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In the spirit of his earlier books, Alexander Hamilton: American and Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington, Richard Brookhiser produces an elegant, concise volume drawing on previous scholarship but offering a fresh perspective on four prickly generations of Adamses. Until David McCullough's John Adams became a surprise bestseller, the United States' second president and his descendants seldom had good press. Acknowledging John's essential role in the American Revolution and his son John Quincy's principled fight against slavery, contemporaries and historians nonetheless judged both men poor presidents, characterized by haughty pride and stiff-necked dislike of compromise. Charles Francis Adams, John Quincy's son, lost an almost certain chance to run for president as a Republican in 1872 by disdainfully announcing "that he would reject any nomination that had to be negotiated for;" the most famous book by Charles's son, The Education of Henry Adams (1907), implicitly blames Henry's failure to achieve the prominence of his forefathers on the loss of meaning and coherence in the modern, fragmented world. Tracing the lives and careers of these four men, Brookhiser strikes a balance between their struggles with a daunting heritage and battles with the often unappreciative outer world, identifying "the constant companion of the Adamses" as "the idea of greatness. Am I as great as my ancestors? As great as my contemporaries? Why doesn't the world recognize my greatness?" This proves a sensible organizing principle for his graceful reappraisal of a well-known but not often well-understood family. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
Richard Brookhiser has won a wide and loyal following for his stylish, pointed, and elegant biographies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. In America's First Dynasty, Brookhiser tells the story of America's longest and still greatest dynasty -- the Adamses, the only family in our history to play a leading role in American affairs for nearly two centuries. From John, the self-made, tough-minded lawyer who rose to the highest office in the government he helped create; to John Quincy, the child prodigy who grew up amid foreign royalty, followed his father to the White House, and later reinvented himself as a champion of liberty in Congress; to politician and writer Charles Francis, the only well-balanced Adams; to Henry, brilliant scholar and journalist -- the Adamses achieved longer-lasting greatness than any other American family.
Brookhiser's canvass starts in colonial America, when John Adams had to teach himself the law and ride on horseback for miles to find clients. It does not end until after the Titanic sinks -- Henry had booked a room but changed his plans -- and World War I begins, with Henry near the action in France. The story of this single family offers a short course in the nation's history, because for nearly two hundred years Adams history was American history. The Adamses were accompanied by an impressive cast of characters, from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, to Andrew Jackson and Ulysses Grant, to Teddy Roosevelt. America's First Dynasty offers telling portraits of the great men of our past, and many of the women around them. John and Abigail's great love affair was destined to be repeated by their offspring and offspring's offspring.
As with any family, there was a darker side to the Adams story: many of its members were abject failures. Alcoholism was a familiar specter, and suicide was not unknown. Only one of the four great Adamses was a kind man and father; the others set standards so impossibly high that few of their children could meet them. Yet despite more than a century of difference from John to Henry, certain Adams traits remained the same. In the story of our first and still-greatest family, we can all see something of our own struggles with family, fate, and history.
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"Richard Brookhiser has won a wide and loyal following for his stylish, pointed, and elegant biographies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. In America's First Dynasty, Brookhiser tells the story of America's longest and still greatest dynasty -- the Adamses, the only family in our history to play a leading role in American affairs for nearly two centuries. From John, the self-made, tough-minded lawyer who rose to the highest office in the government he helped create; to John Quincy, the child prodigy who grew up amid foreign royalty, followed his father to the White House, and later reinvented himself as a champion of liberty in Congress; to politician and writer Charles Francis, the only well-balanced Adams; to Henry, brilliant scholar and journalist -- the Adamses achieved longer-lasting greatness than any other American family. Brookhiser's canvass starts in colonial America, when John Adams had to teach himself the law and ride on horseback for miles to find clients. It does not end until after the Titanic sinks -- Henry had booked a room but changed his plans -- and World War I begins, with Henry near the action in France. The story of this single family offers a short course in the nation's history, because for nearly two hundred years Adams history was American history. The Adamses were accompanied by an impressive cast of characters, from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, to Andrew Jackson and Ulysses Grant, to Teddy Roosevelt. America's First Dynasty offers telling portraits of the great men of our past, and many of the women around them. John and Abigail's great love affair was destined to be repeated by their offspring and offspring's offspring.
Customer Reviews:
Half a gill of hard cider.......2007-06-13
I saw this on sale and thought it would be a nice 'chaser' after David McCullough's long but excellent "John Adams" that I was just finishing up. I was right, but barely. It's a well written quick review of the four famous and interesting generations of Adamses. It gets high marks for putting a lot into a small package. Also, all four get equal time, which, given the complexities of each, I appreciated. It did not surprise me that Brookhiser took a less flattering (and more mainstream) view of John Adams than McCullough. But when his disparagment stretched to the following three generations I started to wonder what size burr the author may be sitting on. If you buy Brookhiser's somewhat malignant view of these four, it then begs the question how such an irascible hypocritical set of men could be so successful. Which is neither asked nor answered. It was worth the $5 I paid, but I wouldn't pay full price.
