Descent from Glory: Four Generations of the John Adams Family

by Paul C. Nagel

Overview

There has never been any doubt that the Adams family was America’s first family in our politics and memory. This research-based and insightful book is a multigenerational biography of that family from the founder father John through the mordant writer Brooks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674198296
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	04/15/1999
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	414
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Paul C. Nagel is former Director of the Virginia Historical Society, a trustee of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a cultural laureate of Virginia, and a contributing editor of American Heritage.

Table of Contents

"The history of my family is not a pleasant one..."

1. Beginnings

2. Growing Up

3. Courtships

4. Disappointments

5. Marriages

6. Quincy

7. Washington

8. Charles Francis

9. Satisfaction

10. Another Generation

11. London

12. Struggles

13. Tragedy

14. Memory

15. Charles

16. Henry

17. Brooks

18. Endings

Postscript

Sources

Index

Editorial Reviews

A magnificent book on four generations of Adamses, from John to Brooks. Nagel has written a great book because he captures the pathos of time's passage.

The New York Times

An intelligent, tactful, and spiritually generous chronicle of a dynasty that gave the United States two presidents...This volume might be called a gift of realism that can enhance our judgment of public men and their families.

The New Yorker

A finely crafted biographical study full of unostentatious but perceptive judgments and insights...should appeal to both professional historians and general readers alike.

The American Historical Review

A magnificent book on four generations of Adamses, from John to Brooks. Nagel has written a great book because he captures the pathos of time's passage.

The New York Times

An intelligent, tactful, and spiritually generous chronicle of a dynasty that gave the United States two presidents...This volume might be called a gift of realism that can enhance our judgment of public men and their families.

The New Yorker