My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams

I read the collection of letters between John and Abigail Adams in conjunction with my book club's discussion of David McCullough's “John Adams.” I highly recommend this approach because the reader only gets snippets (well-selected and enlightening, but snippets all the same) of the correspondence between two brilliant founders of the United States.

When I was in school, not much was made of Abigail Adams and her support of the second President; theirs was a true partnership. The letters also provide glimpses of home front life during the Revolutionary War. From our modern perspective, in which communication is instantaneous, and often thoughtless, reading beautifully-written letters that may take months to reach the recipient is a marvel. Would we all not benefit from handwriting more than an annual Christmas letter (I don't even do that) both to document our thoughts and to slow down and express thoughts to our friends and family?

The editors provide enough context to the collection so that readers unfamiliar with John and Abigail or that period of history have enough information to understand outside events without getting in the way of these two wonderful people.