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.

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.

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.

The Civil War in One Volume, 29 Nov 2008
James McPherson's 'Battle Cry of Freedom' traces the whole arc of the Civil War tragedy. He comprehensively covers the causes of the Civil War, the leadng personalities and the unfolding drama. Without a doubt it is the finest single volume treatment of the subject to be found today. Mcpherson is sympathetic to his subject, even handed and objective; there is no editorialising. Instead there is a sense of the feelings that prevailed on eith side of the Mason-Dixon line. For either the casual reader or for the student up to undergraduate level, there is no need to go further

Fascinating and Accessible History, 29 Jun 2008
I came to this book as a Brit who knew little or nothing about the American Civil War and it certainly did its job for me. The wealth of detail is facinating, the analysis of the reasons for the war illuminating and the conclusions explaining the victory of the North are coherent and convincing.

I came to a realistion of how important the American Civil War was. How different the world would be today had the South prevailed.

It also depressing how little we seem to progress, for example in terms of atrocities committed, how different was the American Civil war to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

Two complaints were 1) I found the temporal progress of the war a little difficult to follow at times, i.e. which events were occurring simultaneously and 2) in my paperback edition the maps are basically unreadable.

One piece of advice for non-US readers, make sure you have a detailed map of the US to hand while reading.

Definitely recommended

Understanding the American Civil War, 28 Oct 2007
Wow. This book is the definitive book to read about the American Civil War. It gives a clear understanding into the lead up to the civil war. The abolition of slavery and the need to preserve the union is fully covered.
I was interested in the chapters about the iron clad boats and the part England played in building these boats.
The civil war was more complex an issue than I had previously understood but McPherson style of writings helps you understand the complexity of the war.
The battle casualties are horrifying with each side suffering 20 to 30 percent casualties.
If you only buy one book on the civil war this is it. However such is the book you will want to delve further in to the civil war

One of the finest historical volumes I have ever read on any subject, 28 Aug 2006
This is one of the finest historical volumes I have ever read on any subject. McPherson's strengths are are threefold: firstly his research is astonishing in its detail and expertly referenced, secondly he writes with wonderful clarity and linguistic dexterity, and thirdly he remains passionately impartial about his subject. The only weakness I can think of in this superb work is the extremely poor quality of the maps and diagrams some of which are nearly illegible, responsibility for which rests with the publisher (Penguin). Those seeking an easy read focusing primarily on the famous battles of the Civil War might be better off looking elsewhere (such as the Osprey volume "The American Civil War"), because while McPherson does cover military matters extensively, he is at least if not more concerned with an analysis of the political and social climate surrounding them and in this respect his book must surely stand out as an astonishingly well researched and scholarly work. Which is not to say that this book is anything other than a compelling read - despite the wealth and density of detail, Macpherson writes with elan and lucidity for over 850 brilliant pages. Thoroughly recommended, even if you will need at least a week of solid reading to get through it!

Ignore review below, 21 Jul 2006

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a scrupulously fair examination not only of the conduct of the war, but also the political, social, financial, industrial, ethnic (etc etc) background to the conflict. He praises the bravery of rebel soldiers, the genius of Confederate commanders such as Jeb Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E Lee; he describes how the South was at an enormous disadvantage, with its comparative lack of factories, railroads, arsenals and other industry necessary to waging war. Also, tellingly, he NEVER ONCE moralises about the 'Peculiar Institution' of slavery, merely presenting the opinions of almost every political/geographical group, from Southern Democrats to Northern No-Nothings.

As for his absurd and naive charge that this is a cobbling-together of others' research - words fail me. As the author explains in his bibliographical note, there is a slew of literature on the American Civil War; indeed, after Jesus and Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln is the most written-about person in the English language. The author has obviously pored over thousands of primary sources AS WELL as other people's work. The reviewer below has obviously been influenced by the extensive footnotes, which often explain to the reader where that research has come from and gives advice for further reading on the issue being discussed. The achievement of Mr McPherson to simplify and synthesise this enormous range of works is quite phenomenal. There are histories of the Civil War that run to ten or more volumes - this is a mere 880 pages.

And what a read! McPherson the narrator writes with such a lightness of touch that you barely know he's there. His language and style are deceptively simple, never grating. The story flows seemlessly; even quite complicated issues of 19th Century American politics are handled with a clarity that makes things clear even to someone (like me) with little knowledge of the subject.

This is, quite simply, a magnificent achievement. If you are interested in the USA, the Civil War, military history, warfare in general, or just interested in a rattling good read, I wholeheartedly recommend 'Battle Cry of Freedom'. (As, indeed, does almost everybody else on this page, save one).

