I thought this book was delightful! In depth, he writes an eminently readable biography of a complex man, as so many of our founding fathers were. I think Ferling does a superb job of differentiating between the Public and Personal personas of Adams, which are as starkly different as they are eerily similar. All in all, this is one of the most vivid and well described presidential biographies I have ever read. Highly recommend to anyone and everyone

This is book number 2 for me in my Presidential biography challenge. I really liked it. It was great at capturing the feelings of the time, and gave a great perspective on John Adams. Since there was much from his personal writings, I was left feeling that I knew Adams. The pacing was good and it gave enough time to other important figures in his life - Washington, Jefferson, Sam Adams, etc... along with John's kids as well - especially John Quincy. I haven't read many others yet to compare, but from what I gather, legacy is important to a biography as well. The last chapter deals with this - mostly how history views Adams and how he viewed himself. Great read!

Kirjan kuvaus on törkeästi liioitteleva. Jos tätä vertaa Goodwiniin tai Chernowiin (tai uuteen suosikkiini, Caroon) teos on kömpelö. Kirjan jälkeen minulla ei ole kummoista kuvaa Adamsin ajan politiikan monipuolisuudesta ja teemoista, korkeintaan niistä asioista, joihin Adams osallistui. Ja tällöinkin herkästi vain Adamsin itsensä näkökulmasta, ei monipuolista kuvausta teemasta.

Tuntuu myös kuin Adamsin tekoja esitellään turhan hyviin päin, koska en aina ihan saanut kiinni, mikä hänen toimissaan oli niin erinomaista. Esimerkiksi hänen suurlähettiläskaudellaan Euroopassa ei hän hirveän suuria mullistuksia saanut aikaiseksi mielestäni, konkreettisia tukia tai mullistavia lainoja (sai toki Hollannista lainoja, mutta en osaa kirjan perusteella sanoa, kuinka merkittäviä ne olivat). Rauhansopimuksen neuvottelu oli merkittävä,ja toiminta kongress(e)issa itsenäistymisen molemmin puolin.

Presidenttikaudelta ei käsitellä oikeastaan kuin Ranskan sodan mahdollisuus ja hänen suuri vaikutus sen vastustamiseen. Mutta hyvin huonosti. Miksi hän oli kannalla, miksi hän lopulta vastusti ei aukea riittävän hyin.

Kirjassa haukutaan myös hassusti Adamsin kulloisenkin elämäntilanteen mukaan muita, Jeffersonia kehutaan ennen kuin heistä tuli kilpailijat, ja kehutaan taas, kun he elämiensä loppupuolella olivat ystäviä. He kuolivat samana päivänä, itsenäisyysjulistuksen 50-vuotispäivänä. Mikä muuten kirjan mukaan nosti Adamsin statusta todennäköisesti myös jälkipolvien kohdalla, koska heidät kytkettiin täten yhteen.

Ilmeisesti Ferling ei ole Chernowin kanssa samaa mieltä Hamiltonista. Adams ei tullut toimeen Hamiltonin kanssa, vaikka olivat samassa federalistisessa puolueessa. Hamilton esitetään häikäilemättömänä poliitikkona, pohjoisen teollisuuden etujen ajajana, joka jopa halveksi suurinta auttajaansa, Washingtonia. Ehkä. Mutta toisaalta olisi voinut mainita samalla Hamiltonin taloudellisesta merkityksestä, teollistumisen auttamisesta sekä perustuslain puolustamisesta (federalist's papers).

Edelleen, sama kuin aiemmin. Voisin antaa kolme, mutta sellaisia suomalaisia elämänkertoja saanut kolme, joten saakoon tämä neljä.

This is a great biography. And I should thank John Adams for his copious amounts of correspondence which added lots of emotion to what are often dry tomes. Unlike other men, John Adams is severely aware of his own flaws and does not hide it from himself or put himself in a good light. He is such a diva!

I found it to be a thoughtful and comprehensive biography of John Adams.

Under appreciated work and overshadowing by McCullough's work

Interesting and gives a fantastic picture of a flawed but very great man. Not only did it show Adam’s greatness but also of his wife. Adams gives some of the most cogent arguments for early American conversation.

The nation's first nationalist, consistent with views of America's relationship with major European powers.
Declaration of Independence 1775-76, when not a popular stance
Shaped post-independence state governments through Thoughts on Government, checks and balances
Diplomat to France, Holland....Not present in two younger son's lives during crucial developmental years of their lives, which negatively shaped their adult fates. Abigail raised family by herself when Continental Congress was in session or when Adams was serving overseas.
As president, kept country from joining French Revolution
Views changed from Federalist to Republican after presidency and during retirement
Self-absorbed, vain, tireless worker, persuasive, impulsive, always seeking greatness.

As far as biographies go this was a good read. When I finished this book I was left with a complex but I would say negative view of Adams. I think this is partly due to the author John Ferling who admits that he doesn’t like Adams all that much in his prologue. Adams comes off largely as smart, innovative, but also self-serving and proud. He was no doubt a man who loved his country and himself and his own ideas of government. It’s kind of a shame, because I found some of Adams’ ideas rather compelling and he stands alone of the revolutionary president as one who didn’t own slaves. But it seems that he is tainted by his own self-importance and anger when he doesn’t get his way.
This book might not paint the most flattering image of Adams but it still gives a nuanced look at who Adams is and what he did. Namely the ideas that he first brought to bear in American political thought. The sections on his diplomatic work during and after the war and his early and later years were most enjoyable for me. As was the thread that winds through the novel of his relationship with Thomas Jefferson. He was a rather limp-twisted president, but this biography does a good job of making Adams and engaging if not necessarily likable person to read about.

At first I struggled to choose between David McCullough's and John Ferling's biography of John Adams. Even though McCullough's book is infinitely more popular, I decided to stop on Ferling's work. I enjoyed the experience overall but I can't say I was left completely satisfied. I feel like I got nothing more than a brief overview of John Adams's life. But that's what you get when you read a single-volume biography of a man who at different points in his life was a successful lawyer, a revolutionary, an ambassador and a president. So I don’t really have a right to complain here. What I definitely liked about this book is its impartiality. I didn’t notice a single instance when the author tried to portrait Adams in a more favorable light than he deserved. John Ferling also gets another point from me for the important place he gives to the President’s family. Even though John Adams was clearly not an example to follow as a family man (especially during the first part of his life) I feel like his biography would have been incomplete without mentioning his wife and children.

The author, at times, tended to be apologetic, for the person that Adams was, thus, lessening the objectivity of the book.

Excellent