AMERICA’S FIRST DYNASTY: The Adamses, 1735–1918.

By Richard Brookhiser. Free Press. 244 pp. $25

Why family political dynasties come into being is not altogether clear. Name recognition is important but not sufficient. Franklin Roosevelt benefited from sharing a surname, and to some extent a family, with his fifth cousin Teddy, but no other Roosevelt ever captured the country’s heart. Kennedys have provided endless reams of copy but so far only one president. The present White House incumbent was picked by his party from a group of (arguably) more impressive contenders in part because of his patrimony ...

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