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.

The Civil War in One Volume, 29 Nov 2008
James McPherson's 'Battle Cry of Freedom' traces the whole arc of the Civil War tragedy. He comprehensively covers the causes of the Civil War, the leadng personalities and the unfolding drama. Without a doubt it is the finest single volume treatment of the subject to be found today. Mcpherson is sympathetic to his subject, even handed and objective; there is no editorialising. Instead there is a sense of the feelings that prevailed on eith side of the Mason-Dixon line. For either the casual reader or for the student up to undergraduate level, there is no need to go further

Fascinating and Accessible History, 29 Jun 2008
I came to this book as a Brit who knew little or nothing about the American Civil War and it certainly did its job for me. The wealth of detail is facinating, the analysis of the reasons for the war illuminating and the conclusions explaining the victory of the North are coherent and convincing.

I came to a realistion of how important the American Civil War was. How different the world would be today had the South prevailed.

It also depressing how little we seem to progress, for example in terms of atrocities committed, how different was the American Civil war to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

Two complaints were 1) I found the temporal progress of the war a little difficult to follow at times, i.e. which events were occurring simultaneously and 2) in my paperback edition the maps are basically unreadable.

One piece of advice for non-US readers, make sure you have a detailed map of the US to hand while reading.

Definitely recommended

Understanding the American Civil War, 28 Oct 2007
Wow. This book is the definitive book to read about the American Civil War. It gives a clear understanding into the lead up to the civil war. The abolition of slavery and the need to preserve the union is fully covered.
I was interested in the chapters about the iron clad boats and the part England played in building these boats.
The civil war was more complex an issue than I had previously understood but McPherson style of writings helps you understand the complexity of the war.
The battle casualties are horrifying with each side suffering 20 to 30 percent casualties.
If you only buy one book on the civil war this is it. However such is the book you will want to delve further in to the civil war

One of the finest historical volumes I have ever read on any subject, 28 Aug 2006
This is one of the finest historical volumes I have ever read on any subject. McPherson's strengths are are threefold: firstly his research is astonishing in its detail and expertly referenced, secondly he writes with wonderful clarity and linguistic dexterity, and thirdly he remains passionately impartial about his subject. The only weakness I can think of in this superb work is the extremely poor quality of the maps and diagrams some of which are nearly illegible, responsibility for which rests with the publisher (Penguin). Those seeking an easy read focusing primarily on the famous battles of the Civil War might be better off looking elsewhere (such as the Osprey volume "The American Civil War"), because while McPherson does cover military matters extensively, he is at least if not more concerned with an analysis of the political and social climate surrounding them and in this respect his book must surely stand out as an astonishingly well researched and scholarly work. Which is not to say that this book is anything other than a compelling read - despite the wealth and density of detail, Macpherson writes with elan and lucidity for over 850 brilliant pages. Thoroughly recommended, even if you will need at least a week of solid reading to get through it!

Ignore review below, 21 Jul 2006

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a scrupulously fair examination not only of the conduct of the war, but also the political, social, financial, industrial, ethnic (etc etc) background to the conflict. He praises the bravery of rebel soldiers, the genius of Confederate commanders such as Jeb Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E Lee; he describes how the South was at an enormous disadvantage, with its comparative lack of factories, railroads, arsenals and other industry necessary to waging war. Also, tellingly, he NEVER ONCE moralises about the 'Peculiar Institution' of slavery, merely presenting the opinions of almost every political/geographical group, from Southern Democrats to Northern No-Nothings.

As for his absurd and naive charge that this is a cobbling-together of others' research - words fail me. As the author explains in his bibliographical note, there is a slew of literature on the American Civil War; indeed, after Jesus and Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln is the most written-about person in the English language. The author has obviously pored over thousands of primary sources AS WELL as other people's work. The reviewer below has obviously been influenced by the extensive footnotes, which often explain to the reader where that research has come from and gives advice for further reading on the issue being discussed. The achievement of Mr McPherson to simplify and synthesise this enormous range of works is quite phenomenal. There are histories of the Civil War that run to ten or more volumes - this is a mere 880 pages.

And what a read! McPherson the narrator writes with such a lightness of touch that you barely know he's there. His language and style are deceptively simple, never grating. The story flows seemlessly; even quite complicated issues of 19th Century American politics are handled with a clarity that makes things clear even to someone (like me) with little knowledge of the subject.

This is, quite simply, a magnificent achievement. If you are interested in the USA, the Civil War, military history, warfare in general, or just interested in a rattling good read, I wholeheartedly recommend 'Battle Cry of Freedom'. (As, indeed, does almost everybody else on this page, save one).

First rate account of America's civil war, 30 Mar 2005
If you want to know about the civil war,how it came about? where,when and what happened? who the key player's were?Then this is the book for you!I wanted a book that was informative, yet written in an easily absorbing way.It is vivid without being boring,the only downside is that you find it very hard to put down!

An good synthesis with interesting side articles, 30 Mar 2004
I read this volume aside "Battle cry of Freedom" from James McPherson, and although it is not as complete, it is quicker to read and contains the essential military developments of the civil war. What I really appreciate, though, are the quality of the illustrations (although some of the maps could have been better and more precise), but even more, the chapters aside the main events, focusing on specific portraits of civilians and soldiers living during this war. If I were to read this book again, I would read it before "Battle cry of Freedom", as a preliminary to understand it even better. Overall, I think this Osprey collection (Essential Histories) is excellent to awake (or not) your interest on a particular war or campaign and give you an incentive to do more research on a particular subject if you like the corresponding Osprey book, providing you a short but accurate bibliography for further reading, which is always useful for the amateur historian.

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.

The Civil War in One Volume, 29 Nov 2008
James McPherson's 'Battle Cry of Freedom' traces the whole arc of the Civil War tragedy. He comprehensively covers the causes of the Civil War, the leadng personalities and the unfolding drama. Without a doubt it is the finest single volume treatment of the subject to be found today. Mcpherson is sympathetic to his subject, even handed and objective; there is no editorialising. Instead there is a sense of the feelings that prevailed on eith side of the Mason-Dixon line. For either the casual reader or for the student up to undergraduate level, there is no need to go further

Fascinating and Accessible History, 29 Jun 2008
I came to this book as a Brit who knew little or nothing about the American Civil War and it certainly did its job for me. The wealth of detail is facinating, the analysis of the reasons for the war illuminating and the conclusions explaining the victory of the North are coherent and convincing.

I came to a realistion of how important the American Civil War was. How different the world would be today had the South prevailed.

It also depressing how little we seem to progress, for example in terms of atrocities committed, how different was the American Civil war to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

Two complaints were 1) I found the temporal progress of the war a little difficult to follow at times, i.e. which events were occurring simultaneously and 2) in my paperback edition the maps are basically unreadable.

One piece of advice for non-US readers, make sure you have a detailed map of the US to hand while reading.

Definitely recommended

Understanding the American Civil War, 28 Oct 2007
Wow. This book is the definitive book to read about the American Civil War. It gives a clear understanding into the lead up to the civil war. The abolition of slavery and the need to preserve the union is fully covered.
I was interested in the chapters about the iron clad boats and the part England played in building these boats.
The civil war was more complex an issue than I had previously understood but McPherson style of writings helps you understand the complexity of the war.
The battle casualties are horrifying with each side suffering 20 to 30 percent casualties.
If you only buy one book on the civil war this is it. However such is the book you will want to delve further in to the civil war

One of the finest historical volumes I have ever read on any subject, 28 Aug 2006
This is one of the finest historical volumes I have ever read on any subject. McPherson's strengths are are threefold: firstly his research is astonishing in its detail and expertly referenced, secondly he writes with wonderful clarity and linguistic dexterity, and thirdly he remains passionately impartial about his subject. The only weakness I can think of in this superb work is the extremely poor quality of the maps and diagrams some of which are nearly illegible, responsibility for which rests with the publisher (Penguin). Those seeking an easy read focusing primarily on the famous battles of the Civil War might be better off looking elsewhere (such as the Osprey volume "The American Civil War"), because while McPherson does cover military matters extensively, he is at least if not more concerned with an analysis of the political and social climate surrounding them and in this respect his book must surely stand out as an astonishingly well researched and scholarly work. Which is not to say that this book is anything other than a compelling read - despite the wealth and density of detail, Macpherson writes with elan and lucidity for over 850 brilliant pages. Thoroughly recommended, even if you will need at least a week of solid reading to get through it!

Ignore review below, 21 Jul 2006

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a scrupulously fair examination not only of the conduct of the war, but also the political, social, financial, industrial, ethnic (etc etc) background to the conflict. He praises the bravery of rebel soldiers, the genius of Confederate commanders such as Jeb Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E Lee; he describes how the South was at an enormous disadvantage, with its comparative lack of factories, railroads, arsenals and other industry necessary to waging war. Also, tellingly, he NEVER ONCE moralises about the 'Peculiar Institution' of slavery, merely presenting the opinions of almost every political/geographical group, from Southern Democrats to Northern No-Nothings.

