Gone but should not be forgotten, 15 Oct 2008
A fantastic book which everybody should read - we owe it to the people who were wiped out. They lost their lives, but the world lost as much - a brilliant culture and people who really appreciated nature and showed enormous wisdom and magnanimity. In the short time they were allowed to survive alongside the white man they sowed the seeds of the ecology movement, which might help to save the planet. So their lives were not in vain - and they gave us Johnny Depp and Cher.


The Truth Hurts!, 28 Jul 2008
This book makes you ashamed to be a white man, it angers you to hear how the native american indians were treated.

I knew before reading the book that the white man had treated the indians so badly, but I was not ready to read exactly how badly.

As an indian says in the book " They broke all there promises, except one. they promised to take all our land".

My heart goes out to all the native Ameican people.

A Classic, 04 May 2008
This book is a classic and a big inspiration for my own work on the Lakota Sioux and Wounded Knee: They Never Surrendered: The Lakota Sioux Band That Stayed in Canada.

Bury my heart at Wonded Knee - Dee Brown, 23 Oct 2007
An amazing book - amazing for the stories of misery and deprivation heaped on the Native Americans by the civilised white immigrants. It's not a book to sit back with a coffee and enjoy; in fact it made me so sad that I had trouble reading it. As for how well the book 'works' as a read: I found it mainly a collection of stories about specific tribes and families. It's not a connected narrative - it's basically a chronology split into chapters by the individual tribes. Chapters chronologically over-lap. In literary terms I don't think you can sit back and read through easily. This is not a criticism but I found it more of a reference type work and one where you can easily dip in to. No disputing that it's facts are awful but it's essential we read the history of white colonisation of the USA, Australia and other places and I hope we learn from the many mistakes.

Truth and historical fact, painful and compelling, 28 Jul 2007
I'm quite an emotional person, but this book angered me and hurt me in equal measure throughout, so much so, that its probably the most emotional account of historical significance I have ever read. I have cried throughout.

I first came across the book in 1982, when a science teacher of mine brought it into class after an American holiday. He smuggled it out of the States, he claimed, and its story touched me then. I didn't read much then, but now I have my own copy, it touches me more deeply than I could ever have imagined. Its a difficult and upsetting read.

Genocide, or attempted genocide is something civilised people simply do not do. But what Dee Brown captures in all too few words is genocide on a brutally wide scale, by a supposedly civilised nation. Its possibly more shocking than the treatment of black people in pioneer America.

The stories are heart rending and made me feel ashamed to be descended from the kinds of people that make this book so shocking.

I once saw a series on the televison called How The West Was Lost, and this book explains in graphic detail what that series shied away from. Here are the well known names from American Indian history, but also names not so well known. Long forgotten by outsiders, they crop again and again to remind the reader that the so-called Indian Wars were not simply personalities matched against each other, but horrificly planned exterminations.

It is said that history is written by those who hang heroes, Dee Brown has written a history of the hanged.

Gone but should not be forgotten, 15 Oct 2008
A fantastic book which everybody should read - we owe it to the people who were wiped out. They lost their lives, but the world lost as much - a brilliant culture and people who really appreciated nature and showed enormous wisdom and magnanimity. In the short time they were allowed to survive alongside the white man they sowed the seeds of the ecology movement, which might help to save the planet. So their lives were not in vain - and they gave us Johnny Depp and Cher.


The Truth Hurts!, 28 Jul 2008
This book makes you ashamed to be a white man, it angers you to hear how the native american indians were treated.

I knew before reading the book that the white man had treated the indians so badly, but I was not ready to read exactly how badly.

As an indian says in the book " They broke all there promises, except one. they promised to take all our land".

My heart goes out to all the native Ameican people.

A Classic, 04 May 2008
This book is a classic and a big inspiration for my own work on the Lakota Sioux and Wounded Knee: They Never Surrendered: The Lakota Sioux Band That Stayed in Canada.

Bury my heart at Wonded Knee - Dee Brown, 23 Oct 2007
An amazing book - amazing for the stories of misery and deprivation heaped on the Native Americans by the civilised white immigrants. It's not a book to sit back with a coffee and enjoy; in fact it made me so sad that I had trouble reading it. As for how well the book 'works' as a read: I found it mainly a collection of stories about specific tribes and families. It's not a connected narrative - it's basically a chronology split into chapters by the individual tribes. Chapters chronologically over-lap. In literary terms I don't think you can sit back and read through easily. This is not a criticism but I found it more of a reference type work and one where you can easily dip in to. No disputing that it's facts are awful but it's essential we read the history of white colonisation of the USA, Australia and other places and I hope we learn from the many mistakes.

Truth and historical fact, painful and compelling, 28 Jul 2007
I'm quite an emotional person, but this book angered me and hurt me in equal measure throughout, so much so, that its probably the most emotional account of historical significance I have ever read. I have cried throughout.

I first came across the book in 1982, when a science teacher of mine brought it into class after an American holiday. He smuggled it out of the States, he claimed, and its story touched me then. I didn't read much then, but now I have my own copy, it touches me more deeply than I could ever have imagined. Its a difficult and upsetting read.

Genocide, or attempted genocide is something civilised people simply do not do. But what Dee Brown captures in all too few words is genocide on a brutally wide scale, by a supposedly civilised nation. Its possibly more shocking than the treatment of black people in pioneer America.

The stories are heart rending and made me feel ashamed to be descended from the kinds of people that make this book so shocking.

I once saw a series on the televison called How The West Was Lost, and this book explains in graphic detail what that series shied away from. Here are the well known names from American Indian history, but also names not so well known. Long forgotten by outsiders, they crop again and again to remind the reader that the so-called Indian Wars were not simply personalities matched against each other, but horrificly planned exterminations.

It is said that history is written by those who hang heroes, Dee Brown has written a history of the hanged.

Definitive Biography of a Great President, 01 Jan 2008
This book is a fantastic way to learn about John Adams and it's a great way to be introduced to excellent historical biographical writing.

McCullough is a brilliant and exciting writer. He truly makes Adams come alive, and when Adams inevitably dies at the end it is decidedly sad.

Adams is a hero of the Republic. First a great friend, then a great rival, then a great friend again of Thomas Jefferson. John Adams is undeservedly overlooked by many students of American History.

Adams the republican vs Jefferson the populist was the great debate in American history and still continues today. Adams saw the horror of the French Revolution for what it was and predicted that it would end in depravity and violence and likely cause a savage reaction which would bring about the end of the French Republic itself. He was right, Bonaparte quickly followed the French Revolution and war across europe was the result. Jefferson on the other hand embraced the French Revolution as an expression of the people's desire for liberty. How wrong he was.

Adams was a brilliant Statesman, and student of history. A wonderful family man and superb husband, Adams' correspondence with his wife Abigail is a classic in American literature.

As a child I spent many hours on the grounds of the Adams Mansion in Quincy, MA, soaking up all the history there as much as is possible. McCullough does so well what so many biographers do so poorly in that he captures the times of the subject and places the person in his rightful context. He brought me back to the grounds of "Peacefield" through his beautiful evocations of it as it hosted great people and great events.

History is best studied by understanding how historical figures lived and understood their own lives and times, as they lived them. Hindsight is an overrated tool in historiography.

Bringing the past to life in writing is a special gift and McCullough has it. Enjoy his talents and get to know the foundations of the American nation-- a story that is not fully known by so many. Adams' story deserves to be told. What a brilliant man, and McCullough does him superb justice in this highly readable biography.

So much can be said here about Adams, but it's not necessary as McCullough has written the definitive John Adams biography and says it better than I. Get to know John Adams through this superb book and you will be glad that you did. And your opinions on Jefferson will likely change, too! 10 STARS!!

biography at its best, 03 Nov 2007
McCullough isn't a historian, and this book (and his superb biography of Harry Truman) do suffer as a result. Fortunately, McCullough is one of the best biographers in the business, and his ability to bring his subjects to life more than compensates for the lack of depth of his historical knowledge. At times he is a little too uncritical of his subject; but this is a welcome antidote to the modern tendency to dwell on the faults of great men and women. Books like this should be required reading in our schools, if for no other reason that they show that great men are far more ordinary than you'd think, and that they usually suffer long periods of adversity before they succeed.

