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Overview
Overview
The inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton 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.
- Format: Hardcover
- Author: Chernow, Ron
- ISBN: 9781594200090
- Condition: Used
- Dimensions: 9.54 x 2.10
- Number Of Pages: 832
- Publication Year: 2004
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Biography of Alexander Hamilton
Marianne W. - 2 years 5 months agoI don't normally read very many biographies, but I was curious about the book that inspired the musical Hamilton. 800 pages is a bit daunting to read, but Ron Chernow is a gifted writer with the ability to bring to life historical figures and make them relatable to the reader. Chernow chronicles Hamilton's life from his Caribbean boyhood to his infamous duel with Aaron Burr. Hamilton comes across as a brilliant man as well as being the ultimate over-achiever. From my high school history class, all I really remembered about Hamilton was that he was the first U.S. Treasury Secretary and one of the writers of the Federalist Papers. What I didn't know about him through Chernow's book was that he was General Washington's senior staff aide, the head of the Federalist Party, the creator of the Coast Guard and the founder of both the NY Post newspaper and the Bank of NY. I also learned that Hamilton was involved in one of America's earliest sex scandals. History textbooks are often dry and depict historical figures such as Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison as being all wise and incapable of wrong decision making. Chernow's book makes me realize that the founding fathers were after all humans capable of making mistakes and bad judgment calls. After reading this book, I believe that I now have a better understanding of what went on during this important period in American history.
HPB Staff Review -
Intriguing biography of one of America's founding fathers
Angela J. - 6 years 6 months agoI've always been a fan of history, so when the musical Hamilton came to Broadway I was obsessed, to say the least. When I found out the musical was based on the biography written by Ron Chernow I just had to read it. I was not disappointed. The book goes into a lot more detail about the ups and downs in the life of Alexander Hamilton and how he came to be one of America's greatest founding fathers.
HPB Staff Review