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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
This is the book upon which Lin Manuel Miranda based the musical Hamilton. It's very long (though not as long as my dates of reading might suggest--I had it on audio and listened only while walking. I was then laid up for 6 weeks with illness, so that delayed my finishing by a great deal.) This is a fascinating book. One feature is somewhat comforting: the politics of the era (during the first three presidencies) were nearly as outrageous and contentious as they are right now. The founding fathers (with the exception of Washington) do not come off in this rendition as being calm, rational, morally exceptional men. They (and especially Jefferson and Adams) are portrayed as being extremely arrogant and fragile, reacting to any slight with massive emotional overreaction. Jefferson, for instance, is show to have actually paid someone for slander to be published about Hamilton. When challenged with it publicly, he gave a public denial, at which point, the accuser brought forth documents in Jefferson's hand proving it. Jefferson especially but also Adams are shown to have been conspiracy theorists inclined to believe anything they heard that was negative about their perceived enemies, and to ignore facts whenever they did not suit. Aaron Burr, having shot Hamilton, and on the run from New York and New Jersey where he had been indicted for inciting a duel and murder (respectively), presided over the senate, including a trial to impeach a Supreme Court Justice for minimal improprieties (of which the Justice was acquitted). The trial, apparently, was instigated by Jefferson, who wanted to get rid of all the Federalist appointees to the Supreme Court. Having ostracized Burr, his Vice President, publicly for nearly four years, Jefferson suddenly embraced him after he shot Hamilton--in part because he (Jefferson) hated Hamilton with an unreasoning passion, and in part because he though Burr would help him get rid of the justice. Fraught with self-serving and fact-denying politicians, politically divided to an incredible degree: the age was similar to our own. This gives me some hope that we may survive this yet. Hamilton's story is the story of how he managed, in the middle of all the outrage (and he was apparently the lightning rod for most of this hatred), to spearhead the establishment of a governmental system, especially its finances, that was capable of upholding the constitution and surviving the vast amount of political rancor. Quite fascinating.
Hamilton's life is everything you could want in a biography-- war battles, political intrigue, conspiracies, sex scandals, high-flown political theories, the high stakes of a post-revolutionary democracy, vicious pamphlet battles with every other founding father, etc. Despite being a long book (~36 hours in audiobook format!) on a relatively short life of ~50 years, it never drags or seems overburdened by superfluous details. He lived a nonstop life filled with drama-- from his Dickensian birth in the West Indies to his infamous death by duel with then Vice President, as well as his presence at most major historical events of the era and active participation in shaping the trajectory of the entire nation-- which makes for fascinating reading. If anything I'm left wanting to research more detail into many of the events.
I admit, I read this book because of my obsession with and admiration for the Broadway hiphop musical, but the historical drama certainly lives up to the narrativized version. I think familiarity with the musical helped in that I already saw the major players as *people*, with all complexities and faults that presumes, which helps me connect emotionally with the story. I've seen critiques of this book that say it paints a rose-tinted portrait of Hamilton while villifying his contemporaries-- however, from the outset Chernow states as a major theme that Hamilton is the only Founding Father who doesn't live long enough to tell his own story and defend himself to history. Chernow's goal, then, is to explain Hamilton-- his genius and noble integrity as well as his overbearing nature and adultry among other faults-- to shed light on why he made some of his questionable decisions and to commend him for his significant impact on our country. In this, Chernow succeeds, as he weaves consistent themes throughout Hamilton's life and deftly ties together conflicting aspects of his personage.
I admit, I read this book because of my obsession with and admiration for the Broadway hiphop musical, but the historical drama certainly lives up to the narrativized version. I think familiarity with the musical helped in that I already saw the major players as *people*, with all complexities and faults that presumes, which helps me connect emotionally with the story. I've seen critiques of this book that say it paints a rose-tinted portrait of Hamilton while villifying his contemporaries-- however, from the outset Chernow states as a major theme that Hamilton is the only Founding Father who doesn't live long enough to tell his own story and defend himself to history. Chernow's goal, then, is to explain Hamilton-- his genius and noble integrity as well as his overbearing nature and adultry among other faults-- to shed light on why he made some of his questionable decisions and to commend him for his significant impact on our country. In this, Chernow succeeds, as he weaves consistent themes throughout Hamilton's life and deftly ties together conflicting aspects of his personage.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
If you love the musical, you should read this book. It was very cool to see where the songs came from, including some of the specific lyrics. I also really enjoyed seeing what Lin-Manuel changed (or completely made up!) and thinking about why he made those decisions.
This book is well researched but still fairly approachable. I gave up checking the notes for a faster read, but they're extensive and informative as well.
This book is well researched but still fairly approachable. I gave up checking the notes for a faster read, but they're extensive and informative as well.
I picked this up because my teenage daughter is obsessed with the musical and I realized that I really knew nothing about this man. I am so glad I did. I learned so much from reading this book that I did not know about our founding fathers and the birth of our country. I have read biographies on Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, but neither gave me the depth and perspective that this tome did. It took me a long time to complete it...this is not light reading... but it was well worth the effort.
informative
slow-paced
This is such a beautifully done portrait of Hamilton's life. I highly recommend it.