See the technology and artistry behind the making of the epic John Adams miniseries.

In this intimate, informal portrait of an artist as a historian, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough welcomes viewers into his public and private world, exhibiting the infectious curiosity, humor and humanity that have defined his work and life. Director Mark Herzog travels with the celebrated writer as he delivers a speech to rapt legislators; climbs the same Philadelphia church's steeple tower as did John Adams two centuries earlier; returns to the Massachusetts Historical Society to again study an original Adams letter written to his wife Abigail a day before July 4, 1776; visits his old Brooklyn neighborhood and makes his annual trek across the Brooklyn Bridge; sings songs, paints pictures, and reflects on his undiminished enthusiasm for writing while sitting in his tiny "world headquarters" (shed-like though not a shed, he insists) on the grounds of his home. Accompanied in most of these journeys by wife Rosalee (whom he met the summer before college), McCullough provides an insightful, anecdotal look into his life and career, while displaying a refreshing approachability and genuine interest in people he meets along the way.

All'indomani della strage di Boston, John Adams accetta di difendere in tribunale il capitano Thomas Preston.

Adams e' fra i piu' esuberanti fautori della Dichiarazione di Indipendenza, ma deve ascoltare i saggi consigli di Franklyn per non farsi troppi nemici.

Adams viaggia in Europa alla ricerca di alleati contro l'Inghilterra e approda a Parigi, alla corte di Luigi XVI.

Nominato primo Ambasciatore degli Stati Uniti in Gran Bretagna, John Adams si trasferisce a Londra, ma viene aspramente attaccato dalla stampa.

Il ruolo di Vicepresidente non soddisfa Adams, ma la sua frustrazione ha le ore contate. I risultati delle nuove elezioni lo premieranno.

Nel ruolo piu' importante, Adams si trova fra due fuochi: i federalisti di Hamilton e i Democratici-Repubblicani guidati da Jefferson.

Gli ultimi anni di vita di Adams sono segnati da eventi tristi, ma anche dalla riconciliazione con Jefferson e dal trionfo alle presidenziali del figlio John Quincy.