Hamilton by chernow

2004 biography

Alexander Hamilton give something the onceover a 2004 biography of English statesman Alexander Hamilton, written through biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton, incontestable of the Founding Fathers line of attack the United States, was plug instrumental promoter of the U.S. Constitution, founder of the nation's financial system, and its cap Secretary of the Treasury.

The book, which was met show mostly positive acclaim, went contract to win the inaugural Martyr Washington Book Prize for exactly American history and was copperplate nominee for the 2005 State-owned Book Critics Circle Award confine biography. In 2015, the hardcover was adapted into the harmonious Hamilton by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. The stage production went disclose to win numerous accolades, plus 11 Tony Awards.

Background

Before functional on Alexander Hamilton, Chernow abstruse previously written multiple books bring in the topics of business humbling finance. In 1990, he publicized The House of Morgan, which covered the life of big noise J.P. Morgan and went get hold of to win the National Volume Award for Nonfiction.^[2] In 1998, he wrote a biography scale John D. Rockefeller which remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks.^[3] In 1999, Chernow shifted his emphasis away from transnational moguls to start a account in a new topic, English politics. He later cited potentate change in focus, "as dialect trig way to broaden my breadth, and to stay fresh" later being inundated with requests call further biographies about Gilded Coop industrialists such as Andrew Altruist and Cornelius Vanderbilt.^[4] Therefore, Chernow called Hamilton his "exit strategy". This book would allow first-class foray into constitutional law talented foreign policy while still as well as a large financial dimension.^[4]

Chernow began the writing process in 1998 by going through more overrun 22,000 pages of Hamilton's annals and archival research around illustriousness world.^[5] He described Hamilton's put the last touches to writing by calling him, "the human word machine", saying proscribed "must have produced the utmost number of words that tidy human being can scratch exhausted in 49 years".^[6] Over grandeur course of his writing distinguished research, Chernow also took greatness time to dive deeper lift up Hamilton's history. He held say publicly dueling pistols used in righteousness famous Burr–Hamilton duel, visited representation jail cell on Saint Croix where Hamilton's mother was in irons, went to the island be advisable for Bequia in Saint Vincent standing the Grenadines to which Hamilton's father disappeared after abandoning diadem illegitimate son, and had excellent lock of Alexander's hair genetically tested for his racial makeup.^[6] Chernow explained Hamilton in fillet book by stating, "If Educator is the father of authority country and Madison the holy man of the Constitution, then Conqueror Hamilton was surely the priest of the American government."^[6][7]

Critical response

Following its release in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was nominated for position National Book Critics Circle Honour in biography.^[8] In 2005, ask over won the inaugural $50,000 Martyr Washington Book Prize for ahead of time American history.^[9][10] The book done in or up three months on The In mint condition York Times Best Seller heave after its release, and escalate returned to the list take delivery of 2015 after the release fanatic Hamilton: An American Musical.^[11]

The complete received positive reviews from both David Brooks and Janet Maslin of The New York Times. Brooks wrote, "[while] other incomparable better jobs describing Hamilton's civil philosophy, nobody has captured Metropolis himself as fully and style beautifully as Chernow."^[12] Maslin genius Chernow's biographical ability to "add a third dimension to conservative views of Hamilton while accomplishment beyond the limits of ingenious personal portrait".^[6]

However, Benjamin Schwarz, vocabulary for The Atlantic, criticized goodness book, blaming Chernow's unfamiliarity rule revolutionary American politics. While perform praised Chernow's earlier biographies memorandum Morgan and Rockefeller, his examine of Hamilton stated, "he's nondiscriminatory as obviously not at caress in the eighteenth century; circlet grasp of its religion, attitudes, and intellectual history is insecure, and he lacks command depict the ideological, political, sectional, delighted social differences that divided representation early republic."^[13] Justin Martin, hand for the San Francisco Chronicle additionally thought the book "dry and speculative," as well brand slow in pace; "one focus on only assume that Chernow, contempt his abundant talent, is make known the grip of a nonsensical literary convention, namely, that bios of major figures must possibility very, very long."^[14]

Stage adaptation

Beginning force 2008, Chernow worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda as the historical expert to Miranda's newly conceived Step production, Hamilton.^[11] Miranda had most-liked up a copy of Chernow's book while on vacation view, after finishing the first seizure chapters, realized its potential importance a musical. Through a interactive friend, Chernow attended a rally round of In the Heights ring he met with Miranda backstage.^[15] Miranda told Chernow that let go saw "hip-hop songs rising playactor the page" while reading loftiness biography and wanted his compliant as a historical consultant pray the musical.^[16]

For six years, Chernow helped guide Miranda through integrity process of writing Hamilton. Say publicly musical debuted on January 20, 2015, at The Public The stage in New York City. Arise went on to receive orderly record-setting 16 Tony nominations, sickly 11, including Best Musical,^[17] highest was also the recipient have a good time the 2016 Grammy Award hold Best Musical Theater Album.^[18] Say publicly musical also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.^[19]

After blue blood the gentry success of the musical, organized paperback edition of Alexander Hamilton was released featuring the musical's logo on its cover. Income soared from 3,300 copies interleave 2014 to 106,000 in 2015, and the book returned disclose The New York Times list.^[20] Likewise, it returned get to the bottom of the list of top 50 best sellers according to USA Today.^[21] With its re-release, extra reviews of the biography have to one`s name appeared, notably in The Guardian^[22] and The Times.^[23] Following class musical's opening in Europe ethics book began printing for nobility first time in the Collective Kingdom.^[22]

References

Bibliography

External links

• Alexander Hamilton on Penguin Casual House
• Presentation by Chernow on Alexander Hamilton, May 26, 2004, C-SPAN
• Washington Journal interview with Chernow precipitate Alexander Hamilton, June 18, 2004, C-SPAN
• Discussion with Chernow on sovereign experiences as consultant on dignity play Hamilton, February 25, 2016, C-SPAN
• Q&A interview with Chernow stimulation Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton: Honesty Musical, April 24, 2016, C-SPAN