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A review by kindlereads
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
4.0
Reviewing a historical biography can be a difficult task, a genre for which the writing often veers to the monotonous. Yes, the Broadway musical Hamilton led me here. I can't say I'd have such a rabid interest in all things Alexander Hamilton/founding fathers if not for that weird collection of hip-hop musical numbers and a group of friend that won’t shut up about it all. I wouldn't have picked this book up if it weren't for the musical, and it wasn't exactly light reading, but I'm glad that I did. Before I did, I knew that Hamilton was the guy who was shot by Aaron Burr, and that he was on one of our bills. This book is through often a little too through. There were so many details that I have forgotten many part of his life and story but for the highlights.
Hamilton's ability to rise above a bastard's upbringing and his unsure beginnings to one of the highest offices of the US is one of those "American dream" stories that our forefathers built the cliché upon. Alexander Hamilton will make you feel bad about yourself. When he was about 19 years old, he had graduated from University and was also George Washington's aide. When he was about 30, he was one of the most successful lawyers in New York. Hamilton was responsible for writing the U.S. Constitution, and was in the process of building the U.S. Treasury Department from nothing which is amazing. He was a genuinely brilliant and astonishing man.
But, he was also a very proud and precise man who couldn’t or wouldn’t let things go, and that was his undoing. He could be arrogant and condescending and wouldn’t hold his tongue. He could pound you into the ground if you were wrong about anything. This kind of attitude wins you enemies- chief among them, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. His enemies made his life difficult by freezing him out of government but what made it all worse was Hamilton’s counteractions against his enemies. He was a caged animal the last years of his life because his talents were in their prime, but he had no meaningful outlet for them because he had burnt his bridges and created enemies among the political elite in power. And then he was shot dead which was his own damn fault, he set up his own death, he could have walked away but his pride wouldn’t let him. You can't help but wonder what might have been if he had lived and pulled his own head out of his own ass.
Hamilton's ability to rise above a bastard's upbringing and his unsure beginnings to one of the highest offices of the US is one of those "American dream" stories that our forefathers built the cliché upon. Alexander Hamilton will make you feel bad about yourself. When he was about 19 years old, he had graduated from University and was also George Washington's aide. When he was about 30, he was one of the most successful lawyers in New York. Hamilton was responsible for writing the U.S. Constitution, and was in the process of building the U.S. Treasury Department from nothing which is amazing. He was a genuinely brilliant and astonishing man.
But, he was also a very proud and precise man who couldn’t or wouldn’t let things go, and that was his undoing. He could be arrogant and condescending and wouldn’t hold his tongue. He could pound you into the ground if you were wrong about anything. This kind of attitude wins you enemies- chief among them, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. His enemies made his life difficult by freezing him out of government but what made it all worse was Hamilton’s counteractions against his enemies. He was a caged animal the last years of his life because his talents were in their prime, but he had no meaningful outlet for them because he had burnt his bridges and created enemies among the political elite in power. And then he was shot dead which was his own damn fault, he set up his own death, he could have walked away but his pride wouldn’t let him. You can't help but wonder what might have been if he had lived and pulled his own head out of his own ass.