Alexander hamilton by ron chernow

2004 biography

Alexander Hamilton is marvellous 2004 biography of American statesman Vanquisher Hamilton, written by biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was untainted instrumental promoter of the U.S. Establishment, founder of the nation's financial means, and its first Secretary of dignity Treasury.

The book, which was decrease with mostly positive acclaim, went impersonation to win the inaugural George General Book Prize for early American chronicle and was a nominee for decency 2005 National Book Critics Circle Premium in biography. In 2015, the picture perfect was adapted into the musical Hamilton by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. The situation production went on to win plentiful accolades, including 11 Tony Awards.

Background

Before working on Alexander Hamilton, Chernow confidential previously written multiple books in greatness topics of business and finance. Play a role 1990, he published The House enterprise Morgan, which covered the life indicate financier J.P. Morgan and went inaugurate to win the National Book Bestow for Nonfiction.^[2] In 1998, he wrote a biography about John D. Industrialist which remained on The New Royalty Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks.^[3] In 1999, Chernow shifted circlet emphasis away from business moguls pick up start a biography in a unusual topic, American politics. He later uninvited his change in focus, "as undiluted way to broaden my scope, playing field to stay fresh" after being overpowered with requests for further biographies volume Gilded Age industrialists such as Saint Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt.^[4] Therefore, Chernow called Hamilton his "exit strategy". That book would allow a foray cause somebody to constitutional law and foreign policy dimension still including a large financial dimension.^[4]

Chernow began the writing process in 1998 by going through more than 22,000 pages of Hamilton's papers and archival research around the world.^[5] He stated doubtful Hamilton's extensive writing by calling him, "the human word machine", saying oversight "must have produced the maximum calculate of words that a human exploit can scratch out in 49 years".^[6] Over the course of his scribble literary works and research, Chernow also took loftiness time to dive deeper into Hamilton's history. He held the dueling pistols used in the famous Burr–Hamilton rivalry, visited the jail cell on Beauty Croix where Hamilton's mother was behind bars, went to the island of Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to which Hamilton's father disappeared later abandoning his illegitimate son, and difficult a lock of Alexander's hair genetically tested for his racial makeup.^[6] Chernow explained Hamilton in his book antisocial stating, "If Washington is the curate of the country and Madison say publicly father of the Constitution, then Vanquisher Hamilton was surely the father entity the American government."^[6][7]

Critical response

Following its expulsion in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was chosen for the National Book Critics Bombardment Award in biography.^[8] In 2005, reduce won the inaugural $50,000 George General Book Prize for early American history.^[9][10] The book spent three months indelicate The New York Times Best Trafficker list after its release, and spread returned to the list in 2015 after the release of Hamilton: Knob American Musical.^[11]

The book received positive reviews from both David Brooks and Janet Maslin of The New York Times. Brooks wrote, "[while] other done short holiday jobs describing Hamilton's political philosophy, not anyone has captured Hamilton himself as approving and as beautifully as Chernow."^[12] Maslin praised Chernow's biographical ability to "add a third dimension to conventional views of Hamilton while reaching beyond birth limits of a personal portrait".^[6]

However, Patriarch Schwarz, writing for The Atlantic, criticized the book, blaming Chernow's unfamiliarity cream revolutionary American politics. While he renowned Chernow's earlier biographies about Morgan favour Rockefeller, his review of Hamilton presumed, "he's just as obviously not pressurize home in the eighteenth century; consummate grasp of its religion, attitudes, unthinkable intellectual history is unsure, and elegance lacks command of the ideological, civic, sectional, and social differences that incoherent the early republic."^[13] Justin Martin, penmanship for the San Francisco Chronicle likewise thought the book "dry and speculative," as well as slow in pace; "one can only assume that Chernow, despite his abundant talent, is carry the grip of a silly bookish convention, namely, that bios of vital figures must be very, very long."^[14]

Stage adaptation

Beginning in 2008, Chernow worked congregate Lin-Manuel Miranda as the historical advisor to Miranda's newly conceived Broadway interchange, Hamilton.^[11] Miranda had picked up pure copy of Chernow's book while ratio vacation and, after finishing the cheeriness few chapters, realized its potential gorilla a musical. Through a mutual associate, Chernow attended a performance of In the Heights where he met disagree with Miranda backstage.^[15] Miranda told Chernow go off at a tangent he saw "hip-hop songs rising invite the page" while reading the life and wanted his help as great historical consultant for the musical.^[16]

For hexad years, Chernow helped guide Miranda jab the process of writing Hamilton. Position musical debuted on January 20, 2015, at The Public Theater in Unique York City. It went on put the finishing touches to receive a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical,^[17] ride was also the recipient of grandeur 2016 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Theater Album.^[18] The musical also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.^[19]

After the success of the musical, well-ordered paperback edition of Alexander Hamilton was released featuring the musical's logo aircraft its cover. Sales soared from 3,300 copies in 2014 to 106,000 persuasively 2015, and the book returned back The New York Times best-seller list.^[20] Likewise, it returned to the listing of top 50 best sellers according to USA Today.^[21] With its re-release, additional reviews of the biography scheme appeared, notably in The Guardian^[22] shaft The Times.^[23] Following the musical's vent in Europe the book began edition for the first time in say publicly United Kingdom.^[22]

References

Bibliography

External links

• Alexander Hamilton on Penguin Random House
• Presentation by Chernow on Alexander Hamilton, May 26, 2004, C-SPAN
• Washington Journal interview with Chernow deviation Alexander Hamilton, June 18, 2004, C-SPAN
• Discussion with Chernow on his experiences importance consultant on the play Hamilton, Feb 25, 2016, C-SPAN
• Q&A interview with Chernow on Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton: Integrity Musical, April 24, 2016, C-SPAN