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finnwilliams 's review for:
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Read because I recently saw the musical and wanted to know more. Thoroughly recommend this!
Unfortunately it has taken me a while to finish so I have definitely forgotten tons of fascinating details, but some of the ones that stick out now are:
Hamilton's early life is even more tragic than I thought. His service in the war was way more interesting than I expected and the dynamic with Washington was far more complex too.
For a book written over two decades ago I could not stop drawing comparison between post revolution America and the current political landscape in a way that was both depressing and fascinating. Jefferson kept reminding me of Trump.
Adams was a curious and particularly unpleasant figure.
Burr just swanned through life causing chaos and misery, through an insane level of self interest surpassing that of the other founding fathers that come off poorly.
Elements of Hamilton's life that at first seemed hard to follow are conveyed so clearly here, like: the continental convention, the federalist papers, tenure in Washington adminstration, Reynolds pamphlet, the Burr duel etc.
How Hamilton became such a polarising figure is illustrated incredibly well.
Probably gonna read something way more lightweight next.
Unfortunately it has taken me a while to finish so I have definitely forgotten tons of fascinating details, but some of the ones that stick out now are:
Hamilton's early life is even more tragic than I thought. His service in the war was way more interesting than I expected and the dynamic with Washington was far more complex too.
For a book written over two decades ago I could not stop drawing comparison between post revolution America and the current political landscape in a way that was both depressing and fascinating. Jefferson kept reminding me of Trump.
Adams was a curious and particularly unpleasant figure.
Burr just swanned through life causing chaos and misery, through an insane level of self interest surpassing that of the other founding fathers that come off poorly.
Elements of Hamilton's life that at first seemed hard to follow are conveyed so clearly here, like: the continental convention, the federalist papers, tenure in Washington adminstration, Reynolds pamphlet, the Burr duel etc.
How Hamilton became such a polarising figure is illustrated incredibly well.
Probably gonna read something way more lightweight next.