One for the TV & History Geeks

HBO's mini-series from 2008, John Adams, was a hit for me on three levels: I love history, Paul Giamatti & Laura Linney. And, since it had the HBO pedigree, it's very going to be rather entertaining. It is available on DVD from Netflix, or it may be streamed via HBOGo, if you have a subscription.

John Adams taps into the uncertainty and intensity surrounding the birth of the American republic and its first 50 years. With the fervent support of his wife Abigail(Linney), and through a lifelong political rivalry and friendship with Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), Adams rose to be the leader of the American independence movement, the nation's first ambassador to Holland and England, the first American Vice President, the second American President, and father of the sixth American President.

Drawn from an extensive collection of letters, diaries and family papers, David McCullough's biography of John Adams was a New York Times best seller, and proclaimed by Time magazine as a "masterwork of storytelling...a rollicking ensemble drama featuring a collection of giants." The New Yorker hailed it as a "stirring history. [McCullough's] vivid storytelling will surely persuade a generation to look again at this obstinate, brave, and most deeply philosophical of American patriarchs."

Once you're finished with all seven episodes of the series, you should treat yourself by reading David McCullough's biography of the second US president.