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A review by graph_dracula
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This book describes Alexander Hamilton's life in great details, often quoting contemporaries directly. Almost every event is reflected upon and explained from multiple perspectives.
The book sticks pretty much entirely to facts, so some passages are quite dry. However, Hamilton had such an eventful life that it is overall still quite an entertaining read (but a challenging one).
If you consider this book because of the Musical, you will probably be disappointed by how little action (and hip-hop!) there is. Nonetheless, if you are fascinated by early American history, this is an excellent read! The quoted letters by friends and family made me feel especially connected to Hamilton. I can't claim that I cried while reading this, but I may or may not gotten a bit emotional at some parts.
The next part can't be considered a real spoiler because it's history (shout-out to Modern Family), but I assume all of you have already seen the Musical and none of the following will actually surprise you.
Even though there is little evidence left about his upbringing in Nevis/St. Croix, Ron Chernow managed to reconstruct his childhood with striking minutia. Several times throughout the book, he also speculates on Hamilton's own thoughts, e.g. his motives for stepping back as Treasury Secretary or him dealing with depression.
Arguably, the best part of the book is Hamilton's fatal duel with Aaron Burr, during which Chernow almost manages to create novel-like tension. However, towards the end, he highlights how _every_ event links to the upcoming fight. This is kind of necessary because context isn't straight-forward but can get quite annoying. In my opinion, he didn't really managed to draw the line right.
The book sticks pretty much entirely to facts, so some passages are quite dry. However, Hamilton had such an eventful life that it is overall still quite an entertaining read (but a challenging one).
If you consider this book because of the Musical, you will probably be disappointed by how little action (and hip-hop!) there is. Nonetheless, if you are fascinated by early American history, this is an excellent read! The quoted letters by friends and family made me feel especially connected to Hamilton. I can't claim that I cried while reading this, but I may or may not gotten a bit emotional at some parts.
The next part can't be considered a real spoiler because it's history (shout-out to Modern Family), but I assume all of you have already seen the Musical and none of the following will actually surprise you.
Arguably, the best part of the book is Hamilton's fatal duel with Aaron Burr, during which Chernow almost manages to create novel-like tension. However, towards the end, he highlights how _every_ event links to the upcoming fight. This is kind of necessary because context isn't straight-forward but can get quite annoying. In my opinion, he didn't really managed to draw the line right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime and War
Moderate: Child death, Death, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail