John Adams

By: David McCullough

Narrated by: Nelson Runger

Length: 29 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, Biography/Autobiography, 2002

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 Recorded Books, All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"Brilliant...a winner." (Publishers Weekly)
"McCullough writes to be heard as well as read." (AudioFile)

Great book

Fantastic book. The narrator bothered me at first , you can hear him breathing , but I got used to it and loved the book.

Great for easy listening while learning.

McCullough has written about a man that had many great accomplishments in his lifetime. Being an History major I have found this to be a great learning tool. Nelson was the perfect voice to do the narrative account. This book was full of information that you don’t hear about in a school setting.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for information about what life was like in a specific time in history.

Amazing work of history, painfully slow narrator

if you turn the playback speed up to at least 1.5x it makes the narration bearable. There are many points that could have easily been improved with a bit if editing, for example every time the narrator takes a very long pause for a swallow and a sip of water cut have easily be snipped out for a more continuous narration.

Nothing short of brilliant

Another David McCullough masterpiece. If only our current politicians would read our history! This is a voluminous, meticulously researched, gorgeously written and told story of John Adams, a unique soul among our nation’s founders. It is sheer pleasure.

A MUST LISTEN!

Absolutely loved learning about Adama, Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence. Absolutely wonderful writing and well-researched.

Exceptionally Detailed

What a great account of a great era of history for the US and the world! David McCullough brings the characters to life with the great amount of detail handed down to him via the personal letters of John and Abigail Adams

Every American Needs to Read this Book

John Adams is not just a biography of one man or family rather it is a story of the creation of America. It is a story of a man and his wife and family. A story of friendships made, lost and reestablished. It is a Story of gaining the respect of the long-established nations of the old world for the unique and providential state of the new world.
It is amazing how similar these great people were treated or abused by the media of the day. Things really haven't changed.
This is a long book, yet I found myself not wanting to stop listening. The reader is excellent. This audiobook will become a treasure in my library. This is a must-read for every American.

Response to the lack of speed on 'performance'

Hi! All other reviews talk about how great the story is, the only lack is the time he takes to read - but this is not a real issue! You have the option to speed up the reading - change the pace from 1.0x to 1.25x or 1.5x if it takes too long! This will eliminate this potential issue, and this is why they have slow readings - because some old people have hard time listening quickly. You can speed it up to your own liking!!!! Very simple with the app.

An epic

What a life John Adam's lived! I highly recommend reading this well told story to learn more about the amazing people and the roles they played in the story of US independence.

Very interesting

Very well written and produced. From the beginning I could tell how much and effort the writer put into fact checking as well as keeping the story interesting.
John Adams never doubted the importance of the work he was doing, something I wish I could say about myself..

Time spent listening to this book is time well spent.