John Adams by David McCullough Review
When I'm not reading a theology book, I also love to surround myself with American history. A couple of weeks ago I saw John Adams by David McCullough on the clearance rack for about five dollars. I didn't know anything about it (come to find out it's actually pretty popular), so I picked it up. I was off work for two days, and I sat and read it in those two days. It's absolutely phenomenal. I thought it would be appropriate to review it coming up on Independence Day, or the "Day of Deliverance," as Adams called it.
The book and the author
It's 651 pages long, with an additional 100 pages of notes and an index. I do love it when indexes are in the back of books.
David McCullough was born on July 7, 1933, and was 88 years old when I recorded this. He's a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a winner of the National Book Award, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award. He married Rosalee Barnes, whom he met at 17 in Pittsburgh, and they have five children and 19 grandchildren.
What it's like to read
The moment I opened it and started page one, I felt like I was there. Such good and powerful writing, and such detail. He could tell you what the temperature was. The only thing I wish it had included was Adams's childhood. It starts you right on the road to Philadelphia, cold and icy, going at an extremely slow pace. To be fair, it's already a massive volume.
It's laid out in three parts (Revolution, Distant Shores, and Independence Forever) and twelve chapters: The Road to Philadelphia, True Blue, Colossus of Independence, Appointment to France, Unalterably Determined, Abigail in Paris, London, Heir Apparent, Old Oak, Statesman, Rejoice Ever More, and Journey's End.
John Witherspoon, whose works I've also reviewed on the channel, pops up several times because he signed the Declaration. He's one of my favorites of that era.
Was Adams a Christian?
That was one of the reasons I bought the book. I'm trying to grow my Christian American history section, and I wasn't sure. Adams disliked one man in part because he found his habitual mocking of Christianity offensive, and religion filled much of his later correspondence with Jefferson. I took those as encouragements.
But at one point Adams writes to Jefferson that the love of God and His creation, and delight, joy, triumph and exaltation in his own existence, are his religion. In my margin I wrote: Forget not His holiness. This is a vital part of true Christianity. He is a God of holy love, holy joy and holy triumph, and we must remember His holy justice and holy wrath too. God Himself is our religion, not those things in themselves. I left the book still not entirely sure, though I'm willing to assume he was a Christian based on some things he said.
Two great book lovers
Adams's notes in the margins of one book ran to some 12,000 words. I maybe have 200 in mine! In his first month in Paris he couldn't buy books fast enough, and he acquired about 2,000 books in France, besides buying them by the boxful for Washington, Franklin and Madison. McCullough calls Adams and Jefferson two of the greatest book lovers of their bookish generation. Adams's library numbered 3,200 volumes, and still he wished he had a hundred thousand. (I joke that he died wishing for a hundred thousand books, and I shall die fulfilled. That's a joke!) In his last years he even slept in his library room.
Some other things worth mentioning
- When McCullough gives the population of a town, he often says so many "souls" rather than just a number. As a Christian, it gave me time to meditate on the value of each of those persons.
- Adams's relationship with his wife, Abigail, is truly lovely, and their letters were extremely touching.
- His godly attributes and his ability to stay above reproach. In Paris he was constantly bombarded with sexual temptations, but never caved.
- His ability to think wisely about political science and philosophy, and to stand up for what he believed.
Do I recommend it?
Absolutely. It's definitely worth the read, though with such a big book it may take a while. I'm trying to convince my brother to read it too. Are there better books on this era? There are so many books on early America that you could spend your entire life reading them and never finish, so I'm not going to answer that. It's a great book.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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