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)

Great book, great man - maybe not such a great guy

I usually go for unabridged versions, so when I chose this I must have either overlooked the unabridged edition or it hadn?t been released yet. It hardly seems fair to the author to review an abridgement that is only one-third as long as the complete text. It?s like reading the Reader?s Digest version! In any case, I thought the book was great: informative, enjoyable, and with the right mix of macroscopic and microscopic detail.

In some reviews I have read (mostly on other web sites), McCullough is criticized for being too forgiving of Adams? personal and political faults. I disagree. In fact, my overriding impression of Adams after reading this book was that I probably would not have liked him at all had I known him personally. For someone who esteemed humility in others, he was outwardly very arrogant. And despite his frequent claims to desire the simple life, he seemed continually determined to attain high office and personal glory, even at the expense of familial relationships. He often claimed to be unconcerned with how history would remember him, but I can?t help but feel that many of his letters to Jefferson and even family members were tinted with attempts to reshape his reputation for posterity. One response from Jefferson in the book suggests that even T.J. suspected Adams? motives for wanting to rehash old battles in his letters.

To be fair, I do believe that Adams sincerely changed for the better once he was out of office and out of the limelight, and that he was finally able to enjoy the company of friends and family above power and prestige. I also gained new respect for the key role that he played in building the new nation.

Terrific

I realy enjoy this period of our history and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I even had to go to Quincy, Ma just to see his house and see where he lived, worked and wrote many letters and perfomed many of his duties. I was even more amazed at what an incredible woman Abigail Adams was, I would like to see David McCullough write a book about her.

Wow! What a book!

Fantastic book! I learned so much about the beginning of our country. As stated about the Declaration of Independence, "Thomas Jefferson was the pen and John Adams was the voice"!
Kudos to the author, narrator, and John Adams.

John Adams was a great man

This is one of the best written books that I have read. The author takes so many quotes from John Adams, his wife,Jefferson, and many others to truly get inside the thoughts of our founding fathers. It refreshed much of what I had forgotten about American history.

John Adams

Astounding insight into the life and times of a great man, his wife and family. His views as well as those of the other principals. Interplay of our founders. The framework of Colonial and the early times of our country as relating to the delays in transport and communication. Historically superior without the slugishness of history text. I'm better for having heard it.

Outstanding

This Audible book is abridged, which normally I avoid; in this case I chose it for two reasons:
1) the late great Edward Herrmann reads it (the unabridged edition’s narrator is inferior. .

2) McCullough must have edited it or overseen the editing because it’s is exceedingly well done. It provides short summaries of precisely what’s been cut. I followed along with the original book.
The book is a classic!

Insightful, surprising and fun

Never realized what a great man John Adams was throughout his life. He is how Americans think. Freedom, independence and duty don't do him justice.

Excellent!

This book is a masterpiece! It is very insightful with regards to the founding of our country.

Great way to learn about one of our founders!

This would be a tough read for me to get thru, but listening to it was easy. Even though it gets thru his entire life rather quickly there are some real gems of detail in here!

really good

this book is worth the price. very in depth. mostly grammatical and the reader has been in the US a number of years.