John Adams A Life [Paperback]

John Ferling has nearly forty years of experience as a historian of early America. The author of acclaimed histories such asA Leap into the DarkandAlmost a Miracle, he has appeared on many TV and film documentaries on this pivotal period of our history. InJohn Adams: A Life, Ferling offers a compelling portrait of one of the giants of the Revolutionary era.

Drawing on extensive research, Ferling depicts a reluctant revolutionary, a leader who was deeply troubled by the warfare that he helped to make, and a fiercely independent statesman. The book brings to life an exciting time, an age in which Adams played an important political and intellectual role. Indeed, few were more instrumental in making American independence a reality. He performed yeoman's service in the Continental Congress during the revolution and was a key figure in negotiating the treaty that brought peace following the long War of Independence. He held the highest office in the land and as president he courageously chose to pursue a course that he thought best for the nation, though it was fraught with personal political dangers. Adams emerges here a man full of contradictions. He could be petty and jealous, but also meditative, insightful, and provocative. In private and with friends he could be engagingly witty. He was terribly self-centered, but in his relationship with his wife and children his shortcomings were tempered by a deep, abiding love.

John Ferling's masterfulJohn Adams: A Lifeis a singular biography of the man who succeeded George Washington in the presidency and shepherded the fragile new nation through the most dangerous of times.

Preface
Introduction

Part One: Love of Fame
1. Vanity Is My Cardinal Vice
2. Shall I Creep or Fly?
3. To Thine Own Self Be True
4. The Scene of Action

Part Two: An Epocha in History
5. Tea that Bainful Weed
6. Until Our Rights Are Fully Restored
7. We Shall Do Sl#µ