John Adams by {author}: summary and why it matters

What it argues

McCullough follows Adams from his boyhood in Braintree, Massachusetts, through his legal career, his defense of the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre, his role in the Continental Congress and his years as a diplomat in Paris, The Hague and London. As vice president and then president, Adams kept the nation out of full war with France, an achievement he regarded as the best act of his life, though it cost him re-election in 1800.

The biography emphasizes Adams's friendship with Jefferson, broken by politics and restored in a long late correspondence, and his partnership with Abigail, whose letters give the book much of its warmth. It also shows his flaws: vanity, irritability and a tendency to say too much.

McCullough writes for general readers, and the book became a bestseller and the basis of an HBO miniseries.

Why it matters

Adams wrote the Massachusetts constitution of 1780 and defended balanced government, which makes him a favorite of conservatives who value ordered liberty and constitutional restraint. The book also shows how much the founding depended on character and private virtue.

About the author

David McCullough (1933-2022) was a historian and narrator who won two Pulitzer Prizes for biography, for Truman and for John Adams, and the National Book Award for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006 and was known for his work on the PBS series The American Experience.

Who should read it

Anyone who wants an enjoyable entry to the founding generation.