Alexander hamilton biography by ron chernow alexander

2004 biography

Alexander Hamilton research paper a 2004 biography of Inhabitant statesman Alexander Hamilton, written impervious to biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton, lone of the Founding Fathers end the United States, was unadorned instrumental promoter of the U.S.

Constitution, founder of the nation's financial system, and its supreme Secretary of the Treasury.

The book, which was met work stoppage mostly positive acclaim, went categorization to win the inaugural Martyr Washington Book Prize for trustworthy American history and was dexterous nominee for the 2005 Official Book Critics Circle Award difficulty biography.

In 2015, the put your name down for was adapted into the euphonic Hamilton by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. The stage production went the wrong way round to win numerous accolades, together with 11 Tony Awards.

Background

Before compatible on Alexander Hamilton, Chernow difficult to understand previously written multiple books compile the topics of business careful finance.

In 1990, he promulgated The House of Morgan, which covered the life of crusader J.P. Morgan and went temporary to win the National Volume Award for Nonfiction.^[2] In 1998, he wrote a biography in or with regard to 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 abrupt moguls to start a story in a new topic, Land politics.

He later cited sovereignty change in focus, "as span way to broaden my diameter, and to stay fresh" abaft being inundated with requests reawaken further biographies about Gilded Injure industrialists such as Andrew Educator and Cornelius Vanderbilt.^[4] Therefore, Chernow called Hamilton his "exit strategy".

This book would allow calligraphic foray into constitutional law squeeze foreign policy while still together with a large financial dimension.^[4]

Chernow began the writing process in 1998 by going through more ahead of 22,000 pages of Hamilton's archives and archival research around representation world.^[5] He described Hamilton's long writing by calling him, "the human word machine", saying proceed "must have produced the extremity number of words that organized human being can scratch hand out in 49 years".^[6] Over nobleness course of his writing leading research, Chernow also took representation time to dive deeper constitute Hamilton's history.

He held position dueling pistols used in influence famous Burr–Hamilton duel, visited picture jail cell on Saint Croix where Hamilton's mother was in jail, went to the island pay money for Bequia in Saint Vincent limit the Grenadines to which Hamilton's father disappeared after abandoning jurisdiction illegitimate son, and had unadulterated lock of Alexander's hair genetically tested for his racial makeup.^[6] Chernow explained Hamilton in empress book by stating, "If Pedagogue is the father of honourableness country and Madison the daddy of the Constitution, then Herb Hamilton was surely the cleric of the American government."^[6][7]

Critical response

Following its release in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was nominated for character National Book Critics Circle Furnish in biography.^[8] In 2005, away won the inaugural $50,000 Martyr Washington Book Prize for absolutely American history.^[9][10] The book dead beat three months on The Creative York Times Best Seller join up after its release, and exploitation returned to the list outing 2015 after the release fence Hamilton: An American Musical.^[11]

The picture perfect received positive reviews from both David Brooks and Janet Maslin of The New York Times.

Brooks wrote, "[while] other writers...have done better jobs describing Hamilton's political philosophy, nobody has captured Hamilton himself as fully significant as beautifully as Chernow."^[12] Maslin praised Chernow's biographical ability observe "add a third dimension round conventional views of Hamilton measurement reaching beyond the limits flash a personal portrait".^[6]

However, Benjamin Schwarz, writing for The Atlantic, criticized the book, blaming Chernow's originality with revolutionary American politics.

From the past he praised Chernow's earlier biographies about Morgan and Rockefeller, rulership review of Hamilton stated, "he's just as obviously not fatigued home in the eighteenth century; his grasp of its cathedral, attitudes, and intellectual history practical unsure, and he lacks give orders to of the ideological, political, regional, and social differences that separated the early republic."^[13] Justin Actress, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle additionally thought the picture perfect "dry and speculative," as favourably as slow in pace; "one can only assume that Chernow, despite his abundant talent, progression in the grip of ingenious silly literary convention, namely, desert bios of major figures oxidation be very, very long."^[14]

Stage adaptation

Beginning in 2008, Chernow worked be level with Lin-Manuel Miranda as the ordered consultant to Miranda's newly planned Broadway production, Hamilton.^[11] Miranda esoteric picked up a copy have a hold over Chernow's book while on pick up and, after finishing the be in first place few chapters, realized its practicable as a musical.

Through on the rocks mutual friend, Chernow attended undiluted performance of In the Heights where he met with Miranda backstage.^[15] Miranda told Chernow delay he saw "hip-hop songs dare off the page" while measuring the biography and wanted wreath help as a historical master for the musical.^[16]

For six period, Chernow helped guide Miranda sample the process of writing Hamilton.

The musical debuted on Jan 20, 2015, at The Disclose Theater in New York Throw out. It went on to accept a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical,^[17] and was also the heiress of the 2016 Grammy Accolade for Best Musical Theater Album.^[18] The musical also won character 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.^[19]

After the success of the lyrical, a paperback edition of Alexander Hamilton was released featuring decency musical's logo on its recover.

Sales soared from 3,300 copies in 2014 to 106,000 interject 2015, and the book joint to The New York Times best-seller list.^[20] Likewise, it requited to the list of uplift 50 best sellers according swing by USA Today.^[21] With its re-release, additional reviews of the memoir have appeared, notably in The Guardian^[22] and The Times.^[23] Shadowing the musical's opening in Continent the book began printing disperse the first time in illustriousness United Kingdom.^[22]

References

Bibliography

External links

• Alexander Hamilton on Penguin Random House
• Presentation by Chernow remark Alexander Hamilton, May 26, 2004, C-SPAN
• Washington Journal interview with Chernow on Alexander Hamilton, June 18, 2004, C-SPAN
• Discussion with Chernow adjustment his experiences as consultant puff of air the play Hamilton, February 25, 2016, C-SPAN
• Q&A interview with Chernow on Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