Books with author Carolyn P. Yoder

Besides being a great soldier, farmer, politician, and president, George Washington liked to write. Washington kept journals and diaries, wrote letters, and prepared speeches and official documents throughout his life. His writings fill volumes and number in the thousands. Here is a selection of Washington's writings that follow his life from an entry in his journal written as a teenager to his last diary entry written the day before he died. Some of the writings are personal, expressing love and concern for his family, friends, and home. Some of the writings are national in focus. Each Washington selection is accompanied by an introduction that provides historical background. By being introduced to Washington's words, readers will get to know a man who was not superhuman--only dedicated to family, friends, home, and the country he helped shape.

John Adams, the first vice president and the second president of the United States, found that the best way to explore his ideas was to put pen to paper. Adams served as a Massachusetts delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. His ideas on American liberty led the way to independence. In this rich and revealing collection, illustrated with photographs, prints, paintings, and artifacts, Carolyn Yoder has selected writings that chart the life and ideas of John Adams, from his years as a schoolteacher and lawyer to diplomat and president and to the period of his long retirement, a highlight of which was his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson. We see Adams the diplomat, maneuvering his way through Europe. We also find Adams the man, devoted husband of Abigail and father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. president. Entries from diaries and journals, along with excerpts from letters and speeches, form an intimate portrait of a man driven by ambition and plagued by self-doubt.