Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams

Book Description

This is the life of Abigail Adams, wife of patriot John Adams, who became the most influential woman in Revolutionary America. Rich with excerpts from her personal letters, Dearest Friend captures the public and private sides of this fascinating woman, who was both an advocate of slave emancipation and a burgeoning feminist, urging her husband to "Remember the Ladies" as he framed the laws of their new country.

John and Abigail Adams married for love. While John traveled in America and abroad to help forge a new nation, Abigail remained at home, raising four children, managing their estate, and writing letters to her beloved husband. Chronicling their remarkable fifty-four-year marriage, her blossoming feminism, her battles with loneliness, and her friendships with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Dearest Friend paints a portrait of Abigail Adams as an intelligent, resourceful, and outspoken woman.

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Dearest Friend is the biography of Abigail Adams, the unschooled minister's daughter who became the most influential woman in Revolutionary America. Rich with excerpts from her incomparable letters and alive with the ferment of a new nation, Dearest Friend captures both the public and the private sides of this fascinating woman. She was a keen observer of the politics of her time and fully grasped the Revolution's implications for women and slaves. She was an advocate of black emancipation and urged her husband to "Remember the Ladies" as he framed the laws of their new country. John and Abigail Adams married for love, and their passion for each other endured for the fifty-four years of their marriage. They lived apart for more than a decade while John traveled in America and abroad to help begin a new country. Abigail remained at home for most of that time, writing letters to her "Dearest Friend," raising four children, managing a farm and the family finances, and keeping John informed of the political mood at home. This book chronicles their remarkable marriage, her blossoming feminism, her battles with the loneliness of separation, and her friendships with Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other giants of her time. Intelligent, resourceful, and outspoken, Abigail Adams lived an uncommon life for a woman of her time. First published in 1981, Dearest Friend brings her legacy to our century.

Customer Reviews:

Somewhat disappointing.......2007-07-12

This is a somewhat disappointing book about a fascinating woman during a fascinating period of our history. The book was highly recommended to a friend of a member of my book club, but the women in my club agreed that the author failed to make Abigail Adams "come alive." The writing was tedious, especially in the first half. I read "The Summer of 1787" just before this, and "Dearest Friend" pales by comparison, especially in the richness of the story telling. Nonetheless, the book contains history I didn't know or had forgotten, and I'm glad I read it.

Ambiguous.......2004-05-17

I assigned this book to college freshmen and sophs.... in US History.

I did not like how it portrayed Abigail as "long suffering," yet strong. The two did not mesh well.

An amazing woman!.......2003-06-11

During the history of the United States there have been many women who have sacrificed just as much or more for their country than did Abigail Adams, but not many. Thanks to the voluminous correspondence of Mrs. Adams this book was made possible and should stand as a monument to all of these women.

In recent years the life of John Adams has been reexamined and his role in American history has again come to the forefront. Without Abigail, Mr. Adams could never have accomplished what he did. For unlike many of the other leaders of the Revolution, Adams was not a man of means. When he was away, someone had to look after the family's domestic concerns. That someone was Abigail. John became so accustomed to having Abigail to take care of home and hearth that when he did have time to see to such matters he seldom did.

This book details the work Abigail did behind the scenes to allow John to make his vital contributions to American independence. We see a strong woman who is more than willing to take charge of a given situation and make a decision. We also see however a wife who misses her husband. Abigail and John Adams are one of the true love stories of history. Their complete devotion to each other is amazing, especially in that the longer they were together the more in love they became. In the end becoming almost one soul in two bodies. Abigail's worst hardships didn't involve the work she did but the separations from John. Separations that lasted months and then years at a time.

Abigail is also shown in this book as a woman of strong conviction but also a woman of great contradiction. She and her husband helped make the American Revolution but she detested revolution as a threat to the social order. She believed strongly in a good education for women but still thought a woman's place was in the home. She believed the election of a Republican President would destroy the republic, but eventually became a Republican herself. Mrs. Adams was also probably a better politician than her husband was and while she had much influence on her husband, there were times when he paid no attention to her and ended up wishing he had. For example, it was Abigail who first saw the danger posed by Alexander Hamilton and it was Hamilton who in the end cost John the Presidency.

