Rescued from Second Place in History ; President John Adams Wins Overdue Accolades in David McCullough's Searching Biography

Beginning of article

There are shelves of books devoted to the Founding Fathers. Washington, Jefferson, Frank-lin, and Hamilton have all had numerous biographers. However, few writers have seriously considered John Adams, and consequently, he is much less well known than his compatriots.

This is not surprising. Adams had the bad fortune to follow Washington to the presidency and to precede Jefferson. His tenure lasted just one term. He lacked the physical stature of Washington and Jefferson. They were tall and slender, he was short and fat. To the extent that he is known today, it is probably because he was, until recently, the only president whose son also served as president. …