As for his absurd and naive charge that this is a cobbling-together of others' research - words fail me. As the author explains in his bibliographical note, there is a slew of literature on the American Civil War; indeed, after Jesus and Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln is the most written-about person in the English language. The author has obviously pored over thousands of primary sources AS WELL as other people's work. The reviewer below has obviously been influenced by the extensive footnotes, which often explain to the reader where that research has come from and gives advice for further reading on the issue being discussed. The achievement of Mr McPherson to simplify and synthesise this enormous range of works is quite phenomenal. There are histories of the Civil War that run to ten or more volumes - this is a mere 880 pages.

And what a read! McPherson the narrator writes with such a lightness of touch that you barely know he's there. His language and style are deceptively simple, never grating. The story flows seemlessly; even quite complicated issues of 19th Century American politics are handled with a clarity that makes things clear even to someone (like me) with little knowledge of the subject.

This is, quite simply, a magnificent achievement. If you are interested in the USA, the Civil War, military history, warfare in general, or just interested in a rattling good read, I wholeheartedly recommend 'Battle Cry of Freedom'. (As, indeed, does almost everybody else on this page, save one).

First rate account of America's civil war, 30 Mar 2005
If you want to know about the civil war,how it came about? where,when and what happened? who the key player's were?Then this is the book for you!I wanted a book that was informative, yet written in an easily absorbing way.It is vivid without being boring,the only downside is that you find it very hard to put down!

An good synthesis with interesting side articles, 30 Mar 2004
I read this volume aside "Battle cry of Freedom" from James McPherson, and although it is not as complete, it is quicker to read and contains the essential military developments of the civil war. What I really appreciate, though, are the quality of the illustrations (although some of the maps could have been better and more precise), but even more, the chapters aside the main events, focusing on specific portraits of civilians and soldiers living during this war. If I were to read this book again, I would read it before "Battle cry of Freedom", as a preliminary to understand it even better. Overall, I think this Osprey collection (Essential Histories) is excellent to awake (or not) your interest on a particular war or campaign and give you an incentive to do more research on a particular subject if you like the corresponding Osprey book, providing you a short but accurate bibliography for further reading, which is always useful for the amateur historian.

Excellent Resource, 05 Jan 2009
An impressive and well laid out source of information regarding the battle, arms and equipment, the characters and forces involved. An essential addition to any Civil War library.

Gettysburg in one volume, 29 Dec 2008
A well written and superbly illustrated book. A must for any serious scholar of the American Civil War.

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.

The Civil War in One Volume, 29 Nov 2008
James McPherson's 'Battle Cry of Freedom' traces the whole arc of the Civil War tragedy. He comprehensively covers the causes of the Civil War, the leadng personalities and the unfolding drama. Without a doubt it is the finest single volume treatment of the subject to be found today. Mcpherson is sympathetic to his subject, even handed and objective; there is no editorialising. Instead there is a sense of the feelings that prevailed on eith side of the Mason-Dixon line. For either the casual reader or for the student up to undergraduate level, there is no need to go further

Fascinating and Accessible History, 29 Jun 2008
I came to this book as a Brit who knew little or nothing about the American Civil War and it certainly did its job for me. The wealth of detail is facinating, the analysis of the reasons for the war illuminating and the conclusions explaining the victory of the North are coherent and convincing.

I came to a realistion of how important the American Civil War was. How different the world would be today had the South prevailed.

It also depressing how little we seem to progress, for example in terms of atrocities committed, how different was the American Civil war to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

Two complaints were 1) I found the temporal progress of the war a little difficult to follow at times, i.e. which events were occurring simultaneously and 2) in my paperback edition the maps are basically unreadable.

One piece of advice for non-US readers, make sure you have a detailed map of the US to hand while reading.

