Alexander Hamilton

by Ron Chernow

Paperback

Published Jan. 13, 2005 by Penguin.

ISBN:: 978-0-14-303475-9
OCLC Number:: 668224798

(21 reviews)

From National Book Award winner Ron Chernow, a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, scandalized, and shaped the newborn nation.In the first full-length biography of Alexander Hamilton in decades, National Book Award winner Ron Chernow tells the riveting story of a man who overcame all odds to shape, inspire, and scandalize the newborn America. According to historian Joseph Ellis, Alexander Hamilton is "a robust full-length portrait, in my view the best ever written, of the most brilliant, charismatic and dangerous founder of them all."Few figures in American history have been more hotly debated or more grossly misunderstood than Alexander Hamilton. Chernow's biography gives Hamilton his due and sets the record straight, deftly illustrating that the political and economic greatness of today's America is the result of Hamilton's countless sacrifices to champion ideas that were often wildly disputed during his time. "To repudiate his legacy," Chernow writes, "is, in many ways, to repudiate the modern world." Chernow here recounts Hamilton's turbulent life: an illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean, he came out of nowhere to take America by storm, rising to become George Washington's aide-de-camp in the Continental Army, coauthoring The Federalist Papers, founding the Bank of New York, leading the Federalist Party, and becoming the first Treasury Secretary of the United States.Historians have long told the story of America's birth as the triumph of Jefferson's democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power. His is a Hamilton far more human than we've encountered before—from his shame about his birth to his fiery aspirations, from his intimate relationships with childhood friends to his titanic feuds with Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Monroe, and Burr, and from his highly public affair with Maria Reynolds to his loving marriage to his loyal wife Eliza. And never before has there been a more vivid account of Hamilton's famous and mysterious death in a duel with Aaron Burr in July of 1804.Chernow's biography is not just a portrait of Hamilton, but the story of America's birth seen through its most central figure. At a critical time to look back to our roots, Alexander Hamilton will remind readers of the purpose of our institutions and our heritage as Americans.

13 editions

nerd teacher [books] reviewed Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Maybe it should be in volumes.

3 stars

I bought this while on a 9-hour delayed layover in Chicago after having listened to the musical; I was curious to see how someone, anyone, was able to read this and make a musical. I still don't get it, but apparently someone did.

Overall, the book is interesting and the writing is well done; this is usually a difficult thing to get right in a biography, which often come off as over-burdened by information. This one probably is over-burdened by information (perhaps that of the other people: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, etc.), but it's done in such a way that it makes things interesting and adds to your understanding of how Hamilton reacted and responded to situations; it shows you multiple sides to an issue, so it doesn't feel as bothersome.

But it takes so long to read, especially if you happen to get the massive paperback with the tiniest …

But it takes so long to read, especially if you happen to get the massive paperback with the tiniest writing in the world and are dyslexic. There is so much on one piece of paper, and it's often difficult to keep ideas straight because of the way it's structured. I feel like Chernow could honestly have split the book into two volumes and been done with it, and that would've made it far easier on the eyes.

writh reviewed Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Review of 'Alexander Hamilton' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A fantastic bio. I learned a ton about Hamilton and it was a pleasure. Chernow knows how to present interesting information while also entertaining. Hamilton was a much more complex person than I knew.

btuftin reviewed Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Review of 'Alexander Hamilton' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

After listening to the Hamilton soundtrack for the fourth time in a year and a half (my wife is the true fan, she's probably heard it more often) I realised I was getting a very sparse but were firm impression of the life of Alexander Hamilton from a fictionalised source. My impression was that it was broadly accurate, but the fascinating picture it painted deserved more accuracy, I thought, so I suggested to my wife we should read an actual biography of the man. She wisely suggested we read the one that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to write the musical, and then she bought it for me for my birthday.

It is huge! 738 pages even if you ignore the references, bibliography and index. It delves into detail both personal and professional of the life of a man so inextricably woven into the early history of the US you have to get multiple sources to believe it. Hard to prove or disprove, but I think it's not wrong to say that without Hamilton there would be no US today. Just see the musical, if you have $300+ to spare per ticket, or at least listen to the soundtrack. (I have no idea if the tickets are worth it. I'm not spending that much!)

But if you don't want the biased highlights, and as the head of one of the leaders of the extremely antagonistic early political factions in the US there is plenty of biased sources to draw on, both contemporary and through US history, it is absolutely worth it. I read every single page, but I'm sure it can be enjoyed if you skip a few pages of politics here and there, if that doesn't interest you, or personal life, if that's not your favourite topic. And maybe I would have been more bored if I wasn't so ignorant of early US history in the first place. Unsurprisingly the musical does not cover all the political chaos and turmoil of this period, and to me that was almost entirely news, and, at least most of the time, quite fascinating.