American history Dear Mr President

摘要

John adams, second president of the United States, is hardly an obscure or neglected historical figure, but he has received nothing like the attention lavished, in his own day and ever since, upon his partners in the winning of American independence: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. That is one good reason for welcoming a new biography. Another is the standing of the biographer. David McCullough is widely known for his remarkable life of Harry Truman, and has also written (with much else) a deservedly acclaimed history of the Brooklyn Bridge. Any new book by him will be opened with eager confidence. Finally, every generation needs its own interpretation of the great events and individuals of history, and it is 40 years now since the last big Adams biography, by Page Smith.