A Perfect Coincidence
The Extraordinary Friendship and Astonishing Deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Table of Contents
About The Book
In creating the Declaration of Independence, approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, Jefferson and Adams collaborated in what Jefferson later called “a perfect coincidence” of thought and action. Exactly fifty years later, in the most perfect coincidence in American history, they died within hours of each other—both former US presidents, both essential architects of the nation.
This book explores those two remarkable coincidences and the fifty-year relationship in between. Thomas Jefferson, a charismatic Southern aristocrat, and John Adams, a cantankerous Yankee, were once close friends, then bitter political enemies. In the last years of their lives, they reconciled and resumed an extraordinary correspondence, totaling some 380 letters that continued until their final months.
Other than the Declaration of Independence, the greatest symbolic gift either man gave his country may have been dying together on that fateful Independence Day in 1826. For many Americans, this moment was viewed as a “visible and palpable” manifestation of “Divine favor”—as one contemporary put it—and fueled the conviction that America was a land of miracles.
Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States—and the 200th anniversary of the men’s deaths—this book is essential reading for anyone interested in presidential biographies, the Revolutionary War era, and the enduring power—yet terrible fragility—of American democracy.
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About The Author
Jim Rasenberger is the author of five books—A Perfect Coincidence; Revolver; The Brilliant Disaster; America, 1908; and High Steel—and has contributed to the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, and other publications. A native of Washington, DC, he lives in New York City.
Product Details
- Publisher: Scribner (May 12, 2026)
- Length: 496 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668003442
Raves and Reviews
"Vivid…this account is full of suspense, mysteries, and surprises…Rasenberger’s quick, confident writing and dry wit bring to life America’s colonial and post-colonial landscapes, politics, religion, and the toll of injury and fatal illness. With a Sousa march’s energy and beauty, this exceptional book ends by showing how Adams’ and Jefferson’s ideas remain central to modern American government." —John Rowan, Booklist Starred Review
"[An] engaging work of popular history... In a well-paced narrative, Jim Rasenberger explores the many cooperative and contentious intersections in the lives of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson." —Shelf Awareness
“Vivid…this account is full of suspense, mysteries, and surprises…Rasenberger’s quick, confident writing and dry wit bring to life America’s colonial and post-colonial landscapes, politics, religion, and the toll of injury and fatal illness. With a Sousa march’s energy and beauty, this exceptional book ends by showing how Adams’ and Jefferson’s ideas remain central to modern American government.”—John Rowan, Booklist Starred Review
“[An] engaging work of popular history... In a well-paced narrative, Jim Rasenberger explores the many cooperative and contentious intersections in the lives of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.”—Shelf Awareness
"A Perfect Coincidence is a pitch-perfect telling of one of early America’s greatest tales, of the indispensable roles of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson at the nation’s birth, of their descent into becoming political enemies, and then their famous correspondence of devotion and reconciliation, leading to their last great act, the remarkable concurrence of their passing. Author Jim Rasenberger rigorously tells the role of enslavement as well as the flaws and heroics of the two protagonists, who remain central to our understanding of America at the nation’s 250th anniversary." —Michael Kranish, author of Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War
“When John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, awestruck Americans wondered what to make of the remarkable timing. Two hundred years later, Jim Rasenberger gives us the answer in this spellbinding and sweeping history of the relationship between two men hailed as ‘the North and South Poles of the American Revolution.’ A perfectly timed book.” —Jonathan Horn, author of The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines
"In this fresh interpretation of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams’s remarkable half-century relationship, Jim Rasenberger offers a fascinating, nuanced, and gracefully written portrait of the birth of American politics. A beautifully crafted dual biography sensitive to the private as well as public lives of its striking subjects, A Perfect Coincidence raises vital questions about democracy and aristocracy, liberty and power that continue to confront us in the nation’s Semiquincentennial year. Anyone interested in the Founders and their enduring legacy will find this an impressive, important book." —David S. Brown, author of The Last American Aristocrat and In the Arena
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