Perhaps even more importantly, our relativist age takes liberty for granted: the sanitised myths about America's founding fathers need to be replaced by honest accounts of how precarious and remarkable the revolution was. And whatever McCullough's shortcomings as a historian, he does understand that rare beast: the politician who passionately believes in limiting the power of the state.

Excellent, 07 Mar 2007

This novel was the first I'd read by David McCullough, I found the book to be both interesting and very enjoyable.

Whether you're interested in reading biographies or history, this is the novel for you.

David McCullough did an excellent job piecing together John Adam's life story. It was a compulsive read. :-)




A Biography Worthy Of Its Subject!, 04 Feb 2007
"John Adams" by David McCullough is talented rendition of a unique story. Despite being remembered as the pigmy sandwiched between two giants, Washington and Jefferson, McCullough portrays Adams as an immensely important and interesting character in his own right. Adams is shown as being at the heart of many crucial events of our revolutionary and early national history. It was Adams of the Continental Congress who was the prime promoter of Independence and the nominator of George Washington for the post of commander of the Continental Army. He then carried out a series of diplomatic assignments in Europe, in which he was the intimate collaborator with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Among his unique diplomatic accomplishments were the negotiation of a Dutch loan at a crucial stage of the Revolution and participation in the negotiation of the peace treaty ending the Revolution. Upon his return to America he wrote the constitution of Massachusetts before serving eight years as Washington's loyal vice-president.

Adams was one of those rare figures whose greatest for whom the presidency was not the office in which he rendered his greatest service. His mistake of retaining Washington's cabinet compounded his misfortune of having his prime political rival as vice-president and a deadly enemy, Alexander Hamilton as a leader of his won party. This left him leading an administration rife with sabotage. These factors handicapped him as he confronted issues of peace or war abroad and subversion at home. Having to function more as a sole actor than a leader of men, his administration is generally regarded as a failure. His term was influential, largely in the maintenance of peace and appointment of John Marshall to the Supreme Court.

Through much of this book the reader is treated to an interwoven mini-biography of Thomas Jefferson. Through this dual biography the reader comes to understand the dichotomy of these two friends, but rivals, collaborators and opponents and, ultimately, correspondents. Their timely demises on the Fiftieth Independence Day are seen as nothing less than providential.

As the readers of my reviews are aware, I have read very many biographies. Few match "John Adams" for quality.


Excellent work, 06 Sep 2005
This book is an astounding piece of non-fiction that should be read by anyone with even a passing interest in revolutionary America.
The details included by the author are superb including the very close relationship with Jefferson and the subsequent falling out, the love of his small home town and the simple life of farming and reading and the brilliance of his wife, perhaps the most underrated First Lady of all time.
Besides this, you also get a front row seat from Adams' extensive correspondence for some of the most important moments in American history from the Declaration of Independence, through the War and the succession to the presidency after Washington.
I cannot recommend this book more highly.

Gone but should not be forgotten, 15 Oct 2008
A fantastic book which everybody should read - we owe it to the people who were wiped out. They lost their lives, but the world lost as much - a brilliant culture and people who really appreciated nature and showed enormous wisdom and magnanimity. In the short time they were allowed to survive alongside the white man they sowed the seeds of the ecology movement, which might help to save the planet. So their lives were not in vain - and they gave us Johnny Depp and Cher.


The Truth Hurts!, 28 Jul 2008
This book makes you ashamed to be a white man, it angers you to hear how the native american indians were treated.

I knew before reading the book that the white man had treated the indians so badly, but I was not ready to read exactly how badly.

As an indian says in the book " They broke all there promises, except one. they promised to take all our land".

My heart goes out to all the native Ameican people.

A Classic, 04 May 2008
This book is a classic and a big inspiration for my own work on the Lakota Sioux and Wounded Knee: They Never Surrendered: The Lakota Sioux Band That Stayed in Canada.

Bury my heart at Wonded Knee - Dee Brown, 23 Oct 2007
An amazing book - amazing for the stories of misery and deprivation heaped on the Native Americans by the civilised white immigrants. It's not a book to sit back with a coffee and enjoy; in fact it made me so sad that I had trouble reading it. As for how well the book 'works' as a read: I found it mainly a collection of stories about specific tribes and families. It's not a connected narrative - it's basically a chronology split into chapters by the individual tribes. Chapters chronologically over-lap. In literary terms I don't think you can sit back and read through easily. This is not a criticism but I found it more of a reference type work and one where you can easily dip in to. No disputing that it's facts are awful but it's essential we read the history of white colonisation of the USA, Australia and other places and I hope we learn from the many mistakes.

Truth and historical fact, painful and compelling, 28 Jul 2007
I'm quite an emotional person, but this book angered me and hurt me in equal measure throughout, so much so, that its probably the most emotional account of historical significance I have ever read. I have cried throughout.

I first came across the book in 1982, when a science teacher of mine brought it into class after an American holiday. He smuggled it out of the States, he claimed, and its story touched me then. I didn't read much then, but now I have my own copy, it touches me more deeply than I could ever have imagined. Its a difficult and upsetting read.

Genocide, or attempted genocide is something civilised people simply do not do. But what Dee Brown captures in all too few words is genocide on a brutally wide scale, by a supposedly civilised nation. Its possibly more shocking than the treatment of black people in pioneer America.

The stories are heart rending and made me feel ashamed to be descended from the kinds of people that make this book so shocking.

I once saw a series on the televison called How The West Was Lost, and this book explains in graphic detail what that series shied away from. Here are the well known names from American Indian history, but also names not so well known. Long forgotten by outsiders, they crop again and again to remind the reader that the so-called Indian Wars were not simply personalities matched against each other, but horrificly planned exterminations.

It is said that history is written by those who hang heroes, Dee Brown has written a history of the hanged.

Definitive Biography of a Great President, 01 Jan 2008
This book is a fantastic way to learn about John Adams and it's a great way to be introduced to excellent historical biographical writing.

McCullough is a brilliant and exciting writer. He truly makes Adams come alive, and when Adams inevitably dies at the end it is decidedly sad.

Adams is a hero of the Republic. First a great friend, then a great rival, then a great friend again of Thomas Jefferson. John Adams is undeservedly overlooked by many students of American History.

Adams the republican vs Jefferson the populist was the great debate in American history and still continues today. Adams saw the horror of the French Revolution for what it was and predicted that it would end in depravity and violence and likely cause a savage reaction which would bring about the end of the French Republic itself. He was right, Bonaparte quickly followed the French Revolution and war across europe was the result. Jefferson on the other hand embraced the French Revolution as an expression of the people's desire for liberty. How wrong he was.

Adams was a brilliant Statesman, and student of history. A wonderful family man and superb husband, Adams' correspondence with his wife Abigail is a classic in American literature.

As a child I spent many hours on the grounds of the Adams Mansion in Quincy, MA, soaking up all the history there as much as is possible. McCullough does so well what so many biographers do so poorly in that he captures the times of the subject and places the person in his rightful context. He brought me back to the grounds of "Peacefield" through his beautiful evocations of it as it hosted great people and great events.

History is best studied by understanding how historical figures lived and understood their own lives and times, as they lived them. Hindsight is an overrated tool in historiography.

Bringing the past to life in writing is a special gift and McCullough has it. Enjoy his talents and get to know the foundations of the American nation-- a story that is not fully known by so many. Adams' story deserves to be told. What a brilliant man, and McCullough does him superb justice in this highly readable biography.

So much can be said here about Adams, but it's not necessary as McCullough has written the definitive John Adams biography and says it better than I. Get to know John Adams through this superb book and you will be glad that you did. And your opinions on Jefferson will likely change, too! 10 STARS!!

biography at its best, 03 Nov 2007
McCullough isn't a historian, and this book (and his superb biography of Harry Truman) do suffer as a result. Fortunately, McCullough is one of the best biographers in the business, and his ability to bring his subjects to life more than compensates for the lack of depth of his historical knowledge. At times he is a little too uncritical of his subject; but this is a welcome antidote to the modern tendency to dwell on the faults of great men and women. Books like this should be required reading in our schools, if for no other reason that they show that great men are far more ordinary than you'd think, and that they usually suffer long periods of adversity before they succeed.

