I'd never given the HBO miniseries "John Adams" much thought until
Holly mentioned it in a blog post a while back. I dug around and found out that it was going to be released on Blu-ray, so I added it to my Netflix queue and then quickly forgot about it. Well, the first disc finally showed up late last week, and we watched the first two episodes over the weekend. The last two discs in the series came in the mail yesterday, and we watched the five remaining episodes last night. It ended up being more interesting than I had expected. I mean, really--what do most Americans know about John Adams, beyond the fact that he was our second president? Not a whole lot, I think, which might lead you to believe that what you're about to watch is going to be a boring biography about a forgotten president. Fortunately, "John Adams" is much more than that, and John Adams the man was much more than a president. He was a patriot, a vice-president, an ambassador, one of the Founding Fathers and a family man, albeit not the most loving husband or father.
Like most TV programs of a historical nature, some liberties were taken with the stories depicted in the show, but all in all, you come away from "John Adams" knowing more about the man and some of the other Founding Fathers while feeling like you've watched a well produced, well acted epic about the birth of the United States. The little lady wants me to go out and buy it, and she rarely makes such requests any more.
Yes, "John Adams" is good and well worth the time you'll spend on it. Recommended.
The class I'm taking right now is US History Pre-1877 and we've dealt a lot with the birth of the nation and stuff. Absolutely fascinating stuff.
ReplyDeleteJohn Adams was an interesting person to say the very least. It's unfortunate because a lot of people believe that his legacy has been hidden due to the lies and misinformation Thomas Jefferson printed about him during their presidential race when Adams lost to Jefferson.
Another interesting aspect of John Adams was his wife Abigail. In that time, the wives of the founding fathers destroyed any personal correspondence. Martha Washington burned all but two or three letters her and George exchanged during the Revolutionary War. The Adams family kept everything, so it's the most complete record we have of the personal lives of any of the founding fathers and the only female account of the Revolutionary War period. They've been published many times. In fact, there is a lady named Edith Gelles who's spent her entire life studying the Adams' and their lives together. She just published a book called Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage and came to UVU to discuss it. We attended it for class. It was an interesting presentation, though not the most informative.
Here's her take on this HBO series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC6MzsxXOkw
The required reading for this class was 1776 by David McCullough. He also wrote the biography this miniseries is based on. I haven't read John Adams, but after 1776, I've been planning on picking it up. I'd definitely recommend reading 1776 if you get a chance and, despite not reading it, I'd say John Adams would be a good read as well (and both are available for kindle).
I'm jealous you've got that class. Even though American history was always my least favorite flavor, I've always been a history buff and have loved the subject. Haven't taken a history class since 2000, but I still read stuff online all the time.
ReplyDeleteI've heard lots of good things about McCullough's books, but haven't read them. Maybe I should.
We visited the Adams' farm, Peaceville, when we were in Boston in May. The picture painted of the Adams (especially Abigail) was somewhat different than the HBO miniseries, particularly Abigail's involvement in John's political career. In any case, watching "John Adams" made the visit that much more meaningful. If you ever get the chance, Boston is well worth checking out for American history. After that trip, Boston ranks as one of our favorite places in the US.
Yeah, after reading 1776 I've been really interested in visiting Boston. The first section of that book obviously takes place during the stand off between the Colonists and the British who were occupying Britain at the time.
ReplyDeleteI think you would really like McCullough's stuff, because it's not the sugar coated mythology we're taught about the founding fathers. A lot of the book is centered around George Washington and who he actually was. While he was still a great man, he's obviously not the saint he's often portrayed as. He almost lost us the war on many occasions. In fact, John Adams and the rest of the Continental Congress telling him he wasn't allowed to attack in Boston kept us from losing the war completely.
Another interesting thing my teacher has mentioned is that Washington being appointed General over the Continental Army was more a political move to get Virginia involved in the war. Washington was from Virginia and they figured if they appointed him General, they'd have a better chance at gaining troops and overall support from that colony.
I've been so fascinated with this period of history lately. It's much more interesting when you're given the opportunity to learn the realities of the situation as opposed to the folklore.
Oops... I said occupying Britain... I meant Boston.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you watched it and you and "the little lady" liked it. I never finished the book though. I enjoyed what I read, but I found that it would be easier if I had larger chunks of time to read. I kept forgetting what had happened and then I'd have to re-read parts. That's why I read junk like Twilight, much easier to start and stop with a "mom schedule".
ReplyDeletei've read john adams, and i own the miniseries. really enjoyed both of them. i started 1776, but been a bit distracted recently. hoping to read more american history books. did B like it as much as you did?
ReplyDeleteShe liked it even more than I did, actually.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Revolutionary War history. Becca told me you guys watched it and I'll have to rent it sometime. I've read a few of David McCullough's books and he's great at keeping things interesting. A good follow up book for 1776 is George Washington's War by Bruce Chadwick. This book continues on after that following mostly George Washington of course, but also talks about them establishing the Presidency. Pretty interesting stuff. I feel bad for John Adams. Must have been hard to be President after a man some people deemed a God. Not to mention all the political infighting going on.
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