In this biography, Fred Kaplan brings into focus the dramatic life of John Quincy Adams--the little-known and much-misunderstood sixth president of the United States and the first son of John and Abigail Adams--and reveals how Adams' progressive vision guided his life and helped shape the course of America. Kaplan draws on unpublished archival material to trace Adams' evolution from his childhood during the Revolutionary War to his years as Secretary...

Profiles John Adams, an influential patriot during the American Revolution who became the nation's first vice president and second president. "In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second president of the United States...

Examines the childhood, political career, and other activities of the sixth president of the United States.

"Abigail Adams was a strong woman far ahead of her time. She urged her husband, President John Adams, to 'remember the ladies' and despite having no formal education herself, she later advocated for equal education in public schools for both boys and girls. She was also the first First Lady to live in the White House! This biography tells the story of Abigail Adams and her role in America's Revolutionary War period"--

Abigail Adams offers a fresh perspective on the famous events of Adams's life, and along the way, Woody Holton, a renowned historian of the American Revolution, takes on numerous myths about the men and women of the founding era. But the book also demonstrates that domestic dramas—from unplanned pregnancies to untimely deaths—could be just as heartbreaking, significant, and inspiring as the actions of statesmen and soldiers. A special...

John and Abigail Adams left a remarkable portrait of their lives together in their personal correspondence: both were prolific letter writers (although John conceded that Abigail was the more gifted), and over the years they exchanged more than twelve hundred letters. Joseph J. Ellis distills them to give us an account both intimate and panoramic; part biography, part political history, and part love story. Ellis describes their first meeting as inauspicious--John...

"From the great historian of the American Revolution, New York Times-bestselling and Pulitzer-winning Gordon Wood, comes a majestic dual biography of two of America's most enduringly fascinating figures, whose partnership helped birth a nation, and whose subsequent falling out did much to fix its course. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams could scarcely have come from more different worlds, or been more different in temperament. Jefferson, the optimist...

The Pulitzer Prize–winning, best-selling author of Founding Brothers and His Excellency brings America’s preeminent first couple to life in a moving and illuminating narrative that sweeps through the American Revolution and the republic’s tenuous early years.
John and Abigail Adams left an indelible and remarkably preserved portrait of their lives together in their personal correspondence: both Adamses were prolific...

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were good friends with very different personalities. But their differing views on how to run the newly created United States turned them into the worst of friends. They each became leaders of opposing political parties, and their rivalry followed them to the White House. This is the story of two of America's most well-known presidents and how they learned to put their political differences aside for the sake of friendship....

An eminent composer shares the story of his life, from his childhood and early studies in classical composition to his minimalist and "docu-opera" achievements, in an account that evaluates his professional relationships and the social movements that inspired his creative process.