One of the first things I did after signing a contract to write a biography of Samuel Adams was to try to hire Mike Hill, a researcher who worked with David McCullough on his John Adams.
Hill, who has gone on to emerge as an accomplished author in his own right, turned out to be helpful, a skilled researcher and an exceptionally gracious person. But what my call to him was really about, in retrospect, wasn't so much my need for research assistance or even for guidance as a first-time book author setting off on a big project. It was about my admiration for McCullough, who died this week at age 89.
