MAY 2026
The Extraordinary Friendship
and Astonishing Deaths
of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
ADVANCE PRAISE
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.
*STARRED* BOOKLIST REVIEW: “In detail simultaneously microscopic, well-organized, and vivid, Rasenberger describes the months and minutes leading up to each man’s death. Readers know the outcome, yet 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 Rowen, BOOKLIST, *STARRED*
“[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.”—Harvey Freedenberg, 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 [...] 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
