Chapter 12

[Alexander]

LAST CHAPTER. WE MADE IT.

[Patti]

Thanks be to God.

[Patti]

Because I gave my quasi-review of the book back a couple of chapters, I'm sure all are pretty aware of my general feelings about it, and I won't rehash all that. I now have the benefit of a little distance, however, and I will say that McCullough has succeeded in painting a vivid picture of our second president. It is so well-researched, so full of detail, replete with quotations from the writings of Adams and his contemporaries. There is no denying Adams's considerable intellect and his unwavering dedication to the creation of an independent America from the earliest signs of the War through the first half of the 1790s. No less admirable is the depiction of the relationship between John and the remarkable Abigail, his "soul-mate" in so many ways. (Yes, she is remarkable, although to me, not very likable.) McCullough obviously greatly admires his subject, yet overall he manages to convey that Adams also had his flaws. I'll give him that.

I did enjoy reading this final chapter: a picture of Adams in retirement, in contentment and in loss; a tireless reader and letter-writer, never afraid to voice an opinion. Particularly interesting was the correspondence between Adams and Jefferson. (To me, Adams did seem the more committed writer of the two.)

In the end, I have to say that McCullough's book must be the most complete picture we have of this founding father's life -- I say that not having read any other so take that as you will. While it is undoubtedly a great biography, there are those things I've mentioned in previous comments that were off-putting to me. McCullough is obviously a great admirer of Adams -- I get it. And I get that he sympathizes (perhaps to the point of identifying) with Adams in his assessment of his enemies. I feel, however, that the book suffers because of an overly critical view of these enemies, and in particular (you know what I am going to say) of Hamilton. He draws on that toxic, overwrought, unforgiving narrative of Hamilton as an evil, Napoleonic conniver, which Adams and others propagated, and I feel this mars an otherwise excellent work; hence, my rating of four stars and not five. I concede that I am perhaps letting my own assessment of Hamilton color my opinion of the book.

That said, I am glad I read the book, albeit kicking and screaming much of the way.

And again, I have managed to write too much. Apologies all around.

[Patti]

Oh! oh! I forgot I wanted to share a couple of quotes I particularly liked in Chapter 12!

(McCullough writes:) "To be charged with a surfeit of ambition cut deepest, it would appear. An overweening ambition was the flaw Adams so often attributed to others, that he warned his sons against, and that privately he recognized in himself. But to see it brought against him in print was another matter. 'Ambition . . . is the most lively in the most intelligent and most generous minds,' he asserted."

(Adams writes:) "I damn nobody... I am an atom of intellect with millions of solar systems over my head, under my feet, on my right hand, on my left, before me, and my adoration of the intelligence that contrived and the power that rules the stupendous fabric is too profound to believe them capable of anything unjust or cruel."

(McCullough:) "He felt he had lived in the greatest of times, that the eighteenth century, as he also told Jefferson, was for all its errors and vices 'the most honorable' to human nature. 'Knowledge and virtues were increased and diffused; arts, sciences useful to man, ameliorating their condition, were improved, more than in any period.'"

(Adams:) “Griefs upon griefs! Disappointments upon disappointments. What then? This is a gay, merry world notwithstanding.”

OK, enough from me. Onward.

[Jane]

Thank you Patti for your thoughtful review. I agree with your statements. The bias was pretty evident; I chose to overlook it as it was expected in a book dedicated to Adams. And I would expect the same in a fawning bio of Jefferson (ew).

[Patti]

Thanks, Jane.

You know how defensive I get about H.