An excellent book but not complete. A much larger volume would be required to do this great lady justice. Still, it is wonderful that there is such a book at all for the women of that era are often forgotten. Abigail once advised John to not forget the ladies. Advise we should remember in the 21st century.

The Woman Behind the Man.......2002-08-22

While in college I took an American History class because I wanted to, not because I had to. In the process of writing a paper on the role of women in the American Revolution, I found so many references to Abigail Adams, that I knew at some point in the future I would have to read her biography. Well, I just completed this book and I can't recommend it more highly!

With so many books regarding the Founding Fathers being touted at the bookstores recently, it's wonderful to read the story of one of the Women behind one of the Men. Though not traditionally educated Abigail's knowledge of politics, curiousity about everything, and affection for family and friends is well-documented through excerpts from her numerous letters. The sacrifices both she and her husband made for the fledgling America are a sober reminder of the courage and bravery required of our ancestors.

In a time when woman were subservient to men, she stood head and shoulders above other members of her gender. Her husband wisely depended on her counsel, love and care.

This is a wonderful biography that takes the reader back in time and place so vividly as to feel present at the birth of a nation and a voyeur into the unfolding political career of the second President of the United States and the woman who loved him.

I, too, wish American History had been presented this richly in my grammar and high school years.

After reading this book I would suggest reading "John Adams" by David McCullough, though quite lengthy, it is worthwhile to read the other half of the "conversation".

Remember the Lady.......2002-08-11

This is a beautifully written tale of an extraordinary 18th century woman. She was the wife and dearest friend of one US President and the mother of another. Her husband depended on her political acumen, and trusted her judgment. She was sometimes referred to as the old lady in the politics. She corresponded on business and politics with many men including Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps our first American feminist, Abigail Adams was full of contradictions.

As a staunch revolutionary, she foresaw the need for independence from England perhaps even before her husband, John. She advocated education and political freedom for women long before it was respectable to do so.

As practical homemaker, she worked the farm, raised the children, and handled the family finances including investments. Abigail liked investing in securities; John preferred land. They made investments in both. Her dependability in these matters secured the home front. This allowed her husband to attend the Continental Congress, sign the Declaration of Independence, serve as minister to France and then England, as well as serve as the first vice president, and then 2nd President of the fledgling USA. Without her shepherding the family finances, either the family would have been ruined; or the United States would have lost one of its great founding fathers.

As a post-revolution political conservative, she hated the republicanism of Jefferson, although she respected him as an honorable man. She foresaw the problems with the French Revolution before Jefferson and his Republican cohorts. She did not understand the criticism of the free press. She strongly advocated the Alien and Sedition Act, passed by congress during her husbands presidency. It addressed the two of what she thought were the serious threats to the security of the USA& that of foreigners and criticism of the government by the press.

The paradox of Abigail Adams is that she had always established her identity through her husbands achievements. The author tells us that Probably Abigail would have been astonished to find herself transformed into something of a celebrity one hundred fifty years after her death. Yet surely she would have approved of the reasons for her fame: the interest of a later age in the history of family and domestic life, as well as the history of politics, and above all its interest in the emancipation of women and the discovery of women in the past who spoke out on behalf of their sex.

The beauty of this book is that Lynne Withey presents Abigail Adams as a real human being, not an icon. It is easy to understand why Abigail was Johns Dearest Friend.

I highly recommend this book.

Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams
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Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams

Manufacturer: Books on Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 073668607X

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Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams
Lynne Withey
Manufacturer: Collier Macmillan Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O94BVG

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Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams
Lynne Whithey
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K9VX5C

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Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams Audio Unabridged
Lynne Withey
Manufacturer: Books on Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: B000R81VLM

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9 tapes unabridged

Dearest Friend : A Life of Abigail Adams [ Signed First ]

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Dearest Friend : A Life of Abigail Adams [ Signed First ]
Lynne Withey
Manufacturer: Free Press/Collier Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K1JM6C

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Thoughts on Whiting

The Other Battle of the Bulge: Operation Northwind

A solid, serious, sober account

"If you know nothing of the battle, then buy this book."

Graphic but sometimes hard to follow the chain of events.