Perhaps even more importantly, our relativist age takes liberty for granted: the sanitised myths about America's founding fathers need to be replaced by honest accounts of how precarious and remarkable the revolution was. And whatever McCullough's shortcomings as a historian, he does understand that rare beast: the politician who passionately believes in limiting the power of the state.

Excellent, 07 Mar 2007

This novel was the first I'd read by David McCullough, I found the book to be both interesting and very enjoyable.

Whether you're interested in reading biographies or history, this is the novel for you.

David McCullough did an excellent job piecing together John Adam's life story. It was a compulsive read. :-)




A Biography Worthy Of Its Subject!, 04 Feb 2007
"John Adams" by David McCullough is talented rendition of a unique story. Despite being remembered as the pigmy sandwiched between two giants, Washington and Jefferson, McCullough portrays Adams as an immensely important and interesting character in his own right. Adams is shown as being at the heart of many crucial events of our revolutionary and early national history. It was Adams of the Continental Congress who was the prime promoter of Independence and the nominator of George Washington for the post of commander of the Continental Army. He then carried out a series of diplomatic assignments in Europe, in which he was the intimate collaborator with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Among his unique diplomatic accomplishments were the negotiation of a Dutch loan at a crucial stage of the Revolution and participation in the negotiation of the peace treaty ending the Revolution. Upon his return to America he wrote the constitution of Massachusetts before serving eight years as Washington's loyal vice-president.

Adams was one of those rare figures whose greatest for whom the presidency was not the office in which he rendered his greatest service. His mistake of retaining Washington's cabinet compounded his misfortune of having his prime political rival as vice-president and a deadly enemy, Alexander Hamilton as a leader of his won party. This left him leading an administration rife with sabotage. These factors handicapped him as he confronted issues of peace or war abroad and subversion at home. Having to function more as a sole actor than a leader of men, his administration is generally regarded as a failure. His term was influential, largely in the maintenance of peace and appointment of John Marshall to the Supreme Court.

Through much of this book the reader is treated to an interwoven mini-biography of Thomas Jefferson. Through this dual biography the reader comes to understand the dichotomy of these two friends, but rivals, collaborators and opponents and, ultimately, correspondents. Their timely demises on the Fiftieth Independence Day are seen as nothing less than providential.

As the readers of my reviews are aware, I have read very many biographies. Few match "John Adams" for quality.


Excellent work, 06 Sep 2005
This book is an astounding piece of non-fiction that should be read by anyone with even a passing interest in revolutionary America.
The details included by the author are superb including the very close relationship with Jefferson and the subsequent falling out, the love of his small home town and the simple life of farming and reading and the brilliance of his wife, perhaps the most underrated First Lady of all time.
Besides this, you also get a front row seat from Adams' extensive correspondence for some of the most important moments in American history from the Declaration of Independence, through the War and the succession to the presidency after Washington.
I cannot recommend this book more highly.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Gone but should not be forgotten, 15 Oct 2008
A fantastic book which everybody should read - we owe it to the people who were wiped out. They lost their lives, but the world lost as much - a brilliant culture and people who really appreciated nature and showed enormous wisdom and magnanimity. In the short time they were allowed to survive alongside the white man they sowed the seeds of the ecology movement, which might help to save the planet. So their lives were not in vain - and they gave us Johnny Depp and Cher.


The Truth Hurts!, 28 Jul 2008
This book makes you ashamed to be a white man, it angers you to hear how the native american indians were treated.

I knew before reading the book that the white man had treated the indians so badly, but I was not ready to read exactly how badly.

As an indian says in the book " They broke all there promises, except one. they promised to take all our land".

My heart goes out to all the native Ameican people.

A Classic, 04 May 2008
This book is a classic and a big inspiration for my own work on the Lakota Sioux and Wounded Knee: They Never Surrendered: The Lakota Sioux Band That Stayed in Canada.

Bury my heart at Wonded Knee - Dee Brown, 23 Oct 2007
An amazing book - amazing for the stories of misery and deprivation heaped on the Native Americans by the civilised white immigrants. It's not a book to sit back with a coffee and enjoy; in fact it made me so sad that I had trouble reading it. As for how well the book 'works' as a read: I found it mainly a collection of stories about specific tribes and families. It's not a connected narrative - it's basically a chronology split into chapters by the individual tribes. Chapters chronologically over-lap. In literary terms I don't think you can sit back and read through easily. This is not a criticism but I found it more of a reference type work and one where you can easily dip in to. No disputing that it's facts are awful but it's essential we read the history of white colonisation of the USA, Australia and other places and I hope we learn from the many mistakes.

Truth and historical fact, painful and compelling, 28 Jul 2007
I'm quite an emotional person, but this book angered me and hurt me in equal measure throughout, so much so, that its probably the most emotional account of historical significance I have ever read. I have cried throughout.

I first came across the book in 1982, when a science teacher of mine brought it into class after an American holiday. He smuggled it out of the States, he claimed, and its story touched me then. I didn't read much then, but now I have my own copy, it touches me more deeply than I could ever have imagined. Its a difficult and upsetting read.

Genocide, or attempted genocide is something civilised people simply do not do. But what Dee Brown captures in all too few words is genocide on a brutally wide scale, by a supposedly civilised nation. Its possibly more shocking than the treatment of black people in pioneer America.

The stories are heart rending and made me feel ashamed to be descended from the kinds of people that make this book so shocking.

I once saw a series on the televison called How The West Was Lost, and this book explains in graphic detail what that series shied away from. Here are the well known names from American Indian history, but also names not so well known. Long forgotten by outsiders, they crop again and again to remind the reader that the so-called Indian Wars were not simply personalities matched against each other, but horrificly planned exterminations.

It is said that history is written by those who hang heroes, Dee Brown has written a history of the hanged.

Definitive Biography of a Great President, 01 Jan 2008
This book is a fantastic way to learn about John Adams and it's a great way to be introduced to excellent historical biographical writing.

McCullough is a brilliant and exciting writer. He truly makes Adams come alive, and when Adams inevitably dies at the end it is decidedly sad.

Adams is a hero of the Republic. First a great friend, then a great rival, then a great friend again of Thomas Jefferson. John Adams is undeservedly overlooked by many students of American History.

Adams the republican vs Jefferson the populist was the great debate in American history and still continues today. Adams saw the horror of the French Revolution for what it was and predicted that it would end in depravity and violence and likely cause a savage reaction which would bring about the end of the French Republic itself. He was right, Bonaparte quickly followed the French Revolution and war across europe was the result. Jefferson on the other hand embraced the French Revolution as an expression of the people's desire for liberty. How wrong he was.

Adams was a brilliant Statesman, and student of history. A wonderful family man and superb husband, Adams' correspondence with his wife Abigail is a classic in American literature.

As a child I spent many hours on the grounds of the Adams Mansion in Quincy, MA, soaking up all the history there as much as is possible. McCullough does so well what so many biographers do so poorly in that he captures the times of the subject and places the person in his rightful context. He brought me back to the grounds of "Peacefield" through his beautiful evocations of it as it hosted great people and great events.

History is best studied by understanding how historical figures lived and understood their own lives and times, as they lived them. Hindsight is an overrated tool in historiography.

Bringing the past to life in writing is a special gift and McCullough has it. Enjoy his talents and get to know the foundations of the American nation-- a story that is not fully known by so many. Adams' story deserves to be told. What a brilliant man, and McCullough does him superb justice in this highly readable biography.

So much can be said here about Adams, but it's not necessary as McCullough has written the definitive John Adams biography and says it better than I. Get to know John Adams through this superb book and you will be glad that you did. And your opinions on Jefferson will likely change, too! 10 STARS!!

biography at its best, 03 Nov 2007
McCullough isn't a historian, and this book (and his superb biography of Harry Truman) do suffer as a result. Fortunately, McCullough is one of the best biographers in the business, and his ability to bring his subjects to life more than compensates for the lack of depth of his historical knowledge. At times he is a little too uncritical of his subject; but this is a welcome antidote to the modern tendency to dwell on the faults of great men and women. Books like this should be required reading in our schools, if for no other reason that they show that great men are far more ordinary than you'd think, and that they usually suffer long periods of adversity before they succeed.

