About this book
David McCullough's biography follows John Adams from his upbringing in Massachusetts and his career as a lawyer to his role in the Continental Congress, his years as a diplomat in Europe, and his service as the first vice president and second president of the United States.
McCullough leans heavily on the extraordinary letters Adams exchanged with his wife Abigail, and their marriage becomes one of the emotional centres of the book. He also traces the complicated relationship between Adams and Thomas Jefferson, from revolutionary allies to political opponents and, late in life, renewed correspondents.
What sets the book apart is its warmth. Adams emerges as prickly, ambitious and sometimes difficult, but also principled and deeply human, and McCullough's storytelling makes the founding era feel immediate. The book also gives a vivid sense of daily life in the eighteenth century, from farm and family to long, dangerous sea voyages. For the year of revolution itself, continue with McCullough's 1776, or browse the biography shelf.
Who it’s for
A rewarding, accessible read for anyone curious about the American founding; long but gently paced and never heavy going.
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