author
Charles Francis Adams
1835–1915
A Civil War officer turned railroad reformer and historian, he wrote with the authority of someone who had lived close to power and public debate. His books blend sharp observation, civic concern, and a lifelong interest in how American institutions actually worked.
5 Audiobooks
"Imperialism" and "The Tracks of Our Forefathers"
by Charles Francis Adams
"'Tis Sixty Years Since" Address of Charles Francis Adams; Founders' Day, January 16, 1913
by Charles Francis Adams
Some Phases of Sexual Morality and Church Discipline in Colonial New England
by Charles Francis Adams
Wessagusset and Weymouth
by Charles Francis Adams, Charles Francis Adams, Gilbert Nash
Notes on Railroad Accidents
by Charles Francis Adams
About the author
Born in Boston in 1835, he came from one of the best-known political families in the United States: he was the son of Charles Francis Adams Sr. and the grandson of President John Quincy Adams. But his own career was wide-ranging. He served as a colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War, then moved into public life as a railroad commissioner, executive, and later president of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Alongside that work, he built a substantial writing career. He was known as an author and historian, writing about railroads, public affairs, and American history, and later produced a major biography of his father as well as other historical works. That mix of practical experience and reflective writing gives his work an unusually grounded voice.
He died in 1915. Readers often come to his books for their historical value, but they also endure because he wrote as someone deeply engaged with the problems of government, business, and citizenship in modern America.