Events & Classes > Collins Gallery > John Adams Unbound > Books, films and web sites about John Adams
Books, films and web sites about John Adams
Books for adult readers
- Adams, John
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B-A2136my 2007The lives of this remarkable couple unfold alongside events of the Revolutionary War era, a time in which John left his family for prolonged periods to serve his colony and country. Their engaging exchanges follow John's career from provincial lawyer and farmer in Braintree, Massachusetts, to delegate to the Continental Congresses in Philadelphia, to diplomatic success in Europe.
- Adams, John
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973.44 A214r 2000This book presents the principal shorter writings in which Adams addresses the prospect of revolution and the form of government proper to the new United States.
- Adams, John
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973.4 A22sJohn Adams and Benjamin Rush met in 1774 as members of the Continental Congress--Adams from Massachusetts, Rush from Pennsylvania. In 1805, after Adams was defeated in his quest of a second term as the new republic's second President, the two men self-consciously commenced an exchange of letters. Their recurring subject was fame, crucial to both because they believed their reputations were critical to how future generations would view the Revolution, the Constitution and republican government.
- Blumrosen, Alfred W.
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973.311 B658s 2005Slave Nation offers a well-informed and radically different view of the profound role that slavery played in the founding of the Republic through the creation of the Constitution. This history describes how a decision in the High Court of London in 1772 freeing a British slave so terrified the southern slaveholders that ironically they joined the American Revolution and the battle for freedom to ensure the preservation of slavery itself.
- Bradley, Patricia
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on orderA rich and rewarding investigation of the role of the newspapers in defining race, color, and slavery at the birth of the American nation. Bradley's analysis of slavery as metaphor in revolutionary-era journalism becomes a powerful explanation of how the patriot press found the language that disseminated ideas and attitudes on free African Americans and slaves.
- Brown, Ralph A.
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on orderAdams is seldom designated as one of the great American presidents and has been judged in terms of descriptions written by his personal enemies and political detractors. This volume however, presents a new evaluation of John Adams and on the most significant aspect of Adam's presidency. This John Adams emerges as a world citizen who insight, judgement, and perserverance held the young nation together in a critical period.
- Butterfield, L. H. (Lyman Henry)
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R- B-A219a Ser.2 v. 1-6"The Adams Family Correspondence," Mr. Butterfield writes, "is an unbroken record of the changing modes of domestic life, religious views and habits, travel, dress, servants, food, schooling, reading, health and medical care, diversions, and every other conceivable aspect of manners and taste among the members of a substantial New England family who lived on both sides of the Atlantic and wrote industriously to each other over a period of more than a century."
- Diggins, John P.
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on orderAdams biographer, John Patrick Diggins, gathers an impressive variety of his works in this compact, original volume, including parts of his diary and autobiography, and selections from his rich correspondence with this wife, Abigail, Thomas Jefferson, and others. It also features his most important political works: A Dissertation on Canon and Feudal Law, Thoughts on Government, A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, Novanglus, and Discourses in Davila.
- Ellis, Joseph J.
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on orderThomas Jefferson and John Adams were once considered equally important fathers of the American Revolution, but over time Jefferson's reputation became enshrined and Adam's faded. In this thoughtful study of Adams in retirement, Joseph J. Ellis takes a fresh look at this astute, likable quirky statesman and his achievements.
- Gelles, Edith Belle
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B-A2136ge 2009This title is the first full-length joint biography of this extraordinary couple, who were married for 54 years. As much a romance as it is a lively chapter in early American history, Abigail and John is an inspirational portrait of a couple who endured the turmoil and trials of a revolution, and in so doing paved the way for the birth of a nation.
- Larson, Edward J.
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324.973 L334m 2007This was America's first true presidential campaign, giving birth to our two-party system and indelibly etching the lines of partisanship that have so profoundly shaped American politics ever since. The contest featured two of our most beloved Founding Fathers, once warm friends, facing off as the heads of their two still-forming parties -- the hot-tempered but sharp-minded John Adams, and the eloquent yet enigmatic Thomas Jefferson -- flanked by the brilliant tacticians Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, who later settled their own differences in a duel.
- McCullough, David G.
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B-A2136m 2001The Pulitzer Prize-winning title that is more than just a biography - this book looks at the birth of a young republic and explores the extraordinary factors that transformed thirteen colonies into a united nation. Here a preeminent master of narrative history takes on the most fascinating of our founders to create a benchmark for all Adams biographers. This title is the basis of the HBO miniseries "John Adams," which is available at your library.
- Nagel, Paul C.
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929.2 A219n 1999There has never been any doubt that the Adams family was America's first family in our politics and memory. This well researched and insightful book is a multigenerational biography of that family from the founder father John through the mordant writer Brooks.
- Peterson, Merrill D.
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B-A2136pDrawing heavily on the original Adams-Jefferson letters and other primary sources, Peterson demonstrates why these two men became friends and traces the course of their fifty year friendship. This work provides new insights even for those familiar with the correspondence.
- Vidal, Gore
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973.4 V648i 2003Vidal provides us with his uniquely irreverent take on America's founding fathers, bringing them to life at key moments of decision in the birthing of our nation. This entertaining and enlightening reappraisal of the Founders is a must for buffs of American civilization and its discontents.
There are many collections of Adam's writings, edited by different scholars and authors. To find more of these works, search for Adams, John, 1735-1826.
Web sites
- John Adams Library at the BPL
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http://johnadamslibrary.org/The website created by the Boston Public Library for the gallery exhibit mounted by the library in 2006, the first public display of Adams’s complete 3,500-book collection.
- PBS' American Experience: John & Abigail Adams
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/adams/Site to support the "American Experience" series The Presidents, it includes information about Adams’s library.
- The White House: John Adams
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ja2.htmlA biography of John Adams is among other Presidential biographies on the White House web site.
- Internet Archive: The John Adams Library at the Boston Public Library
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http://www.archive.org/details/johnadamsBPLDownload manuscripts from the Adams collection.
- Adams National Historical Park
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http://www.nps.gov/adam/index.htmInformation about the Adams National Historic Park in Massachusetts.
- Massachusetts Historical Society: Adams Resources
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http://www.masshist.org/adams/Home of the Adams Papers editorial project and many other collections of primary resources related to the John Adams and his successors.
- American Presidents: Life Portraits - John Adams
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http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=2Support materials from the C-SPAN presidential series.
- Avalon Project - John Adams Papers
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http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/adamspap.aspAdams papers from the Avalon Project—Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale University.
- POTUS - John Adams
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http://www.potus.com/jadams.htmlAdams facts and resources from ipl2: information you can trust
Films and video
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DVD Drama JOHN(2008)The seven-part series “John Adams” chronicles the extraordinary life journey of one of the primary shapers of our independence and government, whose legacy has often been eclipsed by more flamboyant contemporaries like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin. Set against the backdrop of a nation’s stormy birth, this sweeping miniseries celebrates the shared values of liberty and freedom upon which this country was built. Starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams, directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Kirk Ellis and Michelle Ashford from David McCullough’s book, John Adams is the incredible saga of a man who dreamed a nation and watched it come true.
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DVD Musicals SEVENTEEN(1972)The film version of the Broadway musical comedy of the same name. In the days leading up to July 4, 1776, Continental Congressmen John Adams and Benjamin Franklin coerce Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence as a delaying tactic as they try to persuade the American colonies to support a resolution on independence. As George Washington sends depressing messages describing one military disaster after another, the businessmen, landowners and slave holders in Congress all stand in the way of the Declaration, and a single “nay” vote will forever end the question of independence. Large portions of spoken and sung dialog are taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the actual participants. Available from a number of distributors.
