First Family

The story of Abigail and John Adams has been told before, and there is little that is new in this biography. However, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ellis's (history, Mount Holyoke Coll.; Abigail Adams) narrative style and actress/narrator Kimberly Farr's warm, sympathetic reading make this a very listenable audio experience. Farr ostensibly becomes Abigail as she reads her letters, and she successfully projects John's longing for Abigail into her reading of his own letters. This popular biography is an easy introduction to the Adamses and their political life that even readers/listeners of other Adams biographies are sure to enjoy. [The Knopf hc was recommended for "biography buffs who haven't yet read about John and Abigail," LJ 8/10.—Ed.]—Juleigh Muirhead Clark, Colonial Williamsburg Fdn. Lib., VA