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.
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Hamilton is brought to life in this book; he was a true American hero. We continue to owe him much to this day.
Hamilton’s life was amazing. What a great, flawed American (a refugee from the Caribbean who became an American icon). However, the book is repetitive and needed substantial editing. Also, it serves as a hagiography for Hamilton relative to Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe.
Helpful to meet understanding this character.
Made Hamilton come alive. Excellent.
Great book!
Fabulous book. Very relevant to today.
This book was a dedication for me. I had to read it bits at a time and cipher through some of the more dense language. I’m not a huge Non-Fiction fan, but the story of Alexander Hamilton was so interesting to me. It’s definitely an investment, but well worth it.
Well-written, captivating history. I learned so much and enjoyed doing it.
Didn’t care much for it
WOW! What a great book. Nothing has changed. Gives me a whole different outlook on politics. Everyone should read this
Great biography. Well worth reading
Very well written and brilliantly researched. It is a very comprehensive book that gives a realistic picture of a very intelligent man.
Great look at historical people !
I had to read it piecemeal but did learn so much. As I live near the Schuyler mansions both in Saratoga and Albany made this even more relevant to me
Super
Well researched and well written.
OUTSTANDING!! Even without the Broadway play. So historically accurate and informing. I had no idea the depth of Hamilton ‘s influence on crafting America. The man was brilliant, except for the TERRIBLE decision to have a duel with Aaron Burr. Dumb dumb dumb.
I knew very little about Hamilton before reading this h had an amazing personality, and a tragic one.
I enjoyed learning about our founding fathers and gained a new prospective on some of them. Lost some respect for Jefferson.
comprehensive fact-based arguments