Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (Paperback)

Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams By Joseph J. Ellis, Ph.D. Cover Image

Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (Paperback)

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An absorbing, insightful profile of the revolutionary leader, president, husband, and father from one of our best historians, now in a beautiful new package.


John Adams was unique among the nation’s founders in leaving a record of his most intimate thoughts and feelings. Instinctively candid and politically incisive, Adams offers the clearest view of the ambitions and principles that drove the revolutionary generation. Passionate Sage offers a brilliant introduction to the second president: his politics, his affinities for family and friendship even with political opponents like Jefferson, and his enduring significance. “Ellis’s palpable affection lends a pleasing glow to his profile of Adams, which is why Passionate Sage is his best book.”—Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review


“Impassioned and erudite. . . . A captivating portrait of this Massachusetts native as a wonderfully contrary genius possessed of an uncommon moral intelligence and farsighted political wisdom.”—Michiko Kakutani, New York Times


“The best portrait of a Revolutionary-era statesman.”—Evan Thomas, Wall Street Journal



Joseph J. Ellis is the best-selling author of twelve previous books, including American Sphinx, which won the National Book Award, and Founding Brothers, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Plymouth, Vermont.

Product Details ISBN: 9781324036159
ISBN-10: 132403615X
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication Date: November 8th, 2022
Pages: 368
Language: English
Ellis’s palpable affection lends a pleasing glow to his profile of Adams, which is why Passionate Sage is his best book.

— Judith Shulevitz - New York Times Book Review

The best portrait of a Revolutionary-era statesman.
— Evan Thomas - Wall Street Journal