OTHER BATTLE OF THE BULGE: Operation Northwind (West Wall Series)
Charles Whiting
Manufacturer: Casemate
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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PATTON'S LAST BATTLE (Whiting, Charles, West Wall Series, V. 8.)

PATHS OF DEATH AND GLORY: The Last Days of the Third Reich, January - May 1945 (West Wall Series)

Bloody Aachen

ASIN: 0971170975

Book Description

Operation Northwind, planned by the Fuhrer himself, hurled eight German divisions, three of them S.S., against the thinly held American line in the Alsace-Lorraine region.

Few except those who fought it know anything about this second Battle of the Bulge, which cost the Americans and their French comrades-in-arms nearly as many casualties and almost destroyed the alliance. ?Because Eisenhower determined to evacuate Strasbourg, for a few days, while American troops fought for their lives in the snow-bound hills of Alsace-Lorraine, it looked as if the Franco-American alliance might be broken apart and France thrown into something akin to revolution.?

Customer Reviews:

Thoughts on Whiting.......2004-01-08

Reading the other posts about this book compels me to say a few things about the author. Charles Whiting is a popular, readable and prolific writer of WWII stories, but he is not a historian in any way, shape or form. If you have read more than one of his books you will recognize the following:

1) lack of any kind of endnotes and few footnotes: where is this material coming from?
2) quotes from interviews with the author, which are not in any way anotated at the end of the book
3) praise of the common US soldier but uniformly harsh criticism of all senior U.S. leadership, especially Eisenhower
4) comparisons with Vietnam which, while occasionally interesting (he points out that William Westmorland fought in the Huertgen Forest without learning its lessons) usually border on the ridiculous
5) plagarism from his own works, including entire chapters, some of which have not even been re-written, but simply included whole in different books
6) where are the @&*#&! maps?

This book, like his "Ardennes: The Secret War" posits that Operation Nordwind was a bigger threat than the Battle of the Bulge to the Allies because it nearly defeated the Alliance politically at a time when they had already won the war militarily. It is an interesting conjecture, but it is tainted by the half-hidden glee that Whiting seems to feel over any disaster involving American troops and particularly their leadership. Everything he writes is written through that distoring lens. In any endeavour, if you want to find fault, you will, and in war this is particularly easy. Eisenhower was an armchair warrior and a true mediocrity as a strategist, but he was a superb military politician, maybe the only man who could have kept such a contentious alliance together until final victory. He deserves credit for holding it all together.

I have read five of Whiting's books and found most of them to be very entertaining, especially because he tends to focus on American disasters which naturally have not gotten much press since the war, and thus have not been written about extensively. He puts books together like a novel, and is far from a 'dry' writer. But his scholarship would not have met the standards of my high school history teacher, much less those of a true historian. He seems to write about what interest him only, is careless with his statistics and dates, includes facts that suit his opinions, states his opinions as facts, and constantly recycles his own material. You could probably file his books under 'historical fiction' before you could file them under 'history.'

The Other Battle of the Bulge: Operation Northwind.......2003-02-12

By New Year's Eve 1944 the German Army seemed to be finished but the Wehrmact had one last surprise, Operation Nordwind. Hitler personlly planned this great offensive to help turn the tide against the allies and divert pressure from the bulge. 8 German Divisions smashed against the thinly held American lines in Alsace- Lorraine in France. Although seemingly small in scale compared to other great German offensives (42 Divisions invaded Poland, 136 France, 150 Russia, 65 Operation Blau culminating in Stalingrad, 36 OP: Zitadelle "battle of Kursk", 22 Autumn Mist "battle of the bulge") in the war. This offensive was actually one of the most important in WWII. Finally this important struggle gets its due. The Americans were forced to retreat under the onslaught. This book captures the political pressure by the French on the Americans to resist the invasion and save their country once more. The alliance nearly fragmented under the weight of the German assault as the Allies argue how best to stop the devastating offensive. The author does a masterfull job of capturing the battle from the big picture to the small details. The outcome was far from certain and the Americans were hard pressed to meet this German threat. The author also successfully argues that this battle was more important than the bulge because of the political pressures that nearly ended allied relations. But the Americans rise to the occasion and defeat Operation Nordwind and save the Franco-American alliance in the process. The US 7th Army and 1st French Army battle the Nazi's and knock them out of France once and for all. A month after the battle began the offensive had been stopped at a great cost. 16,000 Americans gave their lives and 32,000 French also perished defending their country. But the 19th German Army was defeated and the allies could focus on finishing off Germany. Hitler's true last great gamble nearly succeeded and if it had the war might have turned out differently. Fortunately it failed and the Allies won the war. This is a good book and a must have for any true WWII collection.

