"I decided to read David McCullough's John Adams book. This book is not only about John Adams but how our country started, and once you get into this book it is a miracle that we are the country we are today. The major figures that we think about, just the every day boring, weird, strange things they did and just a glimpse into what life was like then through John Adams and his family.

I knew nothing about John Adams except what — he was the second President. I knew nothing about Abigail Adams, and he could not have done — and most of the men could not have done — what they did if the women hadn't stayed home and raised the kids, took care of the businesses and — so yeah, it was all a very surprise.

The book shows again the complexity of what he brought, what Jefferson, Hamilton and Washington brought and how some of the strains, the dynamics, all the issues we deal with today, they were dealing with them. Many of the later issues like the Civil War, like the fight between industrialization and Agrarianism. I mean it was such a different time.

I would recommend read this book if you really want more than a superficial view of how this country got started and just a respect for the research that David McCullough has done. This book gets five stars."

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