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Product Description: From National Book Award winner Ron Chernow, a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, scandalized, and shaped the newborn nation.
Ron Chernow, whom the New York Times called "as elegant an architect of monumental histories as we've seen in decades," now brings to startling life the man who was arguably the most important figure in American history, who never attained the presidency, but who had a far more lasting impact than many who did.
An illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean, Hamilton rose with stunning speed to become George Washington's aide-de-camp, a member of the Constitutional Convention, coauthor of The Federalist Papers, leader of the Federalist party, and the country's first Treasury secretary. With masterful storytelling skills, Chernow presents the whole sweep of Hamilton's turbulent life: his exotic, brutal upbringing; his brilliant military, legal, and financial exploits; his titanic feuds with Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and Monroe; his illicit romances; and his famous death in a duel with Aaron Burr in July 1804.
For the first time, Chernow captures the personal life of this handsome, witty, and perennially controversial genius and explores his poignant relations with his wife Eliza, their eight children, and numberless friends. This engrossing narrative will dispel forever the stereotype of the Founding Fathers as wooden figures and show that, for all their greatness, they were fiery, passionate, often flawed human beings.
Alexander Hamilton was one of the seminal figures in our history. His richly dramatic saga, rendered in Chernow's vivid prose, is nothing less than a riveting account of America's founding, from the Revolutionary War to the rise of the first federal government. Amazon.com: Building on biographies by Richard Brookhiser and Willard Sterne Randall, Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton provides what may be the most comprehensive modern examination of the often overlooked Founding Father. From the start, Chernow argues that Hamilton’s premature death at age 49 left his record to be reinterpreted and even re-written by his more long-lived enemies, among them: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe. Hamilton’s achievements as first Secretary of the Treasury, co-author of The Federalist Papers, and member of the Constitutional Convention were clouded after his death by strident claims that he was an arrogant, self-serving monarchist. Chernow delves into the almost 22,000 pages of letters, manuscripts, and articles that make up Hamilton’s legacy to reveal a man with a sophisticated intellect, a romantic spirit, and a late-blooming religiosity. One fault of the book, is that Chernow is so convinced of Hamilton’s excellence that his narrative sometimes becomes hagiographic. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Chernow’s account of the infamous duel between Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1804. He describes Hamilton’s final hours as pious, while Burr, Jefferson, and Adams achieve an almost cartoonish villainy at the news of Hamilton’s passing. A defender of the union against New England secession and an opponent of slavery, Hamilton has a special appeal to modern sensibilities. Chernow argues that in contrast to Jefferson and Washington’s now outmoded agrarian idealism, Hamilton was "the prophet of the capitalist revolution" and the true forebear of modern America. In his Prologue, he writes: "In all probability, Alexander Hamilton is the foremost figure in American history who never attained the presidency, yet he probably had a much deeper and more lasting impact than many who did." With Alexander Hamilton, this impact can now be more widely appreciated. --Patrick O'Kelley Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-15
6 stars - I didn't want it to end
From what I learned of American history as a schoolboy, Hamilton was certainly considered as one of the founding fathers, but he was relegated to the periphery among the founders; and he and the Federalists, according to this teaching, needed to be constantly restrained by the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson or else they would have reverted the country back to a monarchy. After reading this book, I still think there is truth to the need for Jefferson's restraint, but overall, I think that my education was prejudiced and myopic. As the author notes, because Jefferson, Madison and Adams all became President (along with another Virginian James Monroe) and they had many more years to write about events, their legacy gained the upper hand and history has probably skewed their importance relative to Hamilton.
This really outstanding book tips the balance of viewpoint in the other direction. Some have criticized the book because they maintain that it habitually depicts Jefferson, Madison, and Adams in the worst of ways, such as only showing the worst of what they wrote. They may have a point, but the author is showing what Hamilton was up against - sometimes unreasoning opposition; and he makes a very strong case that Hamilton more than any of the founders was responsible for setting up the American government as we know it today. Hamilton recognized, with a force that no one else could exert, that a strong union was the best hope to avoid all the evils and conflicts of Balkanization. No doubt that Jefferson and Madison provided a much needed counterbalance, especially since Hamilton did not recognize the importance of the Bill of Rights; and Washington also provided a needed check to his military proclivities. But Jefferson and Madison in their Virginian politics that favored a sectionalized state-empowered confederacy molded from a slave-based agrarian economy held views that have fallen by the wayside, whereas Hamilton set in motion the means whereby the United States could get a grip on itself and move into the modern age.
