A Perfect Coincidence: The Extraordinary Friendship and Astonishing Deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

A revelatory new look at the long and complex relationship between Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who died on the same historic day--July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

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.

Author: Jim Rasenberger
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Published: 05/12/2026
Pages: 496
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.45lbs
Size: 8.80h x 6.20w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9781668003428


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2026
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Booklist 05/01/2026

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.