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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
A thoughtful commentary on a founding father and the founding mother who walked beside him.
This was not as balanced as Doris Kearns Goodwin's take on the Roosevelts. Ellis leans more toward educating the reader about the history of the Revolution and time thereafter with, at times, what feels like less emphasis on Abigail and John Adams, the very individuals the book is supposed to be about. Granted, their life and family was inextricably entwined from history, as was that of the Roosevelts. Yet, what Ellis fails to do that Goodwin succeeded at so beautifully, is to make these people come to life, to breathe into them again and have it seem as though the reader knows them. Ellis's writing is fine, but only that. I think he could have gone much further to illuminate the connections between this powerful marriage and that of other powerful marriages, as he suggests he might in the introduction. Furthermore, he hints in that same introduction that he will emphasize how the strength of this particular marriage is a sort of blueprint for other powerful strong marriages. While that hovered in the wings during my reading, I never felt it come to the fore, so I was left feeling that Ellis missed the boat somehow. I note that Ellis has written a prior biography of John Adams specifically, and so I wondered whether this was one of the circumstances where an academic rehashes the same territory in order to beef up his CV and get another book publishing credit. It certainly felt that way at times.
informative
medium-paced
Interesting subject. Didn’t love the execution
Good, though I found it slow to start. I especially enjoyed the direct quotes from John and Abigail’s letters, which made them seem “real.” Hamilton and Jefferson do not come off well at all. As an occasional reader of revolutionary era biographies, it’s hard to get a sense of which perspective gets it right. I’ve pretty much reconciled myself to Jefferson being awful in a lot of ways. But Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton painted him as a much more sympathetic character, while he seems downright dangerous here.
Another take on the Adams family- one.with a focus on the domestic side of their lives. Not as good as the mccullough book.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Mr. and Mrs. Adams. Ellis is a great writer of non-fiction. His books are engaging and tidy.
9/10. Having read McCullough's "John Adams" much of this material was familiar to me. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or that the reading of this was softened by my already knowing about the difficult events of Adams life (notably his time in France and his presidency) but I enjoyed this portrayal more. I know from previous reads that I have an affinity for Ellis's style. That said, the two aren't really comparable, aside from their subject being the same, since that is a much more exhaustive account and this was the study of a marriage. I've always had a great affection for John and Abigail since I was a child. Learning about them in elementary school was a memorable experience and one of the many seeds that were planted which grew my love of history.
I admit to a certain bias: Abigail and John Adams are my favorite historical couple. But this book sheds further light on why they worked so well together, focusing on their relationship based on their correspondence (the largest collection of letters from any presidential couple).
Abigail, brilliant, fiery, and domestic, was often left alone to run the farm and raise the children. John was often away on political business, at the mercy of his own ambitions and temperamental mood swings. Somehow, they balanced each other.
I was keenly interested in the way the Adamses and their children related to each other, but I also learned a great deal about how John Adams related to his fellow politicians: to put it rather bluntly, badly. The heated grudges with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were eye-opening, and the resolution of the latter as Adams and Jefferson finally made peace after decades of mistrust (and more than a little backstabbing) was practically cinematic.
This is history for me: the story of real people in extraordinary times. Well-written, well-researched and cited, and an excellent read.
Abigail, brilliant, fiery, and domestic, was often left alone to run the farm and raise the children. John was often away on political business, at the mercy of his own ambitions and temperamental mood swings. Somehow, they balanced each other.
I was keenly interested in the way the Adamses and their children related to each other, but I also learned a great deal about how John Adams related to his fellow politicians: to put it rather bluntly, badly. The heated grudges with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were eye-opening, and the resolution of the latter as Adams and Jefferson finally made peace after decades of mistrust (and more than a little backstabbing) was practically cinematic.
This is history for me: the story of real people in extraordinary times. Well-written, well-researched and cited, and an excellent read.
My 6th book by Joseph Ellis this one focusing on the relationship between John and Abigail Adams. The provides a detailed look at the correspondence between the Adams and demonstrates how influential Abigail was on her husbands political career. After reading American Sphinx just before however I noticed a lot of passages and points carry over nearly exact from that book and dragged significantly when it did.