Alexander Hamilton

2016: The year of Hamilton. I am so glad I decided to read this book after seeing the musical in May - it deepened my appreciation for Hamilton and for the founding story of the United States. The success of the American project was never assured, and no book or history lesson ever made that clearer than this one did. This is an ambitious read - 731 pages of small, dense, type. It took me two and a half months to finish (although I read the bulk of it within the past half month). In a way I'm glad for this - I feel like the lessons and content will stick with me much longer because I have kept coming back to them.

Meticulously researched, the book is brimming with details about Hamilton's life, combined in a way which (according to the author) depicts Hamilton very differently than previous biographers have ever done. Hamilton's legacy was overlooked or minimized by many in the past, probably because he never attained the office of the President.

My favorite part of the book was immediate the post-revolution period, as the country tried to figure out what it wanted to be: a loose confederation of states, or a united nation. I hadn't realized that the Constitution came so long after the war ended, and was never assured. Hamilton's role in the political theorizing that led directly to our current governmental structure was massive. Not only a theorist, he also made more contributions than anyone else to the government's implementation - setting up many of our first national institutions and defining the frameworks in which the different branches of power could be articulated. I was fascinated learning about the political and economic underpinnings of our current nation. You can trace a direct path between Hamilton's national bank, markets, and financial culture in New York City to today's world.

The book differed from the show in one large way. The show's main villain was Aaron Burr, whereas the book spent much more time expounding on the feud between Hamilton and the Virginians - Jefferson and Madison. I suspect this was mostly due to wanting to present a compelling show, with a single arch-villian. But it would be interesting to read a biography of Burr as a follow up here.

Hamilton's downfall is tough to watch, as it was largely self-imposed and coincided with an intensely vitriolic period of American politics. To watch this great man sink so low, get caught up in the petty sniping and accusations of the day, ultimately going so far as to cause his death, is brutal. I was left with the impression that, despite having an extramarital affair, the real cause of his political downfall was his inability to be political - his uncompromising principles, his desire to protect his legacy at all costs, and his growing difficulty as he aged in reconciling what the people wanted with what he thought was best for them.

An amazing book about an amazing man - the most prolific, intellectual founding father. It's so neat that this story is finally coming to light in a way that so many people can engage with it, deepening our appreciation for and understanding of our shared history.