Definitely recommended

Understanding the American Civil War, 28 Oct 2007
Wow. This book is the definitive book to read about the American Civil War. It gives a clear understanding into the lead up to the civil war. The abolition of slavery and the need to preserve the union is fully covered.
I was interested in the chapters about the iron clad boats and the part England played in building these boats.
The civil war was more complex an issue than I had previously understood but McPherson style of writings helps you understand the complexity of the war.
The battle casualties are horrifying with each side suffering 20 to 30 percent casualties.
If you only buy one book on the civil war this is it. However such is the book you will want to delve further in to the civil war

One of the finest historical volumes I have ever read on any subject, 28 Aug 2006
This is one of the finest historical volumes I have ever read on any subject. McPherson's strengths are are threefold: firstly his research is astonishing in its detail and expertly referenced, secondly he writes with wonderful clarity and linguistic dexterity, and thirdly he remains passionately impartial about his subject. The only weakness I can think of in this superb work is the extremely poor quality of the maps and diagrams some of which are nearly illegible, responsibility for which rests with the publisher (Penguin). Those seeking an easy read focusing primarily on the famous battles of the Civil War might be better off looking elsewhere (such as the Osprey volume "The American Civil War"), because while McPherson does cover military matters extensively, he is at least if not more concerned with an analysis of the political and social climate surrounding them and in this respect his book must surely stand out as an astonishingly well researched and scholarly work. Which is not to say that this book is anything other than a compelling read - despite the wealth and density of detail, Macpherson writes with elan and lucidity for over 850 brilliant pages. Thoroughly recommended, even if you will need at least a week of solid reading to get through it!

Ignore review below, 21 Jul 2006

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a scrupulously fair examination not only of the conduct of the war, but also the political, social, financial, industrial, ethnic (etc etc) background to the conflict. He praises the bravery of rebel soldiers, the genius of Confederate commanders such as Jeb Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E Lee; he describes how the South was at an enormous disadvantage, with its comparative lack of factories, railroads, arsenals and other industry necessary to waging war. Also, tellingly, he NEVER ONCE moralises about the 'Peculiar Institution' of slavery, merely presenting the opinions of almost every political/geographical group, from Southern Democrats to Northern No-Nothings.

As for his absurd and naive charge that this is a cobbling-together of others' research - words fail me. As the author explains in his bibliographical note, there is a slew of literature on the American Civil War; indeed, after Jesus and Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln is the most written-about person in the English language. The author has obviously pored over thousands of primary sources AS WELL as other people's work. The reviewer below has obviously been influenced by the extensive footnotes, which often explain to the reader where that research has come from and gives advice for further reading on the issue being discussed. The achievement of Mr McPherson to simplify and synthesise this enormous range of works is quite phenomenal. There are histories of the Civil War that run to ten or more volumes - this is a mere 880 pages.

And what a read! McPherson the narrator writes with such a lightness of touch that you barely know he's there. His language and style are deceptively simple, never grating. The story flows seemlessly; even quite complicated issues of 19th Century American politics are handled with a clarity that makes things clear even to someone (like me) with little knowledge of the subject.

This is, quite simply, a magnificent achievement. If you are interested in the USA, the Civil War, military history, warfare in general, or just interested in a rattling good read, I wholeheartedly recommend 'Battle Cry of Freedom'. (As, indeed, does almost everybody else on this page, save one).

First rate account of America's civil war, 30 Mar 2005
If you want to know about the civil war,how it came about? where,when and what happened? who the key player's were?Then this is the book for you!I wanted a book that was informative, yet written in an easily absorbing way.It is vivid without being boring,the only downside is that you find it very hard to put down!

An good synthesis with interesting side articles, 30 Mar 2004
I read this volume aside "Battle cry of Freedom" from James McPherson, and although it is not as complete, it is quicker to read and contains the essential military developments of the civil war. What I really appreciate, though, are the quality of the illustrations (although some of the maps could have been better and more precise), but even more, the chapters aside the main events, focusing on specific portraits of civilians and soldiers living during this war. If I were to read this book again, I would read it before "Battle cry of Freedom", as a preliminary to understand it even better. Overall, I think this Osprey collection (Essential Histories) is excellent to awake (or not) your interest on a particular war or campaign and give you an incentive to do more research on a particular subject if you like the corresponding Osprey book, providing you a short but accurate bibliography for further reading, which is always useful for the amateur historian.

Excellent Resource, 05 Jan 2009
An impressive and well laid out source of information regarding the battle, arms and equipment, the characters and forces involved. An essential addition to any Civil War library.

Gettysburg in one volume, 29 Dec 2008
A well written and superbly illustrated book. A must for any serious scholar of the American Civil War.

Pretty sound, 10 Dec 2003
its well written but does tend to be somewhat un exciting. but a good book with loads crammed in and easy to read.

Superb!!, 25 Apr 2003
Faircloughs book offers a suberb discourse on the struggle for equaltity that blacks underwent in 20th century America following the events of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The accounts of black leaders and organisations are very interesting and authoritative, and extremely useful to anyone interested in this particular historical topic. The only qualm I would have with this book is that the title says 1890-2000, but there is little information supplied on the situtaion of blacks in America after 1970.

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"