John Adams, who has become “virtually an asterisk in history books today,” in one writer’s words, is inadequately celebrated. We should remember Adam's advocacy of the rights, or property, that is the content of our liberty and whose defense is the central reason our government was instituted.
Source: John Adams on the Purpose of Government - Foundation for Economic Education
It's hard for me to imagine John Adams being considered an "asterisk" in history today. He was one of the relative few people who can be considered a founder of this country and the second president.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were practically enemies for a time and bitter contestants in the first contested election for president. Later, they became great friends and corresponded until their deaths, on the same day, July 4th, 1826.
If you are interested in John Adams or history at all, I highly recommend David McCullough's "John Adams" and its companion book "1776". These read more like novels than histories or biographies and are still favorites of mine in those categories.