John Adams
Thanks for the ping, wags.
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Posted on 06/04/2006 8:53:58 AM PDT by wagglebee
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Public business, my son, must always be done by somebody. It will be done by somebody or other. If wise men decline it, others will not; if honest men refuse it, others will not. A young man should weigh well his plans. Integrity should be preserved in all events, as essential to his happiness, through every stage of his existence. His first maxim should be to place his honor out of reach of all men. In order to do this he must make it a rule never to become dependent on public employments for subsistence. Let him have a trade, a profession, a farm, a shop, something where he can honestly live, and then he may engage in public affairs, if invited, upon independent principles. My advice to my children is to maintain an independent character.
His book on Adams was one of the best books I've ever read.
Thanks for the ping, wags.
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This guy is a great author of American historical figure biographies.
Thank you for that article. I read the book and it is definitely a keeper. Adams had many flaws, but the fact that he and Jefferson could maintain the lengthy post presidency relationship they did speaks volumes about how we treat those we disagree with today. Though they agreed on almost nothing, they were both great Americans.
Ditto. I recommend any American with sagging morale in these times to read this book.
His biography "Truman" is the best bio I have ever read. I've read it three times, and each time I read it, it teaches me something new about politics and human nature.
"1776" and "Mornings on Horseback" are both excellent as well.
Bump for later
Thanks for the post.
Yeah, I've read them both and loved them, especially "Mornings on Horseback". McCullough has a magic touch; he's able to show the humanity of great men, while at the same time distill their life experience in a way that helps explain their greatness.
Love the guy, even though I suspect he's a liberal.
Given the time in which he was required to make critical decisions--Greece, the Marshal Plan, Iron Curtain, Berlin, NATO, Korea, MacArthur, Armed Serices Act of '47, the hydrogen bomb, Eugene McCarthy and the myriad other crises in conjuction with the on-set of the Cold War, Harry S Truman(no period, his middle name is the letter ''S'' not the first letter of a middle name), will go down in history as one of the greatest presidents.
Excellent article, thanks for posting it.
McCullough's biography of John Adams has been on my shelf in the queue to read. It just moved up to next.
The currency at the time was virtually worthless. The British were printing counterfeit on ships. Perhaps the Dutch hated the British, and that's why they gave the loans to a bankrupt and belligerent upstart.
I agree, I have 1776 on CD. I've listened to it several times.
I agree. And you know what? George W. reminds me alot of Truman. W has stood up to the phoney intellectuals of Harvard as did Truman. In 1948 as the left and right of the Dem party split off to Henry Wallace (gag) and Strom Thurmund, Harry did his job, didn't care about the criticism, and got reelected.
The MSM hated Truman, and they hate W. I think both will be remembered as Greats.
MUST READ later. Thanks for the ping!
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