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Tag Archives: John Adams
Today in History: July 3, 1776
John Adams, in a July 3, 1776 letter to Abigail, after the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 2 in Philadelphia: The Delay of this Declaration to this Time, has many great Advantages attending it. The Hopes of … Continue reading
Posted in Founding Fathers, On This Day
Tagged Declaration of Independence, John Adams, war
11 Comments
“For Revolution junkies, spotting the cameos makes an awfully good parlor game.”
You’re speakin’ my language, bub. Review of the upcoming HBO miniseries about John Adams. The review has gotten me quite excited, despite the Linney factor. I’m already junkie enough to be tremendously pleased (in an inappropriate proprietary way) that the … Continue reading
2007 Books Read
(in the order in which I finished them, understanding that very often I read many books at the same time). I count re-read books, by the way. I’ll include links to any posts or book excerpts I might have done … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged A Tale of Two Cities, A.S. Byatt, Anne Fadiman, Billy Budd, Bleak House, books read, By the Lake, David McCullough, Dean Stockwell, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dubliners, Elinor Lipman, George Washington, Graham Greene, Gulliver's Travels, Harry Potter, John Adams, John McGahern, Mary Gaitskill, Master & Commander, Michael Chabon, Never Let Me Go, Orson Welles, Philip K. Dick, Robert Kaplan, Scoop, Self-Help, Veronica
15 Comments
Today In History: Dec. 16, 1773
On November 28, 1773, the Dartmouth sailed into port in Boston. It was full of tea. There had already been trouble in Philadelphia when the tea ship had tried to unload its cargo. A ship had been blown away from … Continue reading
June 18, 1775 “The Day; perhaps the decisive Day is come on which the fate of America depends.”
Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams: Dearest Friend The Day; perhaps the decisive Day is come on which the fate of America depends. My bursting Heart must find vent at my pen. I have just heard that our dear … Continue reading
July 1st, 1774: “I am determined to be cool, if I can”
Excerpt from letter of John Adams to his wife Abigail: Dr. Gardiner arrived here to day, from Boston, brings us News of a Battle at the Town Meeting, between Whigs and Tories, in which the Whiggs after a Day and … Continue reading
“Miss Adorable …”
Here is the NY Times review of My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams, With a Foreword by Joseph J. Ellis, the newest edition of the correspondence of John and Abigail Adams. It’s nice to see that this … Continue reading
Saltpeter. Pins.
I’m freaking out! Completely freaking out. A new edition of the letters of John and Abigail? With more material? And “several letters never before published”? Foreword by Joseph Ellis? Are you kidding me? I had no idea. So psyched!! One … Continue reading
Happy Birthday To Our Second President
.. the often underappreciated (although never by the O’Malley family) John Adams. Poor man. Anyone who came after George Washington would suffer by comparison. Gandhi could come after Washington and the collective historical record would respond with a “Eh.” John … Continue reading
Brokeback 1776
hahahahahaha – hysterical parody of Brokeback Mountain using footage from the movie 1776 – I love when it gets all slo-mo and romantic. I practically know 1776 by heart (“But I burn, Mr. A!!” “So do I!”) – so the … Continue reading