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    First Family: Abigail and John Adams
    Unavailable
    First Family: Abigail and John Adams
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    First Family: Abigail and John Adams
    Audiobook11 hours

    First Family: Abigail and John Adams

    Written by Joseph J. Ellis

    Narrated by Kimberly Farr

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The Pulitzer Prize-winning, best-selling author of Founding Brothers and His Excellency brings America's preeminent first couple to life in a moving and illuminating narrative that sweeps through the American Revolution and the republic's tenuous early years.
    John and Abigail Adams left an indelible and remarkably preserved portrait of their lives together in their personal correspondence: both Adamses were prolific letter writers (although John conceded that Abigail was clearly the more gifted of the two), and over the years they exchanged more than twelve hundred letters. Joseph J. Ellis distills this unprecedented and unsurpassed record to give us an account both intimate and panoramic; part biography, part political history, and part love story.

    Ellis describes the first meeting between the two as inauspicious-John was twenty-four, Abigail just fifteen, and each was entirely unimpressed with the other. But they soon began a passionate correspondence that resulted in their marriage five years later.

    Over the next decades, the couple were separated nearly as much as they were together. John's political career took him first to Philadelphia, where he became the boldest advocate for the measures that would lead to the Declaration of Independence. Yet in order to attend the Second Continental Congress, he left his wife and children in the middle of the war zone that had by then engulfed Massachusetts. Later he was sent to Paris, where he served as a minister to the court of France alongside Benjamin Franklin. These years apart stressed the Adamses' union almost beyond what it could bear: Abigail grew lonely, while the Adams children suffered from their father's absence.

    John was elected the nation's first vice president, but by the time of his reelection, Abigail's health prevented her from joining him in Philadelphia, the interim capital. She no doubt had further reservations about moving to the swamp on the Potomac when John became president, although this time he persuaded her. President Adams inherited a weak and bitterly divided country from George Washington. The political situation was perilous at best, and he needed his closest advisor by his side: "I can do nothing," John told Abigail after his election, "without you."

    In Ellis's rich and striking new history, John and Abigail's relationship unfolds in the context of America's birth as a nation.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 26, 2010
    ISBN9780739368756
    Unavailable
    First Family: Abigail and John Adams

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    Reviews for First Family

