Ellis does a wonderful job with understanding his subject and getting to the heart of the matter.

http://bestpresidentialbios.com/2013/...

“Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams” by Joseph J. Ellis was published in 1993. Though it remains a relatively well-read title on our second president, in terms of sheer popularity and acclaim it has been overshadowed by more recent John Adams biographies. Of the modern books on Adams in my library (everything since Page Smith’s series) “Passionate Sage” is one of the oldest and seemingly the most unique.

Somewhat to my surprise, “Passionate Sage” is not actually a biography at all. Instead, it is more a character analysis of John Adams and, at times, almost as much a book of philosophy as of history. That fact alone makes it no more or less interesting to me than the traditional Adams biographies I’m reading, but does make it difficult to directly compare this work to the others.

Ellis’ key thesis is quickly proposed: that John Adams (at least as of the date of publication) remains one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated of American’s Founding Fathers. In defending this thesis, Ellis uses his book to examine, explore, dissect, analyze and penetrate the character of Adams principally through his writings – to his wife Abigail, with his son John Quincy, with Thomas Jefferson during his retirement years and with multitudes of others. Also used as evidence are his publications such as his Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America published in three parts in 1787 and his Thoughts on Governments which he wrote in 1776.

The first third or so of the book is essentially a compendium of the author’s conclusions on Adams – almost a summary I would expect to find at the end of a traditional biography. This portion of the book often presumes a degree of familiarity with Adams which some readers may not possess. Mitigating this somewhat is the fact that the author’s line of reasoning is laid before the reader in significant detail, with reference back to primary sources.

The mid-section of the book was a thoughtful, but often dry and overly academic, discourse on Adams’ political philosophies as revealed through his “retirement years” letters with Thomas Jefferson (written between 1812 and 1826, when they both died) and his correspondence with (and reaction to) John Taylor who in 1814 wrote a comprehensive critique of Adams’ three-volume Defence work nearly thirty years earlier. Though quite interesting at times, this portion of his book often leaves the casual reader bogged down in detail which seems unnecessary to all but the doctoral-level history (or philosophy) student.

The remainder of the book covers the last decade or so of John Adams’ life, focusing particularly on his political philosophies and core principles as evidenced by his letters to son John Quincy and daughter-in-law Louisa Catherine, who in later years almost seemed to serve as a surrogate Abigail (before her death in 1818 she had been John’s most reliable correspondent).

Overall, “Passionate Sage” proves to be a successful, thought-provoking analysis of John Adams, published a decade before the better-known McCullough book and some fifteen years before the HBO mini-series which popularized this early American hero. Though it is not a biography of Adams, at its core it is an interesting and convincing book. Unfortunately, it often wandered a bit within chapters and explored tangents with unnecessary fervor. In addition, I often had the sense when reading this book of being in class, taking notes furiously while listening to a lecturing professor, hoping for everything to become clear in the end. And in the end, the core message is clear, but the journey was not carefree or unobstructed.

For the serious student of political philosophy or someone wishing to more finely calibrate Adam’s political perspectives against those of his peers, ”Passionate Sage” is a well-argued and thorough analysis. For its purpose it is, without a doubt, an excellent book. But for the more casual reader of history, or someone seeking a good introduction to the life and times of John Adams, there are several better places to begin the journey.

Overall rating: 3¾ stars

Fantastic. Great use of primary sources with just enough input by the author.

This was a political and intellectual history of John Adams through the lens of his post-presidential years. I found much of it interesting, and you can't help but appreciate the author's clear fondness for his subject. At points I think it was repetitive and dragged a bit, but overall a worthy read for those who are already familiar with Adams and his life.

John Adams is really underrated as a Founder and as a political thinker. He's a fascinating human being. Ellis presents the many-faceted Adams in an interesting way by focusing on his post-presidency, where Adams wrestles his personal demons and finds a form of peace in the letter-writing campaigns of his retirement.

It is always good to find a well-written, well-researched book detailing the history of the Founding Fathers and what they were like. Far from icons of perfection, they were people of flaws and contradictions. Ellis brings this out for Adams, but shows us the humanity thoroughly. We get a sense of the prickly man behind the legend, who fought with so many of his compatriots. But the effort he put forth gave us a great nation for many years. A wonderful addition to our history lessons.

John Adams is one of U.S. history's more engaging characters. Ellis does a great job describing Adam's passion and wisdom as he helped with the founding of our Nation. A great book though I found David McCullough's book on John Adams a little more moving.

Ellis never fails to impress.

A decade before McCullough's biography, there appeared this fine book which is less of a biography and more an examination of Adams's political thought and personality, his retirement period in particular. Most interesting to me was Ellis's review of the Adams-Jefferson correspondence as a dialogue between two perspectives on the republican project and the meaning of the revolution; and a subsequent chapter ("Legacies") that considers why Adams's thought is not cited in subsequent political debates, the way Jefferson and Hamilton are, even when Adams's views are salient.

An astonishing book. Among other things , Ellis use of marginalia from Adams’ books makes you aware of the ages Adams permanently active and engaged mind

G.K. Chesteron once wrote that the Catholic Church is the only thing that saves a man from the degrading slavery of being a child of his age. I don't know that the Church has a monopoly on timelessness, but some historic personalities have a sense of integrity that bids me think they would remain who they were if they were plucked up bodily and thrown into another age. Robert Ingersoll is one such man; John Adams is another. This sense of integrity isn't magically imbued; it requires a certain force of mind, and the decision to root one's self in deeper principles. Passionate Sage is a rare treatment of John Adams which focuses on him not as an architect of the revolution, or as an executive officer, but as a retired statesman coming to terms with what he and others had wrought -- satisfied with what he'd done, even if he was regarded as an anachronism. He had followed his own convictions, and that was enough.

Ellis' treatment of Adams make me suspect that Adams would be his own man in any time because while classical allusions were rife in the founding era, Adams' very soul was grounded in the classical tradition. Some revolutionaries like Thomas Jefferson believed that the Revolution had made all things new again, that institutions like monarchy which prevented people from fulfilling an innately good nature had been escaped from. Adams held to an older view, however, that man was flawed and would constantly struggle with his inner demons -- that virtue and vice hold us in a perpetual tug of war. Our greatest flaw, Adams believed, was pride and vanity; these would drive men to compete ferociously with one another even if they were economic equals. For Adams, the great problem of politics was how to build a productive government that took human frailty in mind. He was a grim realist in an age of idealism. This led him to promoting unpopular ideas -- for instance, that the presidency should be invested with a certain sense of awe, not to honor the person but for the office and for the law's sake. If people do not believe in the law, have a certain respect for it, it loses its persuasive power. If awe does not work, people resort to brute force -- and things go to pieces. His pragmatism also led him taking a high and lonely road during his administration, when he doggedly pursued a course of non-interference during the Franco-English spats of the time. Federalists looked to trade and defense deals with England, and Republicans looked to France. Adams defied them both, following his studies of philosophy that indicated one must do the right thing even if it was unpopular. Adams hoped that history would vindicate him, and on that matter it has. (Ellis notes that Adams often chose the course of action that would alienate the most people, being suspicious of popularity even as he desired it.)

Although Ellis focuses on Adams' thinking and writing, even still we get glimpses of Adams the man -- reading ferociously, for instance. Adams not only challenged Jefferson in terms of the piles of books they both read, but filled his books with notes arguing and debating the authors. Adams loved a good intellectual bout, though his approach was more a pugnacious boxer's than an exercise in rapier wit. In his exchange of letters to Thomas Jefferson, for instance, he fired off as twice as many letters as he received. Although often bombastic in his criticisms (especially where the "bastard brat of a Scotch pedlar", Alexander Hamilton, was concerned), Adams' delight in conversation meant that he'd mend bridges with people like Jefferson or Mary Otis Warren just so he could lock horns with them again. Although by the time he died Adams was regarded as highly as Jefferson, throughout the 19th century his reputation was steadily surpassed by his old friend, who sometimes seemed to be shadowing Washington. Ellis attributes this to the triumph of Jacksonian democracy, which had and less use for Adams' caution, and still less for his philosophic intransigence.

For my own part, I have found Adams endearing and redoubtable ever since discovering him via 1776 and David McCullough. Although self-conscious about his frailties, particularly his vanity and temper, that never stopped him from charging ahead in a roar, with a mouth firing off fusillades. He had a rare energy that left him only when the grave took him.

An extremely well researched and honest look at our second President John Adams, an unappreciated American philosopher