In the last ten years, I’ve found myself with a burning desire to learn more about our Founding Fathers here in the United States. I’ve listened to arguments by many Originalists who try to assert they know what those men who broke off from England and created this country would have wanted in our modern era. However, they are usually basing those assertions on the white-washed, fairy-tale history we are presented in school, rather than the reality of what these men said and did and why.

John Adams was next on my list after reading some disparaging comments about him in books about Alexander Hamilton. The truth is, these men did not get along a lot of the time. I wanted to know why. David McCullough won a Pulitzer Prize for this tome about John Adams, which goes a long way to dispelling some of the myths about this man.

Adams’ history around Massachusetts is well-known. He was part of a very large family which included Samuel Adams among his relations. His father was a hard-working farmer who believed in educating his children. Young John Adams was sent to Harvard to study law and embarked on a successful law career. He met his wife, Abigail, who was a member of another local family and they settled in Braintree, not far from Boston.

Although Adams believed that the British were mistreating the colonists, he was also committed to justice and the right to a defense, which is how he ended up defending the soldiers who were involved in the Boston Massacre. He was so well-regarded by those in Massachusetts that he was elected to to Continental Congress. While there, he advocated for self-rule for the colonies, no matter the cost.

McCullough has faithfully reprinted many of the speeches Adams gave while in Congress, along with the many letters he wrote. The research is very in-depth and I think there was a surprising amount of material to work with. Unlike other biographies which have to rely on conjecture, McCullough creates a narrative in time based on Adams’ own writing and what others wrote and said about him.

After listening to this, I don’t think Adams gets the credit he deserves as a Founding Father. People seem to view his one-term Presidency as a failure, but he actually accomplished quite a bit. This was especially true in regard to the creation of the United States Navy, and saving the country from entering a war with France when it seemed that was what most of the other politicians wanted. In addition, he served the country as a representative in Paris during the Revolution and helped secure loans that financed the war effort, not just in France but in Holland as well. He also served as a representative to England after the war, trying to work with the King to secure trade agreements.

I particularly enjoyed listening to some of the letters between Adams and Thomas Jefferson once they were both out of the public eye. They had a great relationship in France. Abigail Adams was close to Jefferson’s daughter and the families got along well until Jefferson became Adams’ Vice-President. However, their friendship reconciled in later years and it was so interesting to hear what they said to each other. They also died on the same day, July 4, 1826.

The audiobook is performed well. Nelson Runger reads the material fine, but I found there were long breaks where I actually checked if I had accidentally paused the reading. In addition, there were times he breathed very heavily and/or smacked his lips and I was very distracted. It wasn’t a constant throughout the book, but it was enough that I could say I’ve heard better books. I wouldn’t personally choose him as a narrator.

At just shy of 30 hours, this is a long book to listen to. However, I recommend it based on people needing to learn more about this country’s history. We cannot get a full picture of this era from history textbooks, especially those that have to be approved by locations in this country that wish to present the fairy-tale. Really, learning more of the intricacies of just what they were up against as well as what it took to accomplish independence is daunting. I don’t ever remember the topic of financing the war coming up in regard to the American Revolution, and that now seems an obvious conundrum to me. McCullough deserved the award for this book, and I now have a greater appreciation for our second President.