Perhaps even more importantly, our relativist age takes liberty for granted: the sanitised myths about America's founding fathers need to be replaced by honest accounts of how precarious and remarkable the revolution was. And whatever McCullough's shortcomings as a historian, he does understand that rare beast: the politician who passionately believes in limiting the power of the state.

Excellent, 07 Mar 2007

This novel was the first I'd read by David McCullough, I found the book to be both interesting and very enjoyable.

Whether you're interested in reading biographies or history, this is the novel for you.

David McCullough did an excellent job piecing together John Adam's life story. It was a compulsive read. :-)




A Biography Worthy Of Its Subject!, 04 Feb 2007
"John Adams" by David McCullough is talented rendition of a unique story. Despite being remembered as the pigmy sandwiched between two giants, Washington and Jefferson, McCullough portrays Adams as an immensely important and interesting character in his own right. Adams is shown as being at the heart of many crucial events of our revolutionary and early national history. It was Adams of the Continental Congress who was the prime promoter of Independence and the nominator of George Washington for the post of commander of the Continental Army. He then carried out a series of diplomatic assignments in Europe, in which he was the intimate collaborator with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Among his unique diplomatic accomplishments were the negotiation of a Dutch loan at a crucial stage of the Revolution and participation in the negotiation of the peace treaty ending the Revolution. Upon his return to America he wrote the constitution of Massachusetts before serving eight years as Washington's loyal vice-president.

Adams was one of those rare figures whose greatest for whom the presidency was not the office in which he rendered his greatest service. His mistake of retaining Washington's cabinet compounded his misfortune of having his prime political rival as vice-president and a deadly enemy, Alexander Hamilton as a leader of his won party. This left him leading an administration rife with sabotage. These factors handicapped him as he confronted issues of peace or war abroad and subversion at home. Having to function more as a sole actor than a leader of men, his administration is generally regarded as a failure. His term was influential, largely in the maintenance of peace and appointment of John Marshall to the Supreme Court.

Through much of this book the reader is treated to an interwoven mini-biography of Thomas Jefferson. Through this dual biography the reader comes to understand the dichotomy of these two friends, but rivals, collaborators and opponents and, ultimately, correspondents. Their timely demises on the Fiftieth Independence Day are seen as nothing less than providential.

As the readers of my reviews are aware, I have read very many biographies. Few match "John Adams" for quality.


Excellent work, 06 Sep 2005
This book is an astounding piece of non-fiction that should be read by anyone with even a passing interest in revolutionary America.
The details included by the author are superb including the very close relationship with Jefferson and the subsequent falling out, the love of his small home town and the simple life of farming and reading and the brilliance of his wife, perhaps the most underrated First Lady of all time.
Besides this, you also get a front row seat from Adams' extensive correspondence for some of the most important moments in American history from the Declaration of Independence, through the War and the succession to the presidency after Washington.
I cannot recommend this book more highly.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Insightful, 03 Aug 2008
The author has a depth of knowledge of events which are enlightening and entertaining. Much effort appears to have gone into unearthing contemporary accounts giving a refreshing and unbiased view of events with a ring of truth about them unlike the standard texts which can be misleading generalisations. Well worth the money, not only for a gripping read as well as an historical record .

A message for all aspiring officers..., 08 Jul 2008
I'm not sure whether Urban truly intended to write a narrative history that not only sets right many of the injustices of much of the scholarship on this era, as well as comment on the current operations in Afghanistan.

Whatever his intent, this book is brilliant, in many ways surpassing 'Rifles'. The characters are brought to life in vivid colours, their flaws and their strengths, the arrogance of certain 'Minden men', the self-righteousness on both sides, and the sheer hypocrisy of the ideologues. This is not a book for those 'Patriot' lovers; this is a very real history. The maps are first class, and Urban, as we have come to expect, cuts through the fog of war to deliver stunning detail on everything from the tactical, strategic and operational levels of war.

Any young officer, or aspiring officer, should take the lessons so clearly portrayed in it; learning organisations defeat insurgencies, as we so nearly did in the 13 Colonies. For those not in the military, take heed anyway; read this as a history of the American war, and apply much of the logic to Iraq and Afghanistan, and that is what we are up against. The lessons are clear: Doctrine, tactics, strategy, all have to work together.

An Engaging Picture of a Regiment at War, 22 Dec 2007
Mark Urban has sought to recreate his earlier success with 'Rifles' by following a single regiment through a war. In choosing the 23rd Regiment (Royal Welch Fusiliers), he has plumped on a unit that fought throughout the American War of Independence from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, and can therefore act as illustrative of the war as a whole. Unlike the 95th Rifles, however, the 23rd were a 'line' regiment with none of the glamour of 'special' troops, although much of the action surrounds their detached light company. And given the very fluid organization of the army it is easy to see problems trying to carry out a single regiment narrative thread. As his Royal Welch witnesses come and go, he has had to use eyewitnesses wherever he could get them; not all are Royal Welchmen, nor are they necessarily eyewitnesses to the actual events he is discussing.

Mr Urban's lack of military background and wider understanding is sometimes apparent. As Donald Graves has noted, his belief that Revolutionary War tactics were important in Europe is dubious, and he is unfairly harsh on David Dundas. The essential need to train the army on a common doctrine was not possible until the Duke of York became Commander-in-Chief, with the full weight of Royal authority behind him. If the correct solution was a fusion of the `German' and `American' schools, that was never possible given the stresses of service until Sir Ralph Abercromby got nearly two months to properly train his army in 1800-1 before Egypt. He was the first British commander to have that opportunity after the reserve of trained troops was dissipated in the West Indies in 1793-5.

Due to these reservations I was only going to give the book four stars, but as a former Royal Welchman myself I thought, 'How can I!' Because in all honesty, Mr Urban has written a very engaging book about the British army in the Revolutionary War, when there are not many others (Hugh Bicheno and Christopher Hibbert come to mind) to choose from. He has also done much to dissipate the many myths beloved by American authors, particularly concerning their own tactical effectiveness. This is the book's greatest strength; a unit level account of a forgotten period in the army's history when they were fighting a bad war in a bad place at a bad time, trying to carry on as professionally as possible.

Thorough work on a complex theme, 22 Oct 2007
Centred on the elite 23rd (Royal Welch) Fuziliers [sic] during the American War of Independence, this book also gives an excellent account of many of the other units involved, since the light and grenadier companies of regiments were often hived off and brigaded with those of other units.

As we have come to expect from Urban, the battle accounts are both accurate and stirring, but I particulary like the way he draws on personal accounts of the war from both men and officers of both sides, many of them never published before, making it a highly engaging read. I learned a great deal about commanders such as Howe and Cornwallis, Balfour and Calvert, and the role they played not only in the fortunes of the 23rd Foot, but also in the political and military heirarchy of the time.

Readers new to the period may be surprised to learn that although the war was lost, the British and their allies suffered few actual defeats in the field; on the contrary, it was the remarkable ability of the Americans to recover from defeat after defeat that ultimately brought them victory.

The AWI has always aroused passions on both sides of the Atlantic, and whilst he concentrates on the fighting and campaigning of this conflict, Urban does not shy away from examining the tragic atrocities committed by both sides that served to polarise opinion during the war. This is a sober and refreshing antidote to some of the one-sided episodes in movies such as Mel Gibson's "The Patriot".

Overall, a thorough and humane examination of Great Britain's first major humiliation on the world stage, and the effects it had on the army the British are still justifiably proud of today. Highly recommended.

Gone but should not be forgotten, 15 Oct 2008
A fantastic book which everybody should read - we owe it to the people who were wiped out. They lost their lives, but the world lost as much - a brilliant culture and people who really appreciated nature and showed enormous wisdom and magnanimity. In the short time they were allowed to survive alongside the white man they sowed the seeds of the ecology movement, which might help to save the planet. So their lives were not in vain - and they gave us Johnny Depp and Cher.


