The Pulitzer Prize–winning, best-selling author of Founding Brothers and His Excellency brings America’s preeminent first...
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reviews
Feb 14, 2012
Laura
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This is my second Ellis book. I have also read TRIUMPHS AND TRAGEDIES AT THE FOUNDING OF THE REPUBLIC. Both well-written and interesting books. This book about John and Abigail Adams however, read more like a fiction story. I really enjoyed it. This couple wrote so many letters to each other during their time of separation in their marriage (he was off writing the D. of I., in France after the war, being the new vice-president in Philadelphia, etc.) that it made possible a book being written
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Oct 18, 2011
Janet
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Probably the best biography I've come across. Both John and Abigail Adams are singular in American History because of the volume of correspondence which they wrote and kept over the span of 40 plus years. Their insights about the Revolutionary era-(as well as both pre and post) and their well-chosen words make each letter a sparkling gem, putting the current generations' use of gangster talk and text lingo to shame.
Ellis as a researcher writer kept his objectivity throughout the book, More...
Ellis as a researcher writer kept his objectivity throughout the book, More...
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Oct 17, 2011
Thomas
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This book is based on the correspondence of John and Abigail Adams, primarily the letters they sent each other, and it provides a very striking image of their relationship. The letters are especially revealing about Abigail, who was, it seems clear, a very modern woman. Her famous request for women's rights during the Revolutionary period reveals only one side of a very original personality. I was particularly struck by the way she bantered about politics and love with some very powerful people.
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Jun 11, 2011
Sarah
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Excellent history of the Adams family.
Since I've read McCullough's John Adams, I compare Ellis's take on the Adams couple to his.
For starters, McCullough's is 651 pages and Ellis's is only 255 pages. So the Ellis version is much more negotiable. Second, McCullough focuses on John Adams while Ellis gives a history of both Abigail and John. I learned more about Abigail in Ellis's book than I did McCullough's. I was fascinated with Abigail's prowess as a homemaker an More...
Since I've read McCullough's John Adams, I compare Ellis's take on the Adams couple to his.
For starters, McCullough's is 651 pages and Ellis's is only 255 pages. So the Ellis version is much more negotiable. Second, McCullough focuses on John Adams while Ellis gives a history of both Abigail and John. I learned more about Abigail in Ellis's book than I did McCullough's. I was fascinated with Abigail's prowess as a homemaker an More...
Jan 15, 2011
Amy
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This was not as balanced as Doris Kearns Goodwin's take on the Roosevelts. Ellis leans more toward educating the reader about the history of the Revolution and time thereafter with, at times, what feels like less emphasis on Abigail and John Adams, the very individuals the book is supposed to be about. Granted, their life and family was inextricably entwined from history, as was that of the Roosevelts. Yet, what Ellis fails to do that Goodwin succeeded at so beautifully, is to make these people
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Nov 11, 2010
Michelle
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Well. This is NOT McCullough's John Adams. The book has neither the scope of McCullough's work nor quite as good writing. That said, this is a marvelous contribution to the body of recent work on the Adams family. It says something about the depth of the Adamses themselves and the material they left behind, that one can read half a dozen major books on them and still not be tired of hearing about them. I have long liked Ellis' work nearly as well as McCullough's, and I was delighted with th
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Dec 20, 2010
Jenny
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I admit to a certain bias: Abigail and John Adams are my favorite historical couple. But this book sheds further light on why they worked so well together, focusing on their relationship based on their correspondence (the largest collection of letters from any presidential couple).
Abigail, brilliant, fiery, and domestic, was often left alone to run the farm and raise the children. John was often away on political business, at the mercy of his own ambitions and temperamental mood sw More...
Abigail, brilliant, fiery, and domestic, was often left alone to run the farm and raise the children. John was often away on political business, at the mercy of his own ambitions and temperamental mood sw More...
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Dec 09, 2011
Marcia
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I have not read much American history, but my husband is a history buff and took this book on our vacation. When I had read through all of the things I like to read, this was next. I have to say that I enjoyed it. It helped that I had seen the John Adams series done by PBS. What a great tale . . . I was thankful that I learned more about Mr. Adams' contribution to our history and to learn about the role Abigail played in that history. Although the book is mostly about John, there is a good
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Jan 19, 2011
Alex
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This was a very readable portrait of a marriage and an era in American history. I think the idea of framing a period of history through the lens of one person (or, in this case, family) is a good one. It makes it personal and engaging; indeed, I wonder what it would be like if students learned about history through stories of real people instead of textbooks. But that’s a thought to discuss with my American-history teacher husband! I don’t know if I’d necessarily recommend this book if you’re no
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Feb 09, 2011
Tami
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I have to say I am proud of myself for just finishing this one! It was very interesting, but written with a vocabulary a degree or two above my own. I love learning about John and Abagail Adams. They had a truly remarkable relationship in any age, much less in the colonial era. And as much of the text was taken from letters written to friends, family, and each other, their story is told in their own words. Another thing I love about the records the Adams's kept was that they did not hide the
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Jan 27, 2012
Joe
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Adams, like the rest of the puffed up founding fathers who never hesitated to write every single thought that occurred to them, is something of an exception. The most revealing of his writings, revealing for their content and look into policy as well as personality, are these personal back and forth letters between Adams and his wife, Abigail, his "dearest friend," he she signed all her correspondence. The letters span a life, two lives in fact, for while Adams was on trade missions in
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Sep 13, 2011
Marcia
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I really enjoyed this look at the lives of one of America's power couples during the founding of our country. By writing about the Adams's relationship and family life, Ellis provides us with a fascinating look into history that is more well-rounded than strict fact-finding. Abigail was such a key component of John's success and his most trusted confidant. With letters as the primary documents, we find out how fond the couple were of each other in spite of their frequent, often lengthy, time apa
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Mar 18, 2011
Danielle
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i have to admit I was a little disappointed in Ellis' latest book about the Revolutionary Generation. I've read David McCullough's John Adams and Cokie Roberts' "Founding Mothers" and "Ladies of Liberty", and I found Ellis'depiction of the couple to be a bit different than what I had read. Frankly, I feel he doesn't give Abigail much credit. I left this book with the impression that she really pined for John when he was gone, as if she could barely function--and that doesn
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Nov 20, 2010
Steven
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A very fine work. This book focuses on Abigail and John Adams, and traces their lives together. In the process, we come also to learn about other leaders of the time from the Adams' perspective. John and Abigail were parents of four children, three of whom led rather tragic lives. One one child--John Quincy Adams--became president himself. The book examines the strains on their marriage--his service away from home in Congress or in Europe. The book speaks of John's temperamental peculiarities, w
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Mar 13, 2011
David
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First Family: Abigail and John Adams by Joseph J. Ellis is a look at the Adams family and how the marriage of John and Abigail impacted them, the American Revolution, and the early decades of the United States of America. Using the historical record of personal letters written by the Adamses and a wealth of hostorical research, Ellis gives us an account both of their personal history and early political history of the republic. Of particular interest are the long periods of separation endured by
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Dec 31, 2010
Alex
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Were I to sum up Joseph J. Ellis' 'First Family' in two words, they would be "nothing new". Any student of or expert on American history, amateur or otherwise, will have heard the vast majority of this story. The John and Abigail Adams story has already been told, much more thoroughly, by David McCullough.
The introduction of First Family sets the goal of telling major stories of the Revolutionary era through the eyes of the first power couple in American history. The event More...
The introduction of First Family sets the goal of telling major stories of the Revolutionary era through the eyes of the first power couple in American history. The event More...
Nov 08, 2011
Heather
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If you are interested in the relationship between John and Abigail Adams this would be a great place to start. While the book does focus on the political atmosphere surrounding the Adams’ it always comes back to the family. Ellis uses many, many excerpts from John and Abigail’s letters to illustrate for us in vivid details their undying devotion to their family and to each other. We get to see how politically savvy Abigail was and how much of an advisor she was for John through her own words. Th
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Apr 17, 2011
Leslie
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I DID IT!!! At first, the writing was more academic than I was prepared to endure. I have grown unused to the habit of reading "heavier" texts, so the acclimation period took about 45 pages. But once I got into the narrative, I really did care to learn about these two figures in our history. There were several moments when I chuckled out loud and I absolutely had to share Abigail's characterization of the Dutch landscape as being so boring that she almost wished for a highway robbery t
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Apr 26, 2011
Corey
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There have been several biographies written both about John Adams and Abigail Adams. Biographies of one invariably end up being also biographies of the other. Joseph Ellis gives us a biography of the marriage itself. Calling it a marriage, though, is inadequate; "partnership" is a much more apt word. Because John and Abigail left such a vast correspondance, infinitely greater than that of the other founders, it is possible to know them much more intimately. Consequently, this is
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Jan 14, 2011
Debra
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John and Abigail Adams lived apart much of their 50+ year marriage, keeping up a voluminous correspondence that covered some of our country's most exciting and important formative years. Luckily enough for historians, these letters were also saved.
Now Joseph Ellis, who has made a career studying the Adamses and their period, examines their marriage and courtship as revealed through these letters. We see their strengths, their love but also their worries and weaknesses. They come More...
Now Joseph Ellis, who has made a career studying the Adamses and their period, examines their marriage and courtship as revealed through these letters. We see their strengths, their love but also their worries and weaknesses. They come More...
Sep 30, 2011
Seth
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I love John and Abigail Adams. Their letters to each other were so rich, lucid, smart, loving, and astounding. They had their flaws. Especially John. I enjoy reading about that. Peeking into people's private lives makes them more real, more approachable. And it gives me hope.
This quote from John made me laugh really really loud:
"Let it once be revealed or demonstrated that there is no future state, and my advice to every man, woman, and child would be, as our existence More...
This quote from John made me laugh really really loud:
"Let it once be revealed or demonstrated that there is no future state, and my advice to every man, woman, and child would be, as our existence More...
Jan 02, 2011
Clockstein
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The First Family by Joseph J. Ellis is a insightful look at the John Adams family through their letters. John and Abigail have long been looked at as the premier couple of the American Revolution, and they left behind over 1200 letters of their correspondence opening up their relationship to study in a unique way. Ellis uses their letters to each other, their children, and friends to recreate their lives and give them their rightful place in history. John's image suffered in the years after the
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Jan 15, 2012
Brian
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Joseph Ellis continues his string of successes with another great book on the American Revolution. This book looks at the relationship between John and Abigail Adams shedding new light on how the preeminent political team and first dynasty in America shared their intimate thoughts with one another. Utilizing letters between the two, (of which we have many due to the volume of time they spent apart) as well as sources from their children, Ellis is able to paint a vibrant picture of life in early
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Jun 06, 2011
Judy
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Very well written and detailed. I skimmed the first half of the book because I get bogged down in political details and was mainly interested in the personal lives of Abigail and John Adams.
But I got interested in their story, and so I read all of the second half of the book. When I tried to reread the first half, I lost interest again.
I still greatly admire a lot about John Adams, but came away disappointed with Abigail. She was a remarkable woman, but no use aspiring to be More...
But I got interested in their story, and so I read all of the second half of the book. When I tried to reread the first half, I lost interest again.
I still greatly admire a lot about John Adams, but came away disappointed with Abigail. She was a remarkable woman, but no use aspiring to be More...
Jan 22, 2011
Staci
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It would be limiting to call Abigail and John Adams the original political power couple. But that they surely were. John rarely made a decision that wasn't shaped in some way by the indomitable spirit and fierce intelligence of his magnificent wife. They were also deeply in love and two halves of an unbreakable union for more than 50 years.
Ellis' book is a typically fine read, covering the familiar territory of their many years spent apart, the tragedies that befell most of their ch More...
Ellis' book is a typically fine read, covering the familiar territory of their many years spent apart, the tragedies that befell most of their ch More...
Dec 04, 2011
Jill
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Interesting, but not at all what I thought it was going to be like. I had always been intrigued by their relationship because of the letter samples I was asked to read by professors in college. While this story does provide a lot of insight in to what their courting, marriage, and family life was like back in the day, it was really hard to be excited about what the author was going to say next. It did have some interesting parts, but as a whole it wasn't very captivating for me.
Jan 16, 2011
Eiko
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While I enjoyed the book I was a bit disappointed that it didn't go into as much detail about the family. The title led me to believe there would be detailed information about John & Abigail AND their children. There is much, while interesting, about their relationship as well as their relationship with others outside the family very little is really shared about their children. Why did their son Charles and later son Thomas succomb to alcoholism? Just one of many unanswered questions from the i
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Aug 11, 2011
Janet
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This one I listened to and I really, really liked it. I dislike the Goodreads yelp "it was amazing" but I highly recommend this read. The Adames were remarkable people who loved each other deeply and were very aware they were living in remarkable times. It also gave me a much deeper understanding of the closeness and contention among the colonies during the early years when the US became a nation, and the personalities of now iconic persons at the time.
Dec 17, 2011
Lizette
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A fine biography of an exceptional family living in exceptional times. The author manages to humanize these distant ancestors and give better plausible explanations to their correspondence than other authors have deducted. I only wish the author had supplemented more of the most salient aspects of the historical record, sometimes he would explain the surrounding political/historical climate, other times he would just breeze right by. A fine book, nevertheless.
Apr 28, 2011
Suzanne
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I enjoyed listening to this book on CD. It has given me a different picture of American Founding Fathers from the letters and writings of John and Abigail Adams. Partisan politics started very early in our American Rebulic, much to the chagrin of John Adams. He was a true patriot though often driven by what he wanted said about him in generations to come. A very interesting "read".
