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A review by lavanyasbooks
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
5.0
*Wonders if there is a possibility of give a 6 star somewhere*
![](https://media.tenor.com/zcs5gYi4sSMAAAAC/mindblown-omg.gif"/)
Fine. I'm one of the gazillion people obsessed with the musical & this book it what started it all. Now having read it, I'm not surprised that Lin-Manuel-Miranda jumped at the chance to play this deeply flawed founding father.
Alexander Hamilton has the perfect arc for a hero journey. A scrappy hungry lad from West Indies who crawled his way into history, Alexander's journey has all the drama worthy of a founding father. He was fiercely opinionated, highly volatile, extremely intelligent, quick witted, sharp and made the kind of mistakes that seemed completely at odds with his reputation...and yet... there was this loyalty for his adopted country, his family that were often tested due to his self destructive personality. What the musical fails and the book beautifully captures is the almost father-son relationship between him & Washington that becomes an anchor for an otherwise unhinged Alexander.
The only con I can think of is that it is incredibly long. But to capture a complex and complicated Alexander one requires the time to understand him.
The musical is unbelievable but believe me when I say, the book is better.
Fine. I'm one of the gazillion people obsessed with the musical & this book it what started it all. Now having read it, I'm not surprised that Lin-Manuel-Miranda jumped at the chance to play this deeply flawed founding father.
Alexander Hamilton has the perfect arc for a hero journey. A scrappy hungry lad from West Indies who crawled his way into history, Alexander's journey has all the drama worthy of a founding father. He was fiercely opinionated, highly volatile, extremely intelligent, quick witted, sharp and made the kind of mistakes that seemed completely at odds with his reputation...and yet... there was this loyalty for his adopted country, his family that were often tested due to his self destructive personality. What the musical fails and the book beautifully captures is the almost father-son relationship between him & Washington that becomes an anchor for an otherwise unhinged Alexander.
The only con I can think of is that it is incredibly long. But to capture a complex and complicated Alexander one requires the time to understand him.
The musical is unbelievable but believe me when I say, the book is better.