John Adams was born in Massachusetts in 1735. Adams attended Braintree Latin School, where he caused havoc by skipping class and having a general disdain for his teacher. Eventually, he entered Harvard College in 1751. His father wanted him to become a minister, but Adams decided on law as his career. He eventually married his third cousin, Abigail, with whom he had six children. He made a name for himself as a Founding Father through his strong opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765. He was strongly critical via newspapers under his penname Humphrey Ploughjogger, which I thought was ridiculous and couldn't help but giggle every time I read it. Adams served as counsel for the British after the Boston Massacre, because no other lawyer would take them on. He also served on the Continental Congress, helping to draft the list of grievances against the King. He did a lot of diplomatic service to foreign countries. He was the first Vice President of the United States, under George Washington. Eventually, he would go on to serve as the second President of the United States. His presidency saw a few notable moments: the XYZ Affair, Alien and Sedition Acts, the Quasi-War, and the Fries Rebellion. He established the Library of Congress, and also moved the capitol to Washington, D. C. He died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, on July 4, 1826. (Thomas Jefferson died a few hours before Adams on the same day.) He was 90 years old.

David McCullough was an amazing historian. His research is always spectacular. There are a lot of interesting books and other materials listed in his bibliographies for further reading on the subject or the time period in which his books are focused. I greatly enjoy his work, and have not found one that I disliked or have anything negative to say. In fact, the only thing negative that I could come up with about this book is that it was exceptionally long. I am trying to get through all of these unread books of mine, and I had started out reading and listening to the shortest ones first so that I felt like I was making progress. When I got to this big book, I felt slowed down. The writing was wonderful, and it was not dull to read, despite the 700 page count. This author has some really great and informative books on United States history, and I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in US History or who is studying US History to read the books written by this author. They are very valuable.