to dealing with this episode in school. Bearing this in mind, I found the book to be an excellent resource for my purposes. Also, I have an American girlfriend, so I thought it was about time I was elevated from 'clueless' on the subject!!

To sum up - BUY IT. You won't regret it...

Excellent biography of a most dedicated patriot

This is an excellent story of one of the two biggest promoters of the American Revolution. Jefferson wrote and Adams spoke, and people would pay attention. It's based mostly on John Adam's and others letters and comes alive as read by Edward Hermann and others. Nobody writes likes that anymore and it's a joy to hear the descriptive narrative of John, Thomas, Abigail and John Quincy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has even a passing interest in the American Revolution.

Great Man, Great Read

Hesitated before downloading. Afraid of being bored to death, as I am not much of a history buff. I am now in my second "listen", I enjoyed it so much I hated for it to end! Great history lesson, plenty of suspense, and romance, too. And it is non-fiction! I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys any aspect of reading.

Well Done!

No question why the author is so well respected by so many people. I missed the television series on John Adams and found several people talking about it and didn't want to be left out. Not wanting to listen through the 19 hours of the full version, I was very pleased with the abridged edition and didn't feel like it was left out at any point. Water cooler discussion will be much easier now!

Excellent

A wonderful review of a man and his time when written language was grand and articulate and not the product of EMAIL or CHAT ROOMS.

Epic!

I see, in John Adams, tremendous virtue. More so, in my opinion, than other founding fathers. David McCullough's portrayal of his life and death give us a glimpse into the foundational principles of our nation.

A must

a great historical of John and abigail...anyone who wants the basics must listen..I was enamored

Enjoyable

If you could sum up John Adams in three words, what would they be?

Great content, great listen.

What was one of the most memorable moments of John Adams?

John Adams swearing off women because they clouded his productivity and goals.

Which scene was your favorite?

Abigail Adams running John's farm while he was away and the Adams Family living in Paris.