Engaging but in want of more depth........2005-11-17
Throughout much of human history, leaders of nations were the children of leaders of nations. Nearly 230 years ago, a radical notion was advanced in a document that would help to form a new republic: that all men are created equal. Many of those American colonists who declared themselves independent of their king wanted not only to limit the power of the executive but to be sure that they had the ability to choose who that executive would be, rather than to have it pass from father to son. Thus, "only three of the first eight presidents produced potential successors, [and] only three of those sons were considered presidential timber." Two of them were named Adams, and one of them would actually become president.
In America's First Dynasty, Richard Brookhiser uses just under 220 pages to paint compelling biographies of four successive generations of a family from 1735 through 1918, an unusually active one that included two presidents of the United States, a public servant of the republic and his state, and a writer. These men lived through tumultuous and eventful times and played roles in them.
The text appears to be well-researched and is quite readable. Quite a lot of history was packed into a very small number of pages; readers with a good understanding of the times and concurrent history will find their understanding of these characters enhanced. Readers who do not know much of the concurrent history might feel rushed.
In groups of three chapters, each of the subjects is considered. Beginning with John Adams, we're introduced to him already in service of his country, at a dinner party in France. We follow him through the highlights of his professional career, and into retirement. We're suddenly focusing on his son John Quincy, as his career starts at an early age with his father, and how he differs from his brothers, who fall prey to the snare of alcohol. John Quincy himself was distinguished, even becoming president, but (much like his father) was hampered by his distaste for political parties and the method of serving in public office.
Charles Francis Adams married well and held various public offices throughout his career, even running as a candidate for Vice-President on the Free-Soil party ticket. Most of his public life was in state and then federal legislature, followed by a diplomatic appointment by Abraham Lincoln. Brookhiser points out that it is in the family of Charles Francis that the family tendency toward alcoholism is broken.
Henry Adams apparently had no taste for public life, preferring instead to become a writer. Much of the biographical sketch focuses on the creation of his best-known work, The Education of Henry Adams. With only his lineage and his wife's suicide to frame the work, we're left wondering what else Henry did. Perhaps this was Brookhiser's intention: to focus on that which each of the subjects left behind for posterity.
Indeed, after the biographical sketches, we're given several more brief chapters that discuss the family habit of keeping a diary and the writing of history. Brookhiser then attempts to frame much of what we have read, discussing such matters as dynasty and legacy. I found the discussion a bit strange because while various Adamses were clearly concerned with the matter of greatness-returning to the question of who are great men-I was under no impression that the Adamses themselves were much concerned with the legacy of the family. I saw only that they were like every other family, wanting what is best for their children, hoping that they will be of good character and do well for themselves.
Putting the discussion in terms of dynasty might not be so strange when viewed through the lens of history. The fact is that John Adams was there from the founding of the country, and his family remained prominent in American life into the twentieth century. Had Henry fathered children, perhaps the chain of prominent Adamses would be unbroken today.
Given this country's interest in the families that produce presidents, it's hardly any surprise that there would be such interest in a family that produced two presidents, especially in light of the fact that the current president is also the son of a president. In all, America's First Dynasty makes for an engaging read, but the extreme brevity of the biographical sketches left me hoping for more.
Reversion to an Old Style of Historical Biography.......2004-02-27
The old style of biography was much like theatre criticism. The more cleverly you could trash the subject, the more you were -- or felt yourself to be -- a winner. When personality peculiarities made subjects as vulnerable to witticism as John Adams' was, we got decades of historical biographers trying to out-acidify the likes of Bernard Shaw. This style had faded significantly by the time David McCullough wrote a biography of John Adams that was unabashedly laudatory...an open fan letter...clear hero worship!
From Brookhiser's race through four members of the Adams family I learned only two things for sure.
1. The Adams's irritate him.
2. The old adage that "the things you criticize most in others are usually your own worst fault" appears to be true.
The author's rancor calls and raises the rancor he attributes to his subjects. Reading it was an unpleasant experience with little to no redeeming informational or ideational value for anyone but the author's therapist.
Interestin History of famous family........2004-02-05
"America` First Dynasty" by Richard Brookhiser. Sub-titled: "The Adamses, 1713-1918".
Understandably, this book concentrates on the two presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Their contributions as one-term presidents help to establish democracy in the nascent United States. Brookhiser notes that the two Adamses were the first presidents not from Virginia. Much of what John Adams did became precedents for later presidents.
It appears to me that the author makes the tacit assumption that the reader has a fairly good knowledge of American history, so he casually introduces lesser know subjects, such as the "Know Nothing Party " (Native American Party) and the anti-Masonic efforts in upstate New York. This, of course, leads you to things that you want to examine further, but, on the other hand, inhibits the free-flow of the book.
I think that the author is stretching to consider Charles Francis or even Henry Adams as "greats" who were continuing the Adams "dynasty". I did, however, enjoy Brookhiser's "book review" approach to "The Education of Henry Adams" and Henry's book on Mont St. Michel. Perhaps the next book by Brookhiser would be the comparison of the contributions of the Adamses, the Harrisons, the Roosevelts and the Bushes: all presidents who related by blood.
I listened to the seven tapes as I commuted around Boston; excellent reading by Dan Cashman. It is appropriate to note the name of the town of Haverhill is pronounced as HAV AAAA rill by the natives.. The reader sounded it out and said Have Er Hill, which is logical but not the way it is said in Massachusetts. Further, the hometown of the Adamses , Quincy, is said as "QuinZZZy".
Nice Vignettes, but Pointless Talk of Dynasties.......2003-12-13
I've read all of Richard Brookhiser's biographies of the Founding Fathers (Washington, Hamilton, Morris) and I've enjoyed them all, but I liked this one the least. Brookhiser writes very well and his observations on the character of his subjects are always revealing. He shows how often the best quality in a biographer is not polished prose or research skills, but judgment.
In his book on the four generations of Adams, however, Brookhiser overreaches. Had he kept his focus on the men, this would have been a fine if undistinguished book. But Brookhiser appears to be trying to say something about families, American dynasties, and the difficulties of sustaining greatness. What he wanted to say, I could never quite figure out. The wonderful aphoristic quality of Brookhiser's prose -- that makes him so good when writing some sharp and brief observation -- fails him when he must sustain an argument.
An example of this is when Brookhiser writes in his introduction of the contradiction of an egalitarian society having so many political family dynasties, from the Adamses to Bushes. In noting this, he writes "[An American political dynasty] is the tribute democracy pays to aristocracy." This sounds very nice, but it's meaningless. Most of Brookhiser's comments on the significance of American political dynasties and how the Adamses were able to sustain their greatness fall along this line.
Thankfully, most of this book is on the Adamses, and it is when writing on them that Brookhiser shines. Still, the bad ideas -- even though they don't make up a substantial part of the book -- hang over it. Brookhiser is always interesting when writing about a person, but is not at his best when trying to come up with a conceptual framework to make sense of it all.
Average customer rating:
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The John Adamses (First Families)
Cass R. Sandak
Manufacturer: Crestwood House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
 Political
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Historical
| Biographies
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Archaeology
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| United States
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Adams, John
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ASIN: 0896866408 |
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Story of the Adamses (Young folk's library of choice literature)
Helen L Campbell
Manufacturer: Educational Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Presidents & Heads of State
| Leaders & Notable People
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Adams, John
| ( A )
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Leadership
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ASIN: B00089QH0U |
Book Description
The written descriptions are quite eloquent and detailed, successfully making the case that sketching is a method that works in the teaching of literature. Whitin's book should be included on every educator's bookshelf.
- Language Arts
Sketching Stories, Stretching Minds captures the power of young people's visual responses to literature. Working in a community of learners, Phyllis Whitin encouraged her students to respond to their readings through sketched interpretations. Like pieces of writing, the sketches became a vital part of the curriculum as vehicles for discussion and reflective tools for understanding. Her book shows how she implemented the strategyhow she discovered, came to understand, and refined it to fit the needs of her seventh-grade classroom.
From that perspective, the book is a model for high quality teacher research. "I have grown as a teacher by looking closely at classroom events and by inviting students to share their thinking with me," Whitin states in the preface. "I have found that teacher research does not mean 'doing' something 'to' kids. Instead, teacher research is looking closely, listening attentively, and learning collaboratively with my students."
Upper elementary, middle, and high school teachers looking for ways to expand literary interpretation and self-evaluation in the classroom will find Sketching Stories, Stretching Minds invaluable.
Customer Reviews:
Drawing of the Mind.......2001-05-30
Many educators use visual representation as one way of approaching a literary text. In Sketching Stories, Phyllis Whitin expands on this technique, systematizing it and showing how drawing can be used with literature in more complex ways. Whitin calls the technique "sketch to stretch," which she explains as a visual representation (or sketch) of a novel that extends, refines, and deepens (or stretches) a reader's awareness and appreciation of the work. The author has found, as I have, that readers' responses to literature are enriched when they approach the text in a variety of ways. Sketching Stories, Stretching Minds focuses primarily on Whitin's experiences with an academically talented class of seventh graders. Whitin adds that students of all abilities and varying grade levels have responded well to her efforts. She makes clear that this is only one of many possible approaches. This book offers a useful, enjoyable approach to literature beyond the standard book report.
Book Description
Starting with simple projects to help build your confidence, Sketching School will be your personal tutor, showing you step-by-step how to develop the basic artistic skills you need to produce quality sketches. 40 specially devised projects.
Customer Reviews:
Less Technique, More Inspiration.......2006-07-11
"Projects" is a misnomer. This book promises 40 "projects" and a host of other sketches and whatnot, but I can't really call the "projects" in this book by that name-they're more like sentences describing what exactly to shoot for but not how to get there. Then again, technique is not this book's forte. Rather, it strives to show the reader a variety of sketches from different artists in different mediums. I believed this book's main strength is showing us that a sketch does not have to be perfect after all. By looking through the book this fact becomes all the more solid-an essential tool in convincing the beginning artist that not everything needs to look polished to be satisfactory. I know that I will have more confidence in sketching, and what techniques I did learn will assist me, but I felt that more time could have been spent on elaborating these skills.
The bottom line: Though not as heavy on the technical aspects as one would expect, this book is a great help overall to developing sketching talent.
Best way to start exploring sketching.......2005-07-21
This is not exactly a how-to book in terms of showing you step-by-step how to make marks on paper. It is about what people sketch, how and why. When I began sketching I lacked confidence simply because I wasn't sure about the correct method, amount of detail materials, etc. This book showed me the wide variety of sketching styles and that sketching is such a personal activity done for so many different reasons that there is no right or wrong way. There is of course good and bad sketching but your the style you choose is your own. No matter what medium you work or what your subject, I recommend this book as part instructional, part insprational.
Excellent lessons in the process och sketching.......2004-07-22
I am from Stockholm, Sweden, and has been looking for a book that helps me as a textile designer to find a way to transform the ideas I have in my head and my surroundings to the textile product whatever it is. This book is the answer not only for me but for everybody that tries to find a roadmap for getting from idea to result. I must compliment the book for very nice illustrations that shows how sketching can be. It is inspiring and really helpful for your development as an artist.
good resource.......2003-03-05
This book is an excellent guide for anyone who draws and wants to keep a sketchbook. There are great examples and information that cover many techniques and themes. My only complaint is that the price is too high. On the content alone, i would give 5 stars.
Average customer rating:
- Good Resource, but not defnitive for any one medium!
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Practical Art School: Twelve Lessons in Painting, Drawing & Sketching
Ian Simpson
Manufacturer: Quadrillion Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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Study & Teaching
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| Instructional & How-To
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General
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ASIN: 1841002186 |
Customer Reviews:
Good Resource, but not defnitive for any one medium!.......2000-05-18
This is a wonderful resource for artist technique in general, but I wouldn't suggest it for learning particular skills in any one medium. If you want to specifically learn watercolor, for instance, pick up a speciality book for that medium!
Average customer rating:
- It tells you where to draw instead of how to draw!
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Figure sketching school (Learn as You Go)
Valerie Wiffen
Manufacturer: Readers Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Study & Teaching
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| Instructional & How-To
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Drawing
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Figure Drawing
| Instructional & How-To
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| Drawing
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Sketching School (Learn as You Go)
ASIN: 0762100680 |
Customer Reviews:
It tells you where to draw instead of how to draw!.......1999-11-07
The book doesn't have any exercise materials to practice on, it mostly talks about tips instead of technics. It has plently of pictures on the back which would have been nice, if they draw all of it in steps and show me how.
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DRAWING AND SKETCHING (PRACTICAL ART SCHOOL S.)
GERALD WOODS
Manufacturer: LITTLE BROWN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
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Drawing
| Instructional & How-To
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| Subjects
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ASIN: 0316912751 |
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Drawing and Sketching (Ron Ranson's Painting School)
John Palmer
Manufacturer: Trafalgar Square
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Drawing
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Drawing
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Painting
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
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ASIN: 1854700618 |
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Sketching School
Judy Martin
Manufacturer: Readers Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H42NAO |
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- Barcos Vikingos Al Amanecer/ Viking Ships at Sunrise (La Casa Del Arbol / Magic Tree House)
- Benito Mussolini: The First Fascist (Library of World Biography Series) (Library of World Biography)
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- CCD Astrophotography: High-Quality Imaging from the Suburbs (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series)
- Cinema, Colonialism, Postcolonialism: Perspectives from the French and Francophone Worlds
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- Early Pottery: Technology, Function, Style, and Interaction in the Lower Southeast
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