    4/5

    77 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I very much enjoyed this book and give it closer to a 4.5 rating. I love reading about John and Abigail Adams and their family and this book was obviously all about their personal and public lives. There was nothing new in this book in terms of the role the Adams family played in the Revolutionary Period, but I loved the sections on their marriage, parenting, friendships, and all other aspects of their personal relationships. I think Ellis was fair in his evaluations of their personal and political successes and failures. Excellent book.
    • 3/5
      Enjoyable book about the relationship between these two influential Americans. I got a good sense of their motivations and personalities. So sad that their children were such disappointments. Even the son that became a President seemed to be a git. I wish the author would have included the gripping account of the breast removal as I read that narrative years ago and it is still with me, even more so now that I have gone through breast cancer treatment. I got a completely different view of Franklin which makes my understanding of this time of history even more developed.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the best biographies, perhaps the best, I've ever read. Or in this case, listened to, as I experienced it on audio CD's. It gives a full, surely a definitive portrait of second U.S. President and Revolutionary spark plug, John Adams. His private life, especially his relationship with his family and above all with his wife Abigail, is covered extensively as well as his public life and accomplishments, his personality, his contributions, his frustrations, his wisdom and his wit -- all rendered lucidly, readably, and even-handedly. Joseph Ellis has done a masterful job of writing, and made his own real contribution to history with this excellent book. And the narrator, Kimberly Farr, also does an exemplary job, bringing an excellent book to life. Highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      Great book! This is a great read if you would like to dig deep into the psyche of some of the Founding Fathers and Mothers.
    • 4/5
      Interesting look at the letters between Abigail and John Adams over the course of their 54 year marriage. Researched in great detail.... but still a little "dry."
    • 4/5
      Easy to read. Interesting and revealing, this study of the letters between John and Abigail Adams creates a realistic snapshot of the political and personal lives of this founding family. The two historical figures come to life on the page. Much recommended.
    • 5/5
      Excellent! I've read a good bit about John Adams (and, via his story, Abigail). But Ellis' book really focuses on an amazing relationship of two amazing people in extraordinary times. And his laid back style is welcoming!
    • 5/5
      Perhaps a book on the marriage of John and Abigail Adams seems to many like a writer scratching for ideas, but I'm amazed that there aren't several books on the topic already. Not only are the two principles well-documented and the subject of several individual biographies, but, more importantly for historians, their correspondence is extensive and largely preserved, offering a treasure-trove of material to would-be authors. Even more, these letters, especially during the American Revolution, cover topics from momentous political decisions to Abigail's challenges in maintaining the family farm and raising children largely on her own, providing primary evidence for a range of historians.Then I remember that one half of the couple is John Adams, who is generally regarded as a vainglorious little man who fails to measure up to other Founding Fathers, especially George Washington. While I find such conventional wisdom to be wrong, even those who are sympathetic to John Adams must admit that he is often scolding and overbearing in tone and easily wounded by, and hyper-reactive to, the perceived slights of others. In short, he is not the sort of person you want to 'get up with and go to bed with each day,' in the description of biographical writing often used by Doris Kearns Goodwin.Happily, Joseph Ellis, professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, has spent many such years getting up and going to bed with Adams, alongside other towering figures of the years surrounding the American Revolution and early republic. Perhaps best known as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Founding Brothers," the brilliant biographical snapshot of the age, Ellis has previously written a full biography of John Adams. Moreover, alongside his thorough understanding of the context of those years of upheaval, Ellis has a great talent for illuminating the characters of the larger than life figures of the era in his books.In "First Family," Ellis offers a well-considered portrait of the marriage of John and Abigail Adams. Drawing from their extensive correspondence, both between themselves when they were separated due to John's governmental responsibilities and from each of them to others, Ellis fleshes out the mutual dependence which characterized their marriage. Despite frequent physical separation, they relied on each other for counsel and support. John not only trusted Abigail to manage the farm in his absence during the war, he valued her political instincts and advice; Abigail came to expect not only instructions on household affairs, but substantial attention and concern about the children. Also, Ellis consistently presents their obvious love for and devotion to each other.While their partnership conforms to many contemporary understandings of marriage, for its time it was rather unique. The demands of wartime separation thrust Abigail -- and many other women -- into new responsibilities usually reserved for men. But Abigail demanded, and John seems to have expected, that she be an almost equal partner in their marriage even beyond the wartime years, which makes their marriage a significant foreshadowing of the women's movement that would begin in subsequent generations of American history. It also was a marriage with significant political consequences for American history -- beyond John's active role in politics until 1800, their eldest son John Quincy Adams would serve in government his entire life, also rising to the presidency; in the next generation, Charles Francis Adams would serve in the sensitive position as ambassador to England during the American Civil War (and one of his sons, Henry Adams, would write important histories of the early years of the United States).For students of the period, "First Family" covers familiar ground; still, it is marked by Ellis' consistent good judgment in interpreting the sometimes conflicting evidence and filling in the gaps between pieces of evidence. As with his other books, it is beautifully written (perhaps especially so when Ellis seamlessly incorporates material quoted from personal letters by John and Abigail) and shows a depth of research.
