Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution

By Natalie S. Bober

Book Overview

Abigail Adams is often referred to as the wife of one president and the mother of another. Rarely is she described as a woman in her own right. Although her primary focus and concerns were in her role as wife and mother, she lives in history because of her extraordinary letters to her family and to her friends.
She was a witness to the gathering storm of the Revolutionary War. She saw the Battle of Bunker Hill from a hilltop near her home, and soldiers marching past her door frequently stopped for a drink of water. Because she was so close to the scene, she was able to give firsthand reports of the American Revolution to her husband and other leaders creating a new government, as she wrote about the times and the people who played vital roles in the birth of our nation.
Mingling the intimate with the momentous, she documented what it was like to live at a time when education was not available to young women, and when pregnancy and childbirth meant the fear of death. Colonial women were called upon to make life-and-death decisions for their children, to educate their daughters, and to run their farms when their husbands were away for months, or sometimes for years, at a time. Yet they had, at best, second-class legal and political status.
Abigail Adams's independent spirit, her sense of humor, and her remarkable intellect, as shown in her letters, open a wide window on a crucial period in our nation's history, and bring Abigail Adams and her time to life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689819161
• ISBN13: 9780689819162
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Great biography!

While this is definitely a popularized account, this is a great biography of Abigail Adams. It is easy to ready and very accurate. It is a great book to use in class at an introductory level.

Everything You Want to Know about Abigail Adams

I find that when one reads a biography of this size, one also reads "little" biographies of other people in their life. Here, Natalie S. Bober has minimized the little biographies and kept the focus on Abigail Adams. I think that for the average person, this book is the only one you'll ever need to know. It has just the right amount of information to write a fully-informed report or paper, but Bober has kept it fresh and interesting. A good place to begin or continue research on one of the greatest American women in history.

Lovely

Abigail Adams was a lady far ahead of her times. While she never thought women should run the most important things, she did feel that everyone should have certain rights-thoughts shared with her friend Thomas Jefferson. Bober does a wonderful job of showing the pain of separation Adams felt, her wanting for her husband of sons, and the sorrow she felt as all those she loved slowly passed away. But through it all, Abbey was willing to sacrifice it all for her country. Abbey should stand as a role model for us all.

Abigail Adams', life, presented as it was here, touched me

It touched my inner soul and heart. The authors tender care and indicated admiration for Mrs. Adams truly shines through. The author presents her lovely and harsh at the same time life in a way that gives you a new way of thinking. You have to truly admire Abigail Adams and reserve a place in your heart and in your mind for the caress of Abagail Adams pen to paper.