The Truth Hurts!, 28 Jul 2008
This book makes you ashamed to be a white man, it angers you to hear how the native american indians were treated.

I knew before reading the book that the white man had treated the indians so badly, but I was not ready to read exactly how badly.

As an indian says in the book " They broke all there promises, except one. they promised to take all our land".

My heart goes out to all the native Ameican people.

A Classic, 04 May 2008
This book is a classic and a big inspiration for my own work on the Lakota Sioux and Wounded Knee: They Never Surrendered: The Lakota Sioux Band That Stayed in Canada.

Bury my heart at Wonded Knee - Dee Brown, 23 Oct 2007
An amazing book - amazing for the stories of misery and deprivation heaped on the Native Americans by the civilised white immigrants. It's not a book to sit back with a coffee and enjoy; in fact it made me so sad that I had trouble reading it. As for how well the book 'works' as a read: I found it mainly a collection of stories about specific tribes and families. It's not a connected narrative - it's basically a chronology split into chapters by the individual tribes. Chapters chronologically over-lap. In literary terms I don't think you can sit back and read through easily. This is not a criticism but I found it more of a reference type work and one where you can easily dip in to. No disputing that it's facts are awful but it's essential we read the history of white colonisation of the USA, Australia and other places and I hope we learn from the many mistakes.

Truth and historical fact, painful and compelling, 28 Jul 2007
I'm quite an emotional person, but this book angered me and hurt me in equal measure throughout, so much so, that its probably the most emotional account of historical significance I have ever read. I have cried throughout.

I first came across the book in 1982, when a science teacher of mine brought it into class after an American holiday. He smuggled it out of the States, he claimed, and its story touched me then. I didn't read much then, but now I have my own copy, it touches me more deeply than I could ever have imagined. Its a difficult and upsetting read.

Genocide, or attempted genocide is something civilised people simply do not do. But what Dee Brown captures in all too few words is genocide on a brutally wide scale, by a supposedly civilised nation. Its possibly more shocking than the treatment of black people in pioneer America.

The stories are heart rending and made me feel ashamed to be descended from the kinds of people that make this book so shocking.

I once saw a series on the televison called How The West Was Lost, and this book explains in graphic detail what that series shied away from. Here are the well known names from American Indian history, but also names not so well known. Long forgotten by outsiders, they crop again and again to remind the reader that the so-called Indian Wars were not simply personalities matched against each other, but horrificly planned exterminations.

It is said that history is written by those who hang heroes, Dee Brown has written a history of the hanged.

Definitive Biography of a Great President, 01 Jan 2008
This book is a fantastic way to learn about John Adams and it's a great way to be introduced to excellent historical biographical writing.

McCullough is a brilliant and exciting writer. He truly makes Adams come alive, and when Adams inevitably dies at the end it is decidedly sad.

Adams is a hero of the Republic. First a great friend, then a great rival, then a great friend again of Thomas Jefferson. John Adams is undeservedly overlooked by many students of American History.

Adams the republican vs Jefferson the populist was the great debate in American history and still continues today. Adams saw the horror of the French Revolution for what it was and predicted that it would end in depravity and violence and likely cause a savage reaction which would bring about the end of the French Republic itself. He was right, Bonaparte quickly followed the French Revolution and war across europe was the result. Jefferson on the other hand embraced the French Revolution as an expression of the people's desire for liberty. How wrong he was.

Adams was a brilliant Statesman, and student of history. A wonderful family man and superb husband, Adams' correspondence with his wife Abigail is a classic in American literature.

As a child I spent many hours on the grounds of the Adams Mansion in Quincy, MA, soaking up all the history there as much as is possible. McCullough does so well what so many biographers do so poorly in that he captures the times of the subject and places the person in his rightful context. He brought me back to the grounds of "Peacefield" through his beautiful evocations of it as it hosted great people and great events.

History is best studied by understanding how historical figures lived and understood their own lives and times, as they lived them. Hindsight is an overrated tool in historiography.

Bringing the past to life in writing is a special gift and McCullough has it. Enjoy his talents and get to know the foundations of the American nation-- a story that is not fully known by so many. Adams' story deserves to be told. What a brilliant man, and McCullough does him superb justice in this highly readable biography.

So much can be said here about Adams, but it's not necessary as McCullough has written the definitive John Adams biography and says it better than I. Get to know John Adams through this superb book and you will be glad that you did. And your opinions on Jefferson will likely change, too! 10 STARS!!

biography at its best, 03 Nov 2007
McCullough isn't a historian, and this book (and his superb biography of Harry Truman) do suffer as a result. Fortunately, McCullough is one of the best biographers in the business, and his ability to bring his subjects to life more than compensates for the lack of depth of his historical knowledge. At times he is a little too uncritical of his subject; but this is a welcome antidote to the modern tendency to dwell on the faults of great men and women. Books like this should be required reading in our schools, if for no other reason that they show that great men are far more ordinary than you'd think, and that they usually suffer long periods of adversity before they succeed.

Perhaps even more importantly, our relativist age takes liberty for granted: the sanitised myths about America's founding fathers need to be replaced by honest accounts of how precarious and remarkable the revolution was. And whatever McCullough's shortcomings as a historian, he does understand that rare beast: the politician who passionately believes in limiting the power of the state.

Excellent, 07 Mar 2007

This novel was the first I'd read by David McCullough, I found the book to be both interesting and very enjoyable.

Whether you're interested in reading biographies or history, this is the novel for you.

David McCullough did an excellent job piecing together John Adam's life story. It was a compulsive read. :-)




A Biography Worthy Of Its Subject!, 04 Feb 2007
"John Adams" by David McCullough is talented rendition of a unique story. Despite being remembered as the pigmy sandwiched between two giants, Washington and Jefferson, McCullough portrays Adams as an immensely important and interesting character in his own right. Adams is shown as being at the heart of many crucial events of our revolutionary and early national history. It was Adams of the Continental Congress who was the prime promoter of Independence and the nominator of George Washington for the post of commander of the Continental Army. He then carried out a series of diplomatic assignments in Europe, in which he was the intimate collaborator with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Among his unique diplomatic accomplishments were the negotiation of a Dutch loan at a crucial stage of the Revolution and participation in the negotiation of the peace treaty ending the Revolution. Upon his return to America he wrote the constitution of Massachusetts before serving eight years as Washington's loyal vice-president.

Adams was one of those rare figures whose greatest for whom the presidency was not the office in which he rendered his greatest service. His mistake of retaining Washington's cabinet compounded his misfortune of having his prime political rival as vice-president and a deadly enemy, Alexander Hamilton as a leader of his won party. This left him leading an administration rife with sabotage. These factors handicapped him as he confronted issues of peace or war abroad and subversion at home. Having to function more as a sole actor than a leader of men, his administration is generally regarded as a failure. His term was influential, largely in the maintenance of peace and appointment of John Marshall to the Supreme Court.

Through much of this book the reader is treated to an interwoven mini-biography of Thomas Jefferson. Through this dual biography the reader comes to understand the dichotomy of these two friends, but rivals, collaborators and opponents and, ultimately, correspondents. Their timely demises on the Fiftieth Independence Day are seen as nothing less than providential.

As the readers of my reviews are aware, I have read very many biographies. Few match "John Adams" for quality.


Excellent work, 06 Sep 2005
This book is an astounding piece of non-fiction that should be read by anyone with even a passing interest in revolutionary America.
The details included by the author are superb including the very close relationship with Jefferson and the subsequent falling out, the love of his small home town and the simple life of farming and reading and the brilliance of his wife, perhaps the most underrated First Lady of all time.
Besides this, you also get a front row seat from Adams' extensive correspondence for some of the most important moments in American history from the Declaration of Independence, through the War and the succession to the presidency after Washington.
I cannot recommend this book more highly.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Insightful, 03 Aug 2008
The author has a depth of knowledge of events which are enlightening and entertaining. Much effort appears to have gone into unearthing contemporary accounts giving a refreshing and unbiased view of events with a ring of truth about them unlike the standard texts which can be misleading generalisations. Well worth the money, not only for a gripping read as well as an historical record .

