Alexander Hamilton
Ratings103
Average rating4.4
This was fascinating, but also a bit of a slog - not because it was badly-written or boring or anything, just because it's 800+ pages (or 36+ hours, for the audiobook version). I definitely learned a ton about Alexander Hamilton and the Revolutionary era (and the transition from that to a functioning democracy), stuff I hadn't thought about since AP US History, probably. Would I have picked it up without the musical Hamilton? Probably not, but I'm glad I did. And I want a biography of Angelica Schuyler Church now, please. Audiobook is recommended - the reader is excellent and engaging, and seems to dislike Jefferson a lot, which is amusing.
(Grandfathered into my Year of No Men, because I started it before 1/1/16.)
(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #6 Read a biography (not memoir or autobiography) and #10 Read a book over 500 pages long)
This took me the better part of a month to read. It's exhaustive without being dry. This is my fifth founding father biography and I feel as though it explains the Federalist / Republican schism the best. Chernow also gives real depth to “minor” figures like Jay, Lafayette, Troup and all the other revolutionary heroes who can start to feel like little more than name drops in other biographies.
Hamilton is so fascinating and so flawed. Truly, no detail of his life was glossed over. And Washington is treated very fairly here as well. Chernow doesn't shy away from showcasing what a hot mess his second term was.
Absolutely worth reading. Come for celebration of Eliza Hamilton, stay for the Jefferson slander!
During the time it took to complete, I read about 120 other books, waited 12 months to eventually see the show in the West End, watched the show on Disney over a dozen times and listened to the soundtrack on Spotify countless times.
A great read, but not an easy one.
A page turner for such a topic. Hamilton is a fascinating figure, and this biography situates him within the American History we all learned in school but with a much more human element.
If you told me I'd be on the edge of my seat for a 36 hour audiobook about Alexander Hamilton I'd likely give you a bit of side eye. As a huge Hamilton (The Musical) fan, this helped fill in the gaps to further understand the context for things in the show. It also astonished me just how accurate the musical is overall. After seeing Hamilton demonized in various other stories, it was refreshing to see a person who accomplished so much, and just didn't stop.
If you told me I'd be on the edge of my seat for a 36 hour audiobook about Alexander Hamilton I'd likely give you a bit of side eye. As a huge Hamilton (The Musical) fan, this helped fill in the gaps to further understand the context for things in the show. It also astonished me just how accurate the musical is overall. After seeing Hamilton demonized in various other stories, it was refreshing to see a person who accomplished so much, and just didn't stop.
This book is endless; I felt every single one of the 818 pages. It somehow felt like reading two Stormlight books. But, damn if I don't know a ton about Alexander Hamilton now. What a dude. Also just that Lin-Manuel Miranda read this dusty ass book and decided to write a rap musical and it was in fact a masterpiece just blows me away.
Best Bestsellers bonus episode: http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-38-hamilton/
Is this getting a bonus star because of inspiring Hamilton the musical? YES PROBABLY my reviews are all subject to personal WHIMSY.
Anyway, I never would have picked this up if it weren't for Hamilton the musical. But Hamilton the musical wouldn't exist if it weren't for this book!
Chernow does a great job of fleshing out Hamilton as a smart, scrappy, irritating human being (with an A++++ wife, also a human being) as opposed to just, you know, the $10 bill guy.
Also he does a lot of careful work explaining code duello and why, at the time, it did not seem totally bonkers to just be duelin' all the time. But also, does not just casually let the founding fathers off the hook for slavery, which is something SOME biographers do.
I'd definitely recommend this to any fans of Hamilton the musical* to just kind of flesh out the musical and make you further appreciate all the work LMM did. It's an enjoyable, informative read and it's really only like, 700 pages because the last 100 is endnotes.
*if you are not a fan of Hamilton the musical, literally what are you doing
Great book about an extremely important and over looked figure of American history, but like every Chernow book it is too damn long.
Book Review: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow – whether you are obsessed with the Hamilton Musical or not, this is an excellent biography of one of the essential founding fathers. Hamilton really is a fascinating character with so much internal drive and self induced failures and blind spots. It is a story of greatness with the reasons for humility built in.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/alexander-hamilton-ron-chernow/
My brief review: well-written, engrossing, and an unbelievable story. A.H. was a brilliant and interesting man, full of flaws yet willing to share them with the world. Chernow unfolds his story like an epic novel, almost too good to be true. Highly recommended.
Between reading this and Washington this year, Chernow is now one of my favorite biographers