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Friends Divided

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

Author Gordon S. Wood
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Paperback
$18.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Books
On sale Oct 23, 2018 | 528 Pages | 978-0-7352-2473-5
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  • History > Period History: U.S. > American Revolution (1754-1783)
  • History > Period History: U.S. > Early National Period (1783-1832)
  • Political Science > American Government and Politics > Presidency
  • About
  • Author
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2017

From the great historian of the American Revolution, New York Times-bestselling and Pulitzer-winning Gordon Wood, comes a majestic dual biography of two of America's most enduringly fascinating figures, whose partnership helped birth a nation, and whose subsequent falling out did much to fix its course.


Thomas Jefferson and John Adams could scarcely have come from more different worlds, or been more different in temperament. Jefferson, the optimist with enough faith in the innate goodness of his fellow man to be democracy's champion, was an aristocratic Southern slaveowner, while Adams, the overachiever from New England's rising middling classes, painfully aware he was no aristocrat, was a skeptic about popular rule and a defender of a more elitist view of government. They worked closely in the crucible of revolution, crafting the Declaration of Independence and leading, with Franklin, the diplomatic effort that brought France into the fight. But ultimately, their profound differences would lead to a fundamental crisis, in their friendship and in the nation writ large, as they became the figureheads of two entirely new forces, the first American political parties. It was a bitter breach, lasting through the presidential administrations of both men, and beyond. 

But late in life, something remarkable happened: these two men were nudged into reconciliation. What started as a grudging trickle of correspondence became a great flood, and a friendship was rekindled, over the course of hundreds of letters. In their final years they were the last surviving founding fathers and cherished their role in this mighty young republic as it approached the half century mark in 1826. At last, on the afternoon of July 4th, 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration, Adams let out a sigh and said, "At least Jefferson still lives." He died soon thereafter. In fact, a few hours earlier on that same day, far to the south in his home in Monticello, Jefferson died as well. 

Arguably no relationship in this country's history carries as much freight as that of John Adams of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Gordon Wood has more than done justice to these entwined lives and their meaning; he has written a magnificent new addition to America's collective story.
Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University. His 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787, received the Bancroft and John H. Dunning prizes and was nominated for the National Book Award. Wood’s 1992 book, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Emerson Prize. His 2009 book, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815, won the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize. In 2010, Wood was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Obama. He contributes regularly to the New Republic and the New York Review of Books. View titles by Gordon S. Wood

About

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2017

From the great historian of the American Revolution, New York Times-bestselling and Pulitzer-winning Gordon Wood, comes a majestic dual biography of two of America's most enduringly fascinating figures, whose partnership helped birth a nation, and whose subsequent falling out did much to fix its course.


Thomas Jefferson and John Adams could scarcely have come from more different worlds, or been more different in temperament. Jefferson, the optimist with enough faith in the innate goodness of his fellow man to be democracy's champion, was an aristocratic Southern slaveowner, while Adams, the overachiever from New England's rising middling classes, painfully aware he was no aristocrat, was a skeptic about popular rule and a defender of a more elitist view of government. They worked closely in the crucible of revolution, crafting the Declaration of Independence and leading, with Franklin, the diplomatic effort that brought France into the fight. But ultimately, their profound differences would lead to a fundamental crisis, in their friendship and in the nation writ large, as they became the figureheads of two entirely new forces, the first American political parties. It was a bitter breach, lasting through the presidential administrations of both men, and beyond. 

But late in life, something remarkable happened: these two men were nudged into reconciliation. What started as a grudging trickle of correspondence became a great flood, and a friendship was rekindled, over the course of hundreds of letters. In their final years they were the last surviving founding fathers and cherished their role in this mighty young republic as it approached the half century mark in 1826. At last, on the afternoon of July 4th, 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration, Adams let out a sigh and said, "At least Jefferson still lives." He died soon thereafter. In fact, a few hours earlier on that same day, far to the south in his home in Monticello, Jefferson died as well. 

Arguably no relationship in this country's history carries as much freight as that of John Adams of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Gordon Wood has more than done justice to these entwined lives and their meaning; he has written a magnificent new addition to America's collective story.

Author

Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University. His 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787, received the Bancroft and John H. Dunning prizes and was nominated for the National Book Award. Wood’s 1992 book, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Emerson Prize. His 2009 book, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815, won the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize. In 2010, Wood was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Obama. He contributes regularly to the New Republic and the New York Review of Books. View titles by Gordon S. Wood

Additional formats

  • Friends Divided
    Friends Divided
    John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-525-49833-9
    $25.00 US
    Audiobook Download
    Penguin Audio
    Oct 24, 2017
  • Friends Divided
    Friends Divided
    John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-7352-2472-8
    $4.99 US
    Ebook
    Penguin Books
    Oct 24, 2017
  • Friends Divided
    Friends Divided
    John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-525-49833-9
    $25.00 US
    Audiobook Download
    Penguin Audio
    Oct 24, 2017
  • Friends Divided
    Friends Divided
    John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-7352-2472-8
    $4.99 US
    Ebook
    Penguin Books
    Oct 24, 2017

Other Books by this Author

  • The Idea of America
    The Idea of America
    Reflections on the Birth of the United States
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-312124-4
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jun 26, 2012
  • The Purpose of the Past
    The Purpose of the Past
    Reflections on the Uses of History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311504-5
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jan 27, 2009
  • Revolutionary Characters
    Revolutionary Characters
    What Made the Founders Different
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311208-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 29, 2007
  • The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-303528-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 31, 2005
  • The American Revolution
    The American Revolution
    A History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-8129-7041-8
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Modern Library
    Aug 19, 2003
  • The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-679-73688-2
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Mar 02, 1993
  • The Idea of America
    The Idea of America
    Reflections on the Birth of the United States
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-312124-4
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jun 26, 2012
  • The Purpose of the Past
    The Purpose of the Past
    Reflections on the Uses of History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311504-5
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jan 27, 2009
  • Revolutionary Characters
    Revolutionary Characters
    What Made the Founders Different
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311208-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 29, 2007
  • The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-303528-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 31, 2005
  • The American Revolution
    The American Revolution
    A History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-8129-7041-8
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Modern Library
    Aug 19, 2003
  • The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-679-73688-2
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Mar 02, 1993
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