It is a fascinating story of a life that leads to a well-known tragic conclusion. It starts in one of most beautiful of places but also one of the worst scenes of human degradation - the sugar trade in the West Indies. The fact that Hamilton's relatives could never succeed in such a place was probably a credit to them, for it must have taken an extraordinary brutality to keep a majority population of slave labor at bay. Hamilton left the place at the first available opportunity, and took advantage of the time and his abilities to make a continuing success of himself during the Revolution and its aftermath. Beside being blessed with a brilliant mind (John Marshall said that beside him he felt like a candle to the midday sun) and being a relentless worker, he showed that he was a man of principle, and all through his life he hardly deviated from that sense of principle. His enemies did not want to separate his personal life from his private life, but there is every indication that he hardly ever wavered in that regard, despite the folly of the Maria Reynolds scandal. Despite all the investigations, no one was able to find a shred of evidence that showed that while he was Secretary of Treasury and setting up the banking system - or any other time for that matter - that he did anything untoward or for his own benefit. In fact, he had to quit his post because he became too deeply in debt to support his family. Yet, the slander followed him everywhere, and a lack of restraint on his part encouraged the attacks. In the end, the need to clear his name and a strong sense of honor - so important to his politics - had set him on an irrevocable course. Rating:
Date: 2008-07-04
Absolutely Magnificent
It was my ambition in college to someday write a biography of the most neglected of the Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton. I talked about it, read a few of the biographies out there. Forrest McDonald's was the best, I thought.
Then last spring I borrowed from the Meredith, NH, public library this book by the incomparable Ron Chernow. I read it on the our family trip to Virginia. Visiting Redoubt 10 at Yorktown, horribly neglected by Americans, was an intense emotional experience for me.
I've learned from Dennis Prager that the best way to learn history is through biographies. None are better, I've found, than this. In fact, after reading it, I had to purchase my own copy.
That's how much I value Ron Chernow's absolutely magnificent biography. Embracing Christianity at the end of Hamilton's life shows me what side he'd take in the cultural war. How we could use his exemplary industry and brilliance now! Only he could overshadow Mr. Jefferson, whom I've always adored.
But Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Chernow, you are the best. Rating:
Date: 2008-06-30
Interesting and influential life...well worth your time to examine
The other reviewers of this book are right on -- Hamilton's influence in American political history is truly significant -- he is probably the most influential Founding Father never to have served as president. His vision for a unified country recorded in the Federalist Papers are truly remarkable and his influence on the economy of this country with his position as the first Treasury Secretary and his vision for a federal bank last to this day.
I actually listened to the 10 set CD series of this book and the time just flew by -- the book is fascinating and Chernow does a great job of giving significant historical details on everyone who comes into contact with Hamilton -- from Washington to Jefferson to Jay and Burr. The portion of Hamilton's life which resulted in his affair are a great life lesson for every man, especially those in positions of leadership!
Every student of history should buy this book (or listen to the CDs) -- Hamilton was a man history can not ignore. Rating:
Date: 2008-06-28
Alexander Hamilton Lives!
Ron Chernow has written an informative, detailed, wholly engaging biography of one of the most interesting and controversial founding fathers. This book is a delightful read through the history of the forging of the United States of America. Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-04
Detailed, wonderfully written biography
Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton was a great read that included a remarkable amount of information on the man, as well as all the important characters who shared the stage with Hamilton during his 49 years. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which felt nothing like its length.
It was an enlightening experience to read the book because much of my knowledge of Hamilton came from biographies on his many rivals or books on the period. Hamilton was an opinionated, controversial and insecure man, but he was quite ethical in his professional life. I was worried that a Hamilton book would be bogged down with too much economics, but Chernow did a great job of presenting that important information is an understandable manner.
The reason I can't quite give this book a 5-star rating was its overly sympathetic nature. Yes, most bios are partial to the subject, but this one took that to the extreme. Chernow gave ample coverage to the controversial events in Hamilton's life, though he tended to make excuses for them. Every sentence written about Jefferson, Adams and post-1789 Madison were very negative, as Chernow selected the unflattering quotes from those men in a way that would elevate Hamilton. If you were to read the second and third volumes of Dumas Malone's series on Jefferson, and follow it up by reading Chernow's book, you'd think they were writing about completely different eras, or that they were family members of their respective subjects.
But since this book is eye-opening and filled with so much information, in a beautifully written account, I highly recommend it. It made me see Hamilton in a different light and understand more fully why he was such a powerful figure in the early American republic. |