A message for all aspiring officers..., 08 Jul 2008
I'm not sure whether Urban truly intended to write a narrative history that not only sets right many of the injustices of much of the scholarship on this era, as well as comment on the current operations in Afghanistan.

Whatever his intent, this book is brilliant, in many ways surpassing 'Rifles'. The characters are brought to life in vivid colours, their flaws and their strengths, the arrogance of certain 'Minden men', the self-righteousness on both sides, and the sheer hypocrisy of the ideologues. This is not a book for those 'Patriot' lovers; this is a very real history. The maps are first class, and Urban, as we have come to expect, cuts through the fog of war to deliver stunning detail on everything from the tactical, strategic and operational levels of war.

Any young officer, or aspiring officer, should take the lessons so clearly portrayed in it; learning organisations defeat insurgencies, as we so nearly did in the 13 Colonies. For those not in the military, take heed anyway; read this as a history of the American war, and apply much of the logic to Iraq and Afghanistan, and that is what we are up against. The lessons are clear: Doctrine, tactics, strategy, all have to work together.

An Engaging Picture of a Regiment at War, 22 Dec 2007
Mark Urban has sought to recreate his earlier success with 'Rifles' by following a single regiment through a war. In choosing the 23rd Regiment (Royal Welch Fusiliers), he has plumped on a unit that fought throughout the American War of Independence from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, and can therefore act as illustrative of the war as a whole. Unlike the 95th Rifles, however, the 23rd were a 'line' regiment with none of the glamour of 'special' troops, although much of the action surrounds their detached light company. And given the very fluid organization of the army it is easy to see problems trying to carry out a single regiment narrative thread. As his Royal Welch witnesses come and go, he has had to use eyewitnesses wherever he could get them; not all are Royal Welchmen, nor are they necessarily eyewitnesses to the actual events he is discussing.

Mr Urban's lack of military background and wider understanding is sometimes apparent. As Donald Graves has noted, his belief that Revolutionary War tactics were important in Europe is dubious, and he is unfairly harsh on David Dundas. The essential need to train the army on a common doctrine was not possible until the Duke of York became Commander-in-Chief, with the full weight of Royal authority behind him. If the correct solution was a fusion of the `German' and `American' schools, that was never possible given the stresses of service until Sir Ralph Abercromby got nearly two months to properly train his army in 1800-1 before Egypt. He was the first British commander to have that opportunity after the reserve of trained troops was dissipated in the West Indies in 1793-5.

Due to these reservations I was only going to give the book four stars, but as a former Royal Welchman myself I thought, 'How can I!' Because in all honesty, Mr Urban has written a very engaging book about the British army in the Revolutionary War, when there are not many others (Hugh Bicheno and Christopher Hibbert come to mind) to choose from. He has also done much to dissipate the many myths beloved by American authors, particularly concerning their own tactical effectiveness. This is the book's greatest strength; a unit level account of a forgotten period in the army's history when they were fighting a bad war in a bad place at a bad time, trying to carry on as professionally as possible.

Thorough work on a complex theme, 22 Oct 2007
Centred on the elite 23rd (Royal Welch) Fuziliers [sic] during the American War of Independence, this book also gives an excellent account of many of the other units involved, since the light and grenadier companies of regiments were often hived off and brigaded with those of other units.

As we have come to expect from Urban, the battle accounts are both accurate and stirring, but I particulary like the way he draws on personal accounts of the war from both men and officers of both sides, many of them never published before, making it a highly engaging read. I learned a great deal about commanders such as Howe and Cornwallis, Balfour and Calvert, and the role they played not only in the fortunes of the 23rd Foot, but also in the political and military heirarchy of the time.

Readers new to the period may be surprised to learn that although the war was lost, the British and their allies suffered few actual defeats in the field; on the contrary, it was the remarkable ability of the Americans to recover from defeat after defeat that ultimately brought them victory.

The AWI has always aroused passions on both sides of the Atlantic, and whilst he concentrates on the fighting and campaigning of this conflict, Urban does not shy away from examining the tragic atrocities committed by both sides that served to polarise opinion during the war. This is a sober and refreshing antidote to some of the one-sided episodes in movies such as Mel Gibson's "The Patriot".

Overall, a thorough and humane examination of Great Britain's first major humiliation on the world stage, and the effects it had on the army the British are still justifiably proud of today. Highly recommended.

HUGE book!, 08 Nov 2008
This is an unbelievably huge book which is chock full of content.
I am a Wiccan and bought this book as use as a reference text for my spells and rituals however upon reviewing the book i feel it is best used as a basis for making your own spells as the majority of the spells in the book are, i feel not very useful on their own. 5000 sounds like ALOT of spells, which it is, however there are many, many 'spells' which are one-liners and seem to state a belief as opposed to being a spell i.e. Birth Chamber Protection Spell with Fir Needles: Burn silver fir needles during childbirth to protect mother and child and Boat Protection Spell Rope: Pass the entire boat through a rope circle for safety and protection.

Despite the above i would reccomend it to anybody with an interest in magic and/or history as it is only £13.00 from Amazon and for such a big book it is worth it. It is only meant as a reference text and spans back a few thousand years when folk believed putting an axe under a pregnant woman's bed would ease childbirth - if you remember that whilst reading the book and come with an open mind then you'll be happy.

Foundational, 20 Oct 2008
I bought my copy of this book when it was newly out, and I think it may have been the first or second magic book I ever purchased, though I had read several others and had a working knowledge of the rudiments of magic. Judika has achieved what many others have attempted - that is to describe the witch's craft in an inclusive and unthreatened manner. The reader is not burdened with a heavy-handed treatment of the author's 'way to be a witch'. Her collection of spells is broad and, though critical in the best of ways, is never censorious or biased.

The breadth of the author's research is laid before the reader in a warm and enthusiastic style, with humour and the true ring of experience behind every word. We are not beseeched to buy cupboards full of ridiculous accoutrements before we can work an effective spell. Nor is it necessary to follow someone else's style slavishly to secure success.

This is the book I reach for whenever I am unsure where to begin, or when there is a detail I wish to check on. Judika's wit and lightness of touch belie the seriousness of her commitment to the subject matter and the lasting value of her book. I would not hesitate to recommend her writing to you.

The Element Encyclopaedia of 5000 Spells, 15 Jul 2008
I bought this book quite a while ago because I was attracted to how many spells there are in it. The author has collected a diverse range of spells from various cultures and traditions. the spells are arranged by topic (each with an introduction) and there are a variety of different spells (though not all of them are practical or advisable).

There are other sections in the book to complement the collection of spells - the author's introduction is an interesting read and there are tables showing things such as colour associations. The book also has instructions for making the various oils mentioned in the spells and a list of possible ingredients including their latin names.

I have to admit I've never used a spell from the book "as is" because of my personal belief in making each one individual to the situation. However I find the book incredibly useful for inspiration and would definitely recommend it if you're curious to find out about different spells.

Value for money, 23 May 2008
Is there anything this book does not cover, it is so big and with such an array of spells. You could cast a spell a day and it would take you years to get through them all. Splendid and worthy of anyone wishing to undertake the arts of this nature.

Excellent, 15 May 2008
Probably the most comprehensive occult book I have ever read. Despite the name of the text, it deals with far more than spells; also having background into the various spirits the spells will deal with and the basics and history of practising magic. Great for the beginner or advanced witch.

Gone but should not be forgotten, 15 Oct 2008
A fantastic book which everybody should read - we owe it to the people who were wiped out. They lost their lives, but the world lost as much - a brilliant culture and people who really appreciated nature and showed enormous wisdom and magnanimity. In the short time they were allowed to survive alongside the white man they sowed the seeds of the ecology movement, which might help to save the planet. So their lives were not in vain - and they gave us Johnny Depp and Cher.


The Truth Hurts!, 28 Jul 2008
This book makes you ashamed to be a white man, it angers you to hear how the native american indians were treated.

I knew before reading the book that the white man had treated the indians so badly, but I was not ready to read exactly how badly.

As an indian says in the book " They broke all there promises, except one. they promised to take all our land".

My heart goes out to all the native Ameican people.