A solid, serious, sober account.......2002-07-08

Volume 7 of the very impressive Casemate "West Wall" series, The Other Battle Of The Bulge: Operation Northwind by World War II military expert and author Charles Whiting is a serious, informed and informative examination of an often neglected yet crucial struggle that took place during the closing days of World War II European Theatre. It was called Operation Northwind, and planned by Hitler personally to attack the American line of the Alsace-Lorraine region with eight German divisions (three of them elite SS), and thereby forcing the Americans to retreat. For a time, it seemed the Franco-American alliance would be broken under the impact of the German assault, and the ultimate triumph of the Allies came only at a heavy cost in blood and lives. A solid, serious, sober account, The Other Battle Of The Bulge is very highly recommended reading for the military buff, and an indispensable addition to Military History reference collections.

"If you know nothing of the battle, then buy this book.".......2001-01-30

I found the book to be difficult to follow given the dearth of maps and the style of writing. I have read many battle histories but I found this book difficult to enjoy. I particularly disliked the author's social commentary throughout the book and found unsubstantiated his criticism of Eisenhower. I agree with an earlier review of this book, if you know nothing of the battle, then read this book. In hindsight, I should have looked elsewhere.

Graphic but sometimes hard to follow the chain of events........1999-08-27

Mr. Whiting has the 79th infantry entering the war in europe in Aug. of 1944. Actually, the 79TH was one of the units that captured Cherbourg. This occured on June 26TH. On August 19TH the 79TH was in Mantes-Gassicourt.A major battle was fought here the result of which was a victory which allowed the americans to drive all the way to the Belgium border.

THE OTHER BATTLE OF THE BULGE - OPERATION NORTHWIND

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THE OTHER BATTLE OF THE BULGE - OPERATION NORTHWIND
WHITING CHARLES
Manufacturer: SCARBOROUGH
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PGHXXQ

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The Other Battle of the Bulge, Operation Northwind
Charles Whiting
Manufacturer: Scarborough House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W76X5M

Customer Reviews:

Please read this.......2007-07-08

Sometimes we all need to see the big picture. This book is a marvelous journey weaving personal accountability and liberty in such a way that you can see clearly that they are two sides of the same coin.

If you start to restrict someone's freedom, you also reduce their accountability. This book is wonderfully titled and a needed boost to those who are so tired of the attacks on personal freedom.

If you believe that their should be laws against gambling, sex and drugs to "protect" people. . . read this book! You just might learn something.

People with few vices also tend to have few virtues........2007-05-18

Time and time again, if one thing has been proven painfully clear, it's that matters best left to the discretion of the individual cannot be legislated. Take for example Prohibition, which was instigated by conservative religious temperance unions whose twisted ideals of Christianity must not have included the fact that Jesus Christ was in fact a wine drinker. We all know how that turned out. But this mentality has carried on with the horrific travesty known as The War on Drugs; which to date has resulted in countless nonviolent "offenders" facing prison terms longer than rapists and murderers, billions of dollars in lost revenue, and who knows how many other problems just to prove how futile this particular endeavor really is.

Peter McWilliams' ANBiYD focuses on what are called consensual crimes such as gambling, prostitution, drug use, etc. These are things that are deemed illegal when the only real victim CAN be the perpetrator if no other crimes such as theft or murder occur. What it all boils down to is that by focusing on consensual crimes, our government has ignored greater threats such as corporate fraud, environmental abuse, and judicial corruption. We have not just limited the freedoms of those "who like to live in the fast lane", we have diminished the quality of life for every law-abiding citizen by keeping victimless crimes in the books.

