I. As a Work of History
McCullough’s biography is absolutely captivating. The readability of the book is wonderful, especially considering the sheer number of sources, including thousands of letters, which form his bibliography.
I feel I received a true sense of John Adams’ life and who he was as a person – his values, his faults, and his greatest loves. To have focused on his accomplishments would have been enough – Massachusetts delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence (and most vocal proponent of it), the man who recommended George Washington as commander of the Continental army, ambassador to France, first U.S. ambassador to Holland, the first U.S. ambassador to Great Britain(!), author of the Massachusetts constitution (in which his making the judiciary separate from the other branches of government greatly influenced the U.S. constitution), first Vice-President of the U.S., second President of the U.S., the man who appointed John Marshall to the Supreme Court, and much more – but McCullough uses the words of his own letters to great effect to show John Adams as devoted patriot, husband, father, and friend.
The deeply held principles of John Adams – honesty, devout faith, industry, frugality, simplicity, and the equal rights of all - emerge clearly in the way he dealt with the trying circumstances of his life. One example - he was the defense attorney for the British soldiers of the Boston Massacre when it was incredibly unpopular to do so, because he believed them to be innocent. His principles played out also in the way he dealt with the other great people who lived at the time. He never complained of being outshone by Washington. He remained cordial to Thomas Jefferson even during their fiercest disagreements, and renewed their friendship when their political lives were over. Most remarkably, he never said a negative thing (in public) about any of his political enemies – even Alexander Hamilton, who, in addition to being an ardent patriot and financial genius, was also apparently a world-class jackass, stabbing nearly everyone in the back at some point or another.
McCullough also does an excellent job of keeping Abigail Adams a central figure in the book, as she was a central figure in Johns’ life. No less a patriot, she was his ballast, his dearest friend – and not afraid to speak her mind. (If Adams was hesitant to unload on Thomas Jefferson when he deserved it, Abigail was not). My favorite anecdote was her sponsorship of a free black boy to a school in Philadelphia. When the other boys (all white) threatened to refuse to attend, she had them sent to her for a little talk. The boys all went to school together after that.
This book was truly inspiring, and deeply moved me with its account of Adams’ death (on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence – the same day Thomas Jefferson died). I say with honesty that John Adams’ life story made me proud to be an American.
II. As a Historical Artifact
I found this book in a lending-library bookshelf at a local Vietnamese restaurant which is frequented by Baylor students. The previous owner of the book wrote his name on the inside cover. Apart from that, let’s see what other evidence of his time with this book is left to us:
Page 19 – In describing Adams’ love of reading and books, McCullough lists some of his most read authors. The previous owner underlined their names – Cicero, Tacitus, Plato, Thucydides, Shakespeare, Swift, and Cervantes – and put two large asterisks beside the paragraph in blue ink pen.
Possible explanations: the previous owner, perhaps a history major, was marking a “to read” list.
Page 20 – In a passage on Adams’ character, McCullough quotes Adams’ lifelong friend and fellow Declaration signer Dr. Benjamin Rush – “He was a stranger to dissimulation.” The previous owner underlined the last word, and put a blue arrow in the margin.
Possible explanations: The previous owner found this a memorable phrase, useful for describing Adams at a glance – OR – did not know the meaning of the word “dissimulation,” and meant to look it up. (It means “speaking or acting with the intent to deceive.”)
Page 39 – Brackets placed around another passage describing Adams’ reading while at Harvard – in this case, Milton, Virgil, Voltaire, and Viscount Bolingbroke.
Page 41 – Brackets around this passage: “Increasingly, however, the subject uppermost in mind was himself, as waves of loneliness, feelings of abject disappointment over his circumstances, dissatisfaction with his own nature, seemed at times nearly to overwhelm him. Something of the spirit of the old Puritans took hold. By writing only to himself, for himself…he could thus improve himself.”
And further down the page, brackets on this diary quote:
“I will strive with all my soul to be something more than persons who have had less advantages than myself.”
Possible explanation: This passage resonated with the previous owner – it is a common sentiment of college students - OR - he found it particularly important in tracing the development of Adams’ life goals.
The only other direct evidence of the previous owner is a straight line on page 42 in the margin where Adams describes his main fault as pride, and an underline further down the page where Adams said the greatest gift of God was an inquiring mind.
Another piece of indirect evidence is some strange smudges on page 51, which might be a shoe-print.
My best guess: An ambitious history student, hearing good reviews of this book, picked it up, and found early inspiration in the first 40 pages. Unknown circumstances forced the book into disuse, at one point to such an extent that it was in a footpath out of the bedroom. Taking pity on the book, the student dropped it off at the Vietnamese restaurant, hoping some other soul with more time on their hands would find it.
III. As an Aesthetic Experience
The book came without a book jacket, which was perfect. I have to store book jackets out of the way while I am reading a book, and then put them back on later. A book should feel like one solid piece in your hand.
Speaking of solid, the book was a 700-or-so page hardback. Nothing to be trifled with. Its weight corresponded very well to the important events and powerful ides contained within.
Like the previous McCullough book I had read (the excellent “1776”), the pages are cut uneven on the side. The effect gives the book a lived-in look that functions very well for a work of history. I give the experience an A+ for visual and tactile input.
Miscellaneous:
1. I haven't seen the HBO miniseries with Paul Giamati as John and Laura Linney as Abigail - Netflix here I come.
2. John Adams appears on the $2 bill on the back side, in a reproduction of John Trumbull’s painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He stands dead center, under the "A" in "States." Appropriately, the face side of the $2 bill features – Thomas Jefferson.
3. I found this quote by Adams’ to Benjamin Rush after losing his second-term election to Jefferson (who he had every right to be angry with) a wise word for any time, but especially this time in American history:
“I think instead of opposing systematically any administration, running down their characters and opposing all their measures, right or wrong, we ought to support every administration as far as we can in justice.”