A Classic, 04 May 2008
This book is a classic and a big inspiration for my own work on the Lakota Sioux and Wounded Knee: They Never Surrendered: The Lakota Sioux Band That Stayed in Canada.

Bury my heart at Wonded Knee - Dee Brown, 23 Oct 2007
An amazing book - amazing for the stories of misery and deprivation heaped on the Native Americans by the civilised white immigrants. It's not a book to sit back with a coffee and enjoy; in fact it made me so sad that I had trouble reading it. As for how well the book 'works' as a read: I found it mainly a collection of stories about specific tribes and families. It's not a connected narrative - it's basically a chronology split into chapters by the individual tribes. Chapters chronologically over-lap. In literary terms I don't think you can sit back and read through easily. This is not a criticism but I found it more of a reference type work and one where you can easily dip in to. No disputing that it's facts are awful but it's essential we read the history of white colonisation of the USA, Australia and other places and I hope we learn from the many mistakes.

Truth and historical fact, painful and compelling, 28 Jul 2007
I'm quite an emotional person, but this book angered me and hurt me in equal measure throughout, so much so, that its probably the most emotional account of historical significance I have ever read. I have cried throughout.

I first came across the book in 1982, when a science teacher of mine brought it into class after an American holiday. He smuggled it out of the States, he claimed, and its story touched me then. I didn't read much then, but now I have my own copy, it touches me more deeply than I could ever have imagined. Its a difficult and upsetting read.

Genocide, or attempted genocide is something civilised people simply do not do. But what Dee Brown captures in all too few words is genocide on a brutally wide scale, by a supposedly civilised nation. Its possibly more shocking than the treatment of black people in pioneer America.

The stories are heart rending and made me feel ashamed to be descended from the kinds of people that make this book so shocking.

I once saw a series on the televison called How The West Was Lost, and this book explains in graphic detail what that series shied away from. Here are the well known names from American Indian history, but also names not so well known. Long forgotten by outsiders, they crop again and again to remind the reader that the so-called Indian Wars were not simply personalities matched against each other, but horrificly planned exterminations.

It is said that history is written by those who hang heroes, Dee Brown has written a history of the hanged.

Definitive Biography of a Great President, 01 Jan 2008
This book is a fantastic way to learn about John Adams and it's a great way to be introduced to excellent historical biographical writing.

McCullough is a brilliant and exciting writer. He truly makes Adams come alive, and when Adams inevitably dies at the end it is decidedly sad.

Adams is a hero of the Republic. First a great friend, then a great rival, then a great friend again of Thomas Jefferson. John Adams is undeservedly overlooked by many students of American History.

Adams the republican vs Jefferson the populist was the great debate in American history and still continues today. Adams saw the horror of the French Revolution for what it was and predicted that it would end in depravity and violence and likely cause a savage reaction which would bring about the end of the French Republic itself. He was right, Bonaparte quickly followed the French Revolution and war across europe was the result. Jefferson on the other hand embraced the French Revolution as an expression of the people's desire for liberty. How wrong he was.

Adams was a brilliant Statesman, and student of history. A wonderful family man and superb husband, Adams' correspondence with his wife Abigail is a classic in American literature.

As a child I spent many hours on the grounds of the Adams Mansion in Quincy, MA, soaking up all the history there as much as is possible. McCullough does so well what so many biographers do so poorly in that he captures the times of the subject and places the person in his rightful context. He brought me back to the grounds of "Peacefield" through his beautiful evocations of it as it hosted great people and great events.

History is best studied by understanding how historical figures lived and understood their own lives and times, as they lived them. Hindsight is an overrated tool in historiography.

Bringing the past to life in writing is a special gift and McCullough has it. Enjoy his talents and get to know the foundations of the American nation-- a story that is not fully known by so many. Adams' story deserves to be told. What a brilliant man, and McCullough does him superb justice in this highly readable biography.

So much can be said here about Adams, but it's not necessary as McCullough has written the definitive John Adams biography and says it better than I. Get to know John Adams through this superb book and you will be glad that you did. And your opinions on Jefferson will likely change, too! 10 STARS!!

biography at its best, 03 Nov 2007
McCullough isn't a historian, and this book (and his superb biography of Harry Truman) do suffer as a result. Fortunately, McCullough is one of the best biographers in the business, and his ability to bring his subjects to life more than compensates for the lack of depth of his historical knowledge. At times he is a little too uncritical of his subject; but this is a welcome antidote to the modern tendency to dwell on the faults of great men and women. Books like this should be required reading in our schools, if for no other reason that they show that great men are far more ordinary than you'd think, and that they usually suffer long periods of adversity before they succeed.

Perhaps even more importantly, our relativist age takes liberty for granted: the sanitised myths about America's founding fathers need to be replaced by honest accounts of how precarious and remarkable the revolution was. And whatever McCullough's shortcomings as a historian, he does understand that rare beast: the politician who passionately believes in limiting the power of the state.

Excellent, 07 Mar 2007

This novel was the first I'd read by David McCullough, I found the book to be both interesting and very enjoyable.

Whether you're interested in reading biographies or history, this is the novel for you.

David McCullough did an excellent job piecing together John Adam's life story. It was a compulsive read. :-)




A Biography Worthy Of Its Subject!, 04 Feb 2007
"John Adams" by David McCullough is talented rendition of a unique story. Despite being remembered as the pigmy sandwiched between two giants, Washington and Jefferson, McCullough portrays Adams as an immensely important and interesting character in his own right. Adams is shown as being at the heart of many crucial events of our revolutionary and early national history. It was Adams of the Continental Congress who was the prime promoter of Independence and the nominator of George Washington for the post of commander of the Continental Army. He then carried out a series of diplomatic assignments in Europe, in which he was the intimate collaborator with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Among his unique diplomatic accomplishments were the negotiation of a Dutch loan at a crucial stage of the Revolution and participation in the negotiation of the peace treaty ending the Revolution. Upon his return to America he wrote the constitution of Massachusetts before serving eight years as Washington's loyal vice-president.

Adams was one of those rare figures whose greatest for whom the presidency was not the office in which he rendered his greatest service. His mistake of retaining Washington's cabinet compounded his misfortune of having his prime political rival as vice-president and a deadly enemy, Alexander Hamilton as a leader of his won party. This left him leading an administration rife with sabotage. These factors handicapped him as he confronted issues of peace or war abroad and subversion at home. Having to function more as a sole actor than a leader of men, his administration is generally regarded as a failure. His term was influential, largely in the maintenance of peace and appointment of John Marshall to the Supreme Court.

Through much of this book the reader is treated to an interwoven mini-biography of Thomas Jefferson. Through this dual biography the reader comes to understand the dichotomy of these two friends, but rivals, collaborators and opponents and, ultimately, correspondents. Their timely demises on the Fiftieth Independence Day are seen as nothing less than providential.

As the readers of my reviews are aware, I have read very many biographies. Few match "John Adams" for quality.


Excellent work, 06 Sep 2005
This book is an astounding piece of non-fiction that should be read by anyone with even a passing interest in revolutionary America.
The details included by the author are superb including the very close relationship with Jefferson and the subsequent falling out, the love of his small home town and the simple life of farming and reading and the brilliance of his wife, perhaps the most underrated First Lady of all time.
Besides this, you also get a front row seat from Adams' extensive correspondence for some of the most important moments in American history from the Declaration of Independence, through the War and the succession to the presidency after Washington.
I cannot recommend this book more highly.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Insightful, 03 Aug 2008
The author has a depth of knowledge of events which are enlightening and entertaining. Much effort appears to have gone into unearthing contemporary accounts giving a refreshing and unbiased view of events with a ring of truth about them unlike the standard texts which can be misleading generalisations. Well worth the money, not only for a gripping read as well as an historical record .

A message for all aspiring officers..., 08 Jul 2008
I'm not sure whether Urban truly intended to write a narrative history that not only sets right many of the injustices of much of the scholarship on this era, as well as comment on the current operations in Afghanistan.

