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sawdustcharlie 's review for:
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
Interesting subject matter compellingly and poetically written gives a reader the best of both worlds. It is on such a plane that Chernow's Alexander Hamilton firmly resides.
Hamilton would be an interesting read at any time, but it feels especially poignant now in a presidential election year full of venom and vitriol. 2016 has certainly seemed like a dark year thus far, with dark clouds looming on every horizon. It is difficult in such times to not despair, lamenting the times. Chernow provides a window to the years of the U.S.'s infancy, the controversies of which provided enough cracks in the national foundation that Hamilton saw the inevitability of the Union's fissure a half century before it occurred. Reading the debates of the early republic reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun-- though our current times may feel unprecedented in their gloom, the American character (nor the nature of politicians) has not changed all that much from Hamilton's time. Hamilton's words of warning, particularly those invoking the danger of demagogues, feel as relevant today as when he first put pen to paper.
As I leave my 20's behind, and face a new phase of adulthood, Hamilton's biography feels instructive. His incredible life and formidable talents provoke so many questions as I ponder my own role in this world: how does one continue to evolve with the times? how do you continuously adapt your own place in a world that changes each dawning day? how do you remain informed and involved but avoid bitterness? how do you move from life stage to life stage, letting go the things of youth and embracing, with just as much passion and joy, new roles and occupations in life? how do you exercise your voice without feeling as though you are simply shouting into the rain?
Though Hamilton gives no conclusive answers to these kinds of questions, they are woven throughout his life's story. It is a story, in all, that leaves the reader in both awe and in mourning. Truly, finishing this book left me in a mournful sadness--not the kind accompanied by tears and sobs, but with a deeper sense of loss, the loss of what could have been. The week after so many tragic and violent deaths covered in the news, what could feel more poignant than the repeated loss of endless potential to the detriment of all those left behind?
Hamilton would be an interesting read at any time, but it feels especially poignant now in a presidential election year full of venom and vitriol. 2016 has certainly seemed like a dark year thus far, with dark clouds looming on every horizon. It is difficult in such times to not despair, lamenting the times. Chernow provides a window to the years of the U.S.'s infancy, the controversies of which provided enough cracks in the national foundation that Hamilton saw the inevitability of the Union's fissure a half century before it occurred. Reading the debates of the early republic reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun-- though our current times may feel unprecedented in their gloom, the American character (nor the nature of politicians) has not changed all that much from Hamilton's time. Hamilton's words of warning, particularly those invoking the danger of demagogues, feel as relevant today as when he first put pen to paper.
As I leave my 20's behind, and face a new phase of adulthood, Hamilton's biography feels instructive. His incredible life and formidable talents provoke so many questions as I ponder my own role in this world: how does one continue to evolve with the times? how do you continuously adapt your own place in a world that changes each dawning day? how do you remain informed and involved but avoid bitterness? how do you move from life stage to life stage, letting go the things of youth and embracing, with just as much passion and joy, new roles and occupations in life? how do you exercise your voice without feeling as though you are simply shouting into the rain?
Though Hamilton gives no conclusive answers to these kinds of questions, they are woven throughout his life's story. It is a story, in all, that leaves the reader in both awe and in mourning. Truly, finishing this book left me in a mournful sadness--not the kind accompanied by tears and sobs, but with a deeper sense of loss, the loss of what could have been. The week after so many tragic and violent deaths covered in the news, what could feel more poignant than the repeated loss of endless potential to the detriment of all those left behind?