America's Founding Son

“Crawford, a bassist for the Avett Brothers and ‘history enthusiast,’ debuts with a fantastic, boosterish biography of famous ‘founding son’ John Quincy Adams… Throughout, Crawford offers up amusingly modern allusions—’as we would say today, antislavery debates in Congress went viral’—and pithy insights that link antebellum America to today’s politics. This is enormously fun and heartening.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Seeing this generational shift of forging a new nation through the lens of a statesman who experienced the new republic from its founding offers an essential perspective on the early 19th-century United States.”—Library Journal, Starred Review

“A gripping narrative of the life of John Quincy Adams, the president, peacemaker, and freedom fighter who rose with the new nation, and called it to its highest principles as it was coming apart. Crawford delivers a lively, energetic, and substantive look at his extraordinary legacy, one that is, like all the best history, urgently relevant today.” —Chris DeRose, New York Times bestselling author of The Fighting Bunch

“John Quincy Adams has had no shortage of biographers, but Bob Crawford’s America’s Founding Son presents a fresh and exciting new take on the life of one of the most remarkable Americans of his era. With his engaging and highly readable style, Crawford admirably captures the man and his times. America’s Founding Son is an excellent addition to the literature on America’s sixth president.” —James M. Bradley, author of Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician

“To both his podcasts and his book, America’s Founding Son, Bob Crawford brings a fun and engaging flare that all fellow history enthusiasts will love. Can’t wait for him to take on his next subject.”—Douglas Brunt, New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel

“Bob Crawford’s America’s Founding Son is a riveting account of the extraordinary life of John Quincy Adams, America’s sixth president. Adams touched nearly every great issue of his time: liberty, expansion, democracy, and the fight for human freedom. His story is not just the tale of one man’s life, but of the birth, contradictions, and enduring promise of the United States itself. Adams’s unyielding moral vision and lifelong devotion to service and principle, often at the expense of popularity, make him a figure of uncommon integrity in American history. It’s a story all the more meaningful today.” —Ken Burns, award-winning filmmaker

“It’s commonplace for scholars to overlook John Quincy Adams when ranking great national leaders between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Historian Bob Crawford doesn’t make that mistake. His brilliantly rendered portrayal of our nation’s sixth president, in America’s Founding Son, presents Adams as Constitutional sage, diplomat extraordinaire, political powerhouse, and anti-slavery activist. Every page crackles with fresh insights and telling anecdotes. Highly recommended!” —Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author, and professor of history at Rice University