Whatever his intent, this book is brilliant, in many ways surpassing 'Rifles'. The characters are brought to life in vivid colours, their flaws and their strengths, the arrogance of certain 'Minden men', the self-righteousness on both sides, and the sheer hypocrisy of the ideologues. This is not a book for those 'Patriot' lovers; this is a very real history. The maps are first class, and Urban, as we have come to expect, cuts through the fog of war to deliver stunning detail on everything from the tactical, strategic and operational levels of war.

Any young officer, or aspiring officer, should take the lessons so clearly portrayed in it; learning organisations defeat insurgencies, as we so nearly did in the 13 Colonies. For those not in the military, take heed anyway; read this as a history of the American war, and apply much of the logic to Iraq and Afghanistan, and that is what we are up against. The lessons are clear: Doctrine, tactics, strategy, all have to work together.

An Engaging Picture of a Regiment at War, 22 Dec 2007
Mark Urban has sought to recreate his earlier success with 'Rifles' by following a single regiment through a war. In choosing the 23rd Regiment (Royal Welch Fusiliers), he has plumped on a unit that fought throughout the American War of Independence from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, and can therefore act as illustrative of the war as a whole. Unlike the 95th Rifles, however, the 23rd were a 'line' regiment with none of the glamour of 'special' troops, although much of the action surrounds their detached light company. And given the very fluid organization of the army it is easy to see problems trying to carry out a single regiment narrative thread. As his Royal Welch witnesses come and go, he has had to use eyewitnesses wherever he could get them; not all are Royal Welchmen, nor are they necessarily eyewitnesses to the actual events he is discussing.

Mr Urban's lack of military background and wider understanding is sometimes apparent. As Donald Graves has noted, his belief that Revolutionary War tactics were important in Europe is dubious, and he is unfairly harsh on David Dundas. The essential need to train the army on a common doctrine was not possible until the Duke of York became Commander-in-Chief, with the full weight of Royal authority behind him. If the correct solution was a fusion of the `German' and `American' schools, that was never possible given the stresses of service until Sir Ralph Abercromby got nearly two months to properly train his army in 1800-1 before Egypt. He was the first British commander to have that opportunity after the reserve of trained troops was dissipated in the West Indies in 1793-5.

Due to these reservations I was only going to give the book four stars, but as a former Royal Welchman myself I thought, 'How can I!' Because in all honesty, Mr Urban has written a very engaging book about the British army in the Revolutionary War, when there are not many others (Hugh Bicheno and Christopher Hibbert come to mind) to choose from. He has also done much to dissipate the many myths beloved by American authors, particularly concerning their own tactical effectiveness. This is the book's greatest strength; a unit level account of a forgotten period in the army's history when they were fighting a bad war in a bad place at a bad time, trying to carry on as professionally as possible.

Thorough work on a complex theme, 22 Oct 2007
Centred on the elite 23rd (Royal Welch) Fuziliers [sic] during the American War of Independence, this book also gives an excellent account of many of the other units involved, since the light and grenadier companies of regiments were often hived off and brigaded with those of other units.

As we have come to expect from Urban, the battle accounts are both accurate and stirring, but I particulary like the way he draws on personal accounts of the war from both men and officers of both sides, many of them never published before, making it a highly engaging read. I learned a great deal about commanders such as Howe and Cornwallis, Balfour and Calvert, and the role they played not only in the fortunes of the 23rd Foot, but also in the political and military heirarchy of the time.

Readers new to the period may be surprised to learn that although the war was lost, the British and their allies suffered few actual defeats in the field; on the contrary, it was the remarkable ability of the Americans to recover from defeat after defeat that ultimately brought them victory.

The AWI has always aroused passions on both sides of the Atlantic, and whilst he concentrates on the fighting and campaigning of this conflict, Urban does not shy away from examining the tragic atrocities committed by both sides that served to polarise opinion during the war. This is a sober and refreshing antidote to some of the one-sided episodes in movies such as Mel Gibson's "The Patriot".

Overall, a thorough and humane examination of Great Britain's first major humiliation on the world stage, and the effects it had on the army the British are still justifiably proud of today. Highly recommended.

HUGE book!, 08 Nov 2008
This is an unbelievably huge book which is chock full of content.
I am a Wiccan and bought this book as use as a reference text for my spells and rituals however upon reviewing the book i feel it is best used as a basis for making your own spells as the majority of the spells in the book are, i feel not very useful on their own. 5000 sounds like ALOT of spells, which it is, however there are many, many 'spells' which are one-liners and seem to state a belief as opposed to being a spell i.e. Birth Chamber Protection Spell with Fir Needles: Burn silver fir needles during childbirth to protect mother and child and Boat Protection Spell Rope: Pass the entire boat through a rope circle for safety and protection.

Despite the above i would reccomend it to anybody with an interest in magic and/or history as it is only £13.00 from Amazon and for such a big book it is worth it. It is only meant as a reference text and spans back a few thousand years when folk believed putting an axe under a pregnant woman's bed would ease childbirth - if you remember that whilst reading the book and come with an open mind then you'll be happy.

Foundational, 20 Oct 2008
I bought my copy of this book when it was newly out, and I think it may have been the first or second magic book I ever purchased, though I had read several others and had a working knowledge of the rudiments of magic. Judika has achieved what many others have attempted - that is to describe the witch's craft in an inclusive and unthreatened manner. The reader is not burdened with a heavy-handed treatment of the author's 'way to be a witch'. Her collection of spells is broad and, though critical in the best of ways, is never censorious or biased.

The breadth of the author's research is laid before the reader in a warm and enthusiastic style, with humour and the true ring of experience behind every word. We are not beseeched to buy cupboards full of ridiculous accoutrements before we can work an effective spell. Nor is it necessary to follow someone else's style slavishly to secure success.

This is the book I reach for whenever I am unsure where to begin, or when there is a detail I wish to check on. Judika's wit and lightness of touch belie the seriousness of her commitment to the subject matter and the lasting value of her book. I would not hesitate to recommend her writing to you.

The Element Encyclopaedia of 5000 Spells, 15 Jul 2008
I bought this book quite a while ago because I was attracted to how many spells there are in it. The author has collected a diverse range of spells from various cultures and traditions. the spells are arranged by topic (each with an introduction) and there are a variety of different spells (though not all of them are practical or advisable).

There are other sections in the book to complement the collection of spells - the author's introduction is an interesting read and there are tables showing things such as colour associations. The book also has instructions for making the various oils mentioned in the spells and a list of possible ingredients including their latin names.

I have to admit I've never used a spell from the book "as is" because of my personal belief in making each one individual to the situation. However I find the book incredibly useful for inspiration and would definitely recommend it if you're curious to find out about different spells.

Value for money, 23 May 2008
Is there anything this book does not cover, it is so big and with such an array of spells. You could cast a spell a day and it would take you years to get through them all. Splendid and worthy of anyone wishing to undertake the arts of this nature.

Excellent, 15 May 2008
Probably the most comprehensive occult book I have ever read. Despite the name of the text, it deals with far more than spells; also having background into the various spirits the spells will deal with and the basics and history of practising magic. Great for the beginner or advanced witch.

This bok is a excellent book and is very educational, 15 Aug 2000
This is a excellent and a first class book you can refer to it when you need some infomation about thr amercian west and can get it out of it. This book really helped me do my school project on the amercian west and made me understand and learn more about it. You would reccommand this book to anybody who is doing or is just wants do know about it. I am looking foward to any other book that Dee Brown writes about anything. Once again a supherb bok thanks a lot for you help.

The Wild West Comes to Life!, 05 May 1998
The audio set of Dee Brown's The American West brings to life the characters and personalities that made the wild west an exciting and at times dangerous place to live.

Although the book is very good there is nothing like listening to Mitchell Ryan's rich voice as he almost waxes rhapsodically about the adventures of Wild Bill Hickok or Big Nose Kate or Billy the Kid.

Gone but should not be forgotten, 15 Oct 2008
A fantastic book which everybody should read - we owe it to the people who were wiped out. They lost their lives, but the world lost as much - a brilliant culture and people who really appreciated nature and showed enormous wisdom and magnanimity. In the short time they were allowed to survive alongside the white man they sowed the seeds of the ecology movement, which might help to save the planet.