    • 5/5
      What can I say? I was moved and touched by this great work. This is a must for anyone who loves America and wants to understand her history.
    • 4/5
      In a similar vein to Ellis’s other books on the nation’s founders (First Brothers, Revolutionary Summer, Thomas Jefferson: American Sphinx) Ellis gives us a close look at two who are among the most notable of the pantheon: John and Abigail Adams. The couple left volumes of personal letters that let us peer into the political issues of their times, their personalities and their deep marital relationship. The letters provide the basis for greater understand of the tumultuous times and events. We see the successes as well as the failures and frustrations that the founders experienced without, valuably, the rose-colored glasses (or politically motivated distortion) too often seen today.John Adams was one of the most skillful instigators of the political decisions that led the colonies to strike for independence from Britain. Clearly no founder deserves more credit for maneuvering the disparate and conflicting ideas and factions into the unity that severed the colonial ties with England. As a man, Adams was highly ambitious and decidedly vain; he was constantly motivated by his craving to be remembered and venerated by future generations. He was impulsive and often agitated, traits that Abigail worked hard to help him keep under control. Adams picked up the reputation in the years of and following his presidency of being a closet monarchist. This was undeserved, but Adams did hold a large measure of skepticism about wisdom of the masses that were apt to be swayed by demagoguery and passions of the moment. Adams was a staunch believer in the powers of the central government and he aligned with the federalist faction, although he and Hamilton became bitter enemies. His views were quite contrary to those of Jefferson who tended to support the primacy of the states over a central authority. He and Jefferson, once on the friendliest terms, became estranged during Washington’s administration. Jefferson became Adams’s vice-president due to the flaw in the constitutional method of presidential elections that resulted in the runner-up taking the vice-presidency (soon fixed by the twelfth amendment). As Adams’s subordinate Jefferson is shown to be devious and disloyal to an extreme degree. His manipulations played a part in Adams’s failure to be elected to a second term. In the late years of both men’s lives they reconciled and exchanged a remarkable correspondence. (In one of history’s most poignant coincidences, these two giants died on July 4, 1826 within hours of each other.) Adams often made decisions from perspectives that ran counter to popular views; he believed that his contrary views supported their correctness. As president he held firm to the unpopular decision to remain neutral in France’s conflict with Britain when opposing factions either favored war with France or unfettered support for revolutionary France. He is long forgotten as the father of the US Navy, built at his insistence to thwart any ambitions of the Europeans with their powerful naval forces. He is often remembered for his most egregious decision to advocate for and sign the Alien and Sedition Act, a law aimed at silencing critics of his administration. What is too little recognized today is his belief in the separation of powers among the executive, legislature and judiciary, a concept he introduced with his authorship of the Massachusetts Commonwealth’s constitution. His “midnight” appointment of John Marshall as chief justice, much resented by successor Jefferson, turned out to have profound impact securing the role of the court in our democracy.Abigail Adams was a remarkable woman for her times, perhaps for any time. Without formal education and in a society that expected women to eschew political opinions, she was deeply knowledgeable of the political issues that her husband and the country faced. Her advice to him was cogent and sophisticated and he relied heavily on her guidance in reaching his judgments. She was attuned to his weaknesses – his vanity and impulsiveness – and could mitigate the consequences of these traits through her advice to him. John and Abigail were a perfect balance for each other and both had not only deep affection but also complete mutual respect. Ellis points out that we owe to John’s frequent absences from home at Congress or abroad the presence of the volumes of correspondence they shared. Although certainly a hindsight perspective, Abigail can be said to be a forerunner of feminism and notions of gender equality – her complaints about the subordinate status of women in politics and the law are seen in her letters. The book tells us much about the Adams’s family. John Quincy was the favored son and his parents’ high expectations and demands for his success as an adult were realized. The other Adams’s offspring did not fare so well. Charles became and alcoholic and died an early death. Thomas floundered in his legal profession and took to drink. Nabby had a bad marriage and succumbed to breast cancer while still young.Ellis would claim that John and Abigail remain the foremost political couple that our nation has seen. One must agree. Franklin and Eleanor were powerful players on the nation’s stage, but her influence seemed to run parallel to his, not conjoined. Bill and Hillary? While effective political partners, one suspects that ambition undergirds the relationship, not affection as was the case of the Adams. One aside about letters. The qualities of the correspondence shared between the Adams – introspective, thoughtful, expository, lengthy, etc. – are not features of today’s electronic media. One can’t imagine the richness of the Adams’s letters surviving the world of tweeting, instagram and Facebook.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: John and Abigail Adams, in a way, knew that they were making history. They preserved much of their personal correspondence and journals for future generations. Luckily for history, they spent much of their marriage apart. Abigail stayed at their home in Quincy raising family and keeping the household, while John traveled for diplomatic purposes. When he became vice president, her health prevented her from joining him. She did finally join him at her side for his presidency.Pros: The book was enjoyable and appeared to be thoroughly researched. Ellis included quotations from the letters and journals. He really tried to capture what the Adams' were feeling and their thoughts about the developing nation.Cons: I thought he portrayed Abigail a bit weaker thought she was, especially regarding the couple's time apart. I visited the Adams National Historic Site last year, and my impression was that she was a lot stronger.Overall good book - recommended