Some people may think this is a manifesto for bleeding heart liberalism, and wrongly so. McWilliams did not always defend the illegal victimless behaviors, he simply attacked their criminalization. He also defended free-market capitalism, and he believed that religion can be great for determining INDIVIDUAL choices. Most striking of all was how seriously he took the threat of terrorism back in 1993, after the Clinton administration pretty much swept the first WTC bombing under the rug.

Why did I give ANBiYD 4 stars if it is so important? Because it is overlong and repetitive. McWilliams had to define "consensual crimes" several different times in the first 20 pages. We all know what it means and we agree. Now to the next point please. This is a very good book that could have been an outstanding book if it had been about 300 pages shorter.

It comes as no surprise that the government that McWillaims fought so hard to improve would ultimately lead him to his death. It may seem absurd to make this comparison, but it has to be made anyway. Like the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who bravely fought overseas to preserve our way life, he died trying to make America a more free nation from the inside. He was truly a hero whose sacrifice I take no shame in defending.

A must read.......2007-03-08

A very good book, everyone should read. A little long, but you can skip around to the parts that interest you.

Still relevant (unfortunately) a decade later.......2007-03-01

I can't wait to read this book again. I read it so often, several years ago, that it completely fell apart. As the title of this review states, not much has changed since the book was first published. We are still filling our jails with people who have done nothing worse than smoke a plant that isn't sanctioned by our government. We are also still filling the public mind with some of the worst propaganda in the form of commercials that tell us how bad "drugs" are for us. Commercials that are paid for by tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical companies that have a strong interest in keeping a monopoly on the drug industry. We are still committing war crimes by waging chemical warfare in the form of fumigation projects in the coca growing regions of the world while supporting dictatorships. As a companion piece read Gary Webb's book regarding the CIA-Contra-cocaine connection (the title escapes me at the moment). You will then see that the "war on drugs" has nothing to do with mitigating the harmful effects of drug use but everything to do with population control both here and abroad.

The consensual crimes reference book.......2006-08-15

This book is THE definitive guide to consenual crimes and why laws against them are a bad idea.

I particularly enjoyed the message from another reviewer who gave this book a 1-star rating:

"...drug dealing nor drug use is a victomless crime. ever seen a mother abandon her children in favor of coke? it ain't pretty...if rich white people want to play revolutionary i suggest volunteering their time at a rehab center."

It's clear that this person could not grasp the arguments this book makes about drug abuse. The fact that drugs are readily available to today's addicts and that mothers abandon their children shows that the government's current "War on Drugs" has not been the raving success it was suppossed to be. This book does not approve of or defend drug addicts. It simply argues that these (and other) social problems cannot be addressed by using government bureaucracies and DEA agents who put non-violent offenders in jail.

McWilliams would agree with the reviewer on one point: If you really want to help alleviate some of the suffering created by drugs, you should volunteer at a rehab center. It would be infinitely more productive than pumping more tax dollars into the "War".

Customer Reviews:

Wild Salmon of the Northwest.......2001-07-14

Experience wild salmon leaping up the wild rivers of the Northwest. In western Washington, salmon still return from the ocean to spawn deep within the Olympic Mountains. This book is a classic on conservation and wildlife. Pre-dating the current concern for salmonids as an endangered species, Brown engages the reader in the unique environment of the temperate rainforest of the Olympic Pennisula. He describes the people and the fish that are the central players in this life and death drama.

MOUNTAIN IN THE CLOUDS: A SEARCH FOR THE WILD SALMON

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MOUNTAIN IN THE CLOUDS: A SEARCH FOR THE WILD SALMON
Bruce Brown
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000G3JKMK

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Mountain in the Clouds : A Search for the Wild Salmon
Bruce C. Brown
Manufacturer: New York, NY, U.S.A.Simon & Schuster Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PRODEC

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MOUNTAIN IN THE CLOUDS, A SEARCH FOR THE WILD SALMON

Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster, 1982
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H52SM6

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MOUNTAIN IN THE CLOUDS: A SEARCH FOR THE WILD SALMON
Bruce Brown
Manufacturer: Collier Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8VVE2

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Mountain in the Clouds: A Search for the Wild Salmon
Bruce Brown
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORYYMO

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