There is some great history in this. It's definitely good for a source document but maybe not so much for a casual read. Obviously the letters to Abigail have been trimmed down; I would have liked to see more if they exist during continental congress but I'll have to find those elsewhere. Anyway, it's worth checking out for someone interested in the colonial period.

Apparently this founding father, who was our country's nearest realization of the Platonic ideal of a true philosopher-statesman, was tied to and caught between the dual ruling principles that he inherited: namely, that while the power and sustainability of a country who ruling class resembles an aristocracy diminishes over time, and ultimately founders and dies. Neither the contrary political position is well-received: Perhaps based on his reading of Machiavelli and Montesquieu, Adams concludes that in true democracies, where each citizen has an equal share and separate role in the control of his or her fate, are -- if history is any judge -- countries headed for destitution. As Ivan has told me time and again, the final outcome of the French Revolution has yet to be decided.

I have not had such fun with a penguin since the early history of Rome by Livy!