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Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams
A witty, clear, and thoughtful narrative of John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers of our nation and its second president. Sheds light on the man who was both contentious and lovable, generous and petty, and intellectually profound.
MP3 Book, 0 pages
Published
August 24th 2009
by Blackstone Audio, Inc.
(first published 1993)
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This is a warm, engaging and scholarly look at the under-appreciated John Adams.
He had a absolutely first-class, brilliant mind. His prescience, during his long retirement, about what lay in store for the United States is astonishing. His appreciation of strong, smart women and his willingness to engage with them as his intellectual equals puts him far ahead of most of his peers in the revolutionary generation.
Ellis celebrates, among many other things, Adams' contrarian streak, his insistence...more
He had a absolutely first-class, brilliant mind. His prescience, during his long retirement, about what lay in store for the United States is astonishing. His appreciation of strong, smart women and his willingness to engage with them as his intellectual equals puts him far ahead of most of his peers in the revolutionary generation.
Ellis celebrates, among many other things, Adams' contrarian streak, his insistence...more
The naturally prickly among us have to find our own ways to contribute. Adams did. Ellis explains how Adams, a bitter pessimist, contributed psychological realism to the political DNA of the country. Adams knew and distrusted the animal passions of his fellow "founding brothers" and countrymen. He knew that partisanship and glory-seeking are intrinsic to human nature. Washington himself may be above party politics, but the nation as a whole would not remain so. In part, the political genius of t...more
Mar 14, 2011
Lauren Albert
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biography-autobiography,
history-american
Ellis does a great job of showing Adams as the complex man he was--he was a perfect example of the kind of person whose flaws and strengths cannot be separated. He was a realist and that didn't lead to his popularity--in his own time or later. As Ellis wonderfully writes: “Finally, he was linked historically with Jefferson as the supreme embodiment of the American dialogue: he was the words and Jefferson was the music of the ongoing pageant begun in 1776; he was the ‘is,’ Jefferson was the ‘ough...more
I found this to be an excellent book. Easily read and entertaining as well. The author is very meticulous about his references.
Here's an entertaining snippet from the book - John Adams' opinion of the upper house of the legislature.
From page 152:
...Adams's motives for favoring the creation of a senate were entirely different and seemed to smack of an affection for a European-styled aristocracy. "The rich, the well-born, and the able, acquire an influence among the people that will soon be too mu...more
Here's an entertaining snippet from the book - John Adams' opinion of the upper house of the legislature.
From page 152:
...Adams's motives for favoring the creation of a senate were entirely different and seemed to smack of an affection for a European-styled aristocracy. "The rich, the well-born, and the able, acquire an influence among the people that will soon be too mu...more
An interesting book into the inner-mechanisms of John Adams, but I still found David McCullough's book on him much better. We can see the Adams personality come out in the book and how he responded to things and events in his life. Though often overlooked, I still find him to be one of the most influential of our Founding Fathers. This is almost a book about his character rather than a biographical story. You get the inner-workings of his mind (and mindset) more than anything. A good overall boo...more
A focused compendium of our second President. Ellis paints a vivid picture of the historical significance and often overlooked relevance of the irascible John Adams. As the title indicates, it is not a complete biographical overview but rather a precise look at his legacies that shaped the American Revolution and policies. At times it came across dull and plodding, but for the most part it was intellectually stimulating and educational. I would recommend David McCullough's John Adams though, whi...more
Bought this book after a visit my sister and I took to to the Adams homes in Quincy, MA. Its focus is on the time after Adams finished being president and deals with his thoughts and actions connected to those thoughts over his later years. There is gold in this book. For example, her attacks the romanticization of our Founding Fathers, which he calls "ancestor worship," by reminding everyone that "Every measure of Congress from 1774 inclusively was disputed with acrimony, and decided by as smal...more
Oct 17, 2009
Kirsten
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Biography/American History readers
Shelves:
biography,
non-fiction
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Adams has become my favorite founding father because he, like myself, cannot learn to keep his mouth shut to save his life. Or in his case his legacy. Adams was a man ahead of his time his respect and friendships with learned woman was breath of fresh air. Humorous, interesting and provides content that is timely in our current quest to continue this experiment with democracy.
This book was one of those which inspired David McCullough to write his biography of Adams. Not a traditional biography, Ellis chooses to focus on small sections of Adams' personal life, particularly his correspondence with Jefferson. He reveals some keen insights about Adams (I was most intrigued by Adams' observation that men are motivated by a need for esteem--be it love, fear, etc).
Interesting survey on the 2nd president of the US. It certainly sucked for Adams to be the next president after the best one of all time (GW), but you learn a lot about Adams' reasoning and intelligence during his years in politics.
One of my favorites at this time. Simone characterized Ellis's style as dry humor, and that's about right, but I love the way he writes. Who knew I could become BFF's with one of the founding fathers but Ellis made me love Adams.
Many know little of John Adams in his retirement years. Ellis focuses upon a time of Adams's life that was no less interesting than his earlier years. The Adams-Jefferson correspondence is always an interesting study.
When I get overwhelmed at my job, I think of John Adams. A man in the wrong place at the wrong time. To take on the role of President after George Washington, who was practically idolized! Jefferson was no fool!
I've read many books about President Adams and have enjoyed his writing as well. This book was a very nice change of pace to the usual tome about him and a must for any Adams' fan's library.
Excellent, excellent, excellent! A new found appreciation regarding John Adams after reading this book. A wonderful portrait of the Sage of Quincy.
It is a vivid recounting of an uncertain period of history. It is well written, entertaining, and educational.
This was excellent. I am a big fan of Adam's political writings and have enjoyed the surge in biographies on him. This book as inspired some of the more recent books, movies and projects on Adams.
This was more like a biography of thought and legacy. It focuses on Adam's retirement period and uses it to explore the development of Adam's character, thought and legacy. Ellis always paints an honest picture, of both his subjects positives and negatives. No one is better at that aspect of biography....more
This was more like a biography of thought and legacy. It focuses on Adam's retirement period and uses it to explore the development of Adam's character, thought and legacy. Ellis always paints an honest picture, of both his subjects positives and negatives. No one is better at that aspect of biography....more
Great book. Eli's has done a great job of telling a story of one of our unappreciative president,
Great, albeit brief, book about our 2nd president.
Completely fascinating.
Second to McCullough.
Aug 09, 2012
Chrissy
added it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
NO ONE!
Recommended to Chrissy by:
I had to read it over the summer for school
I hate it.
Ah, John Adams, perhaps the most important but least appreciated founding father. Ellis is so familiar with Adams' legacy and character, you feel as though he is telling a story about one of his close friends. The detail and care he takes to fully explore Adams are so refreshing in an era where the founding is reduced to a few bland paragraphs in textbooks. This is by far my favorite history book - so get off Goodreads and go read it!
Nov 11, 2011
Amblingbooks.com
marked it as to-read
"His best book�.Ellis's knack for bringing historical figures to life seems so natural you can't imagine him doing anything else." � New York Times Book Review
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Listen to Passionate Sage on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
Strange book that is more like a long ramble or a series of esoteric essays. That is only for those with a lot of background knowledge about the period. Ellis's judgement are as always fair, but ultimately the scope is limited and hurt by his confusing layout. His prose saves the book from utter mediocrity.
John Adams is one of U.S. history's more engaging characters. Ellis does a great job describing Adam's passion and wisdom as he helped with the founding of our Nation. A great book though I found David McCullough's book on John Adams a little more moving.
This is an insightful and interesting study of Adam's charatcer. I enjoyed the book and it was easy to read, despite the fact that some times history books can be dry. Well worth reading.
I find Joseph Ellis to be a lot more even handed towards Mr. Adams than is the ever popular David McCullough, whom I find to have a little too much pollyanna in him.
In my opinion, Joseph Ellis approaches history with the mindset of a psychologist and I find this a unique and refreshing perspective.
Adams and Jefferson...what a pair!
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Joseph J. Ellis, a professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, is a nationally recognized scholar of American history from colonial times through the early decades of the Republic. The author of seven books, he is recipient of the National Book Award in Nonfiction for American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson and the Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers. He lives in Massachusetts.
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