The #1 New York Times bestseller, and the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton!Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, scandalized, and shaped the newborn nation.“Grand-scale biography at its best—thorough, insightful, consistently fair, and superbly written . . . A genuinely great … fair, and superbly written . . . A genuinely great book.” —David McCullough
“A robust full-length portrait, in my view the best ever written, of the most brilliant, charismatic and dangerous founder of them all.” —Joseph Ellis
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.
9780143034759more
Chernow is a great historian. This is the book that lead Lin Manuel Miranda to write Hamilton!
Sufficiently well written I felt I knew Alexander Hamilton as a man & and a statesman
Ron Chernow astounds readers with his ability to entertain while imparting copious amounts of information. His approach to Hamilton’s story is balanced; he discusses every nuanced take on the man’s life, from his days in the Caribbean to the duel with Aaron Burr.
What I appreciate most about Chernow’s historical analysis is his ability to name and critique the characters he is portraying. He applauds Hamilton where he deserves to be applauded, whether its his role as a founding member of the Manumission Society or his path from destitution to soldier to attorney to Treasury Secretary.
Yet Chernow also blasts Hamilton when he deserves it. The man was rash and arrogant. He placed his ambition above all else, and we cannot forget the way he treated his wife through the scandals of the 1790s. Chernow lays it all out there.
He also properly addresses the paradox of the early American Revolution by contrasting every player in the story with their paradoxical views regarding liberty. Certainly, Hamilton was better on the question of slavery than many of his counterparts, but like most, he lived in a paradoxical world where he did not take a strong stance toward liberation.
The real power of Chernow’s words, though, stem from his ability to perceptibly explore the ever-shifting conflicts and debates between Hamilton and his rivals, including Jefferson, Burr, Madison, and more. From the anonymous articles written in the paper to direct conflicts in the cabinet, readers see the true character of humans, not gods, ruling the early United States.
And that’s the reality of Chernow’s mammoth endeavor. He tears apart the myth that our “founding fathers” are perfect humans, identifying every moment they falter.
And they falter a lot.
Chernow’s biography of Hamilton cemented my belief that we cannot view the United States as a truly perfect union. It’s always been messy. We should embrace the conflict and protest and the idea of revolution, constantly seeking to make our world a better place. People like Hamilton tried their hardest to do good work, even as they suffered the defects of their times. We must learn from them and do better.
Five Stars.
This was a DNF for me but I think that is more a comment on my capacity for seriously dense biographies. I made it a good 100+ pages though so it was well written, just not my thing.
Wonderful bio of one of our most important founders. Well-researched, well written.
So much information, but read as a novel. Loved it!
Lin-Manuel Miranda read this book and wrote an entire musical based on it. Have you seen “Hamilton” or listened to the music? There’s a reason it’s the hottest ticket on Broadway. I have the soundtrack and know every word.
I was curious about the book and although American history does not hold my interest the way Roman history does (my favorite), I was intrigued enough that I bought the book. It is 818 pages and parts of it read like a typical history book—lots of names and dates that required flipping back and forth. But there are chapters that are so riveting, I couldn’t put it down.
Chapter 30 “Flying Too Near the Sun” was one of the best. Why did Hamilton have that affair with Maria Reynolds? Chernow spends a great deal of time speculating about it. The details must have seemed fairly salacious at the time, but to most of us it’s something we’ve seen way worse come from in our politicians. Ho hum, right? But it ruined Hamilton’s political career; he might have been president.
The book is full of interesting details and rich descriptions. Chernow is an extremely gifted writer and historian. I particularly liked the account of Hamilton’s early life, and whenever I ran across a section I recognized from the soundtrack, I couldn’t help but smile. The author’s greatest accomplishment is the complexity he weaves of the character of Alexander Hamilton and the insight into his life and actions.
Should you read it? Yes. Particularly now.
Having read this Hamilton book and Eliza certainly made watching the stage play
Hamilton wonderful. Alexander Hamilton was a great man so happy he is being
honored with this wonderful stage production. He was an amazing man =.
I learned a lot that I didn’t know about Alexander Hamilton. A fascinating read.
I understand the formative stages that the American Colonies endured a great deal better after reading this book. It made me feel better and worse at the same time. If the USA could survive our tumultuous birth, we can survive just about anything. Sadly, humanity hasn’t seemed to have grown up much over the last two hundred years. The same issues plague us now as then, just in different forms.
This is a dense read but gives a full story of A. Hamilton. Good for history lovers
Superb bio of Hamilton.
Learned a lot of new things, not just about Hamilton but about his political contemporaries.
An epic biography of a fascinating, influential individual. It’s a lot to get through, but ultimately a rewarding read.
Loved this book. Must read it before you watch the play and then the whole experience becomes so much richer.
Well written by an author who consistently writes in-depth examinations of historical figures.
He does go on a bit, the author, and he has a definite slant that he seems bent on sharing, but it was very cool to read (one of the books) that inspired the musical, “Hamilton”.
Lost the flow and got repetitive past the midpoint, but otherwise very good.
That it’s big reading
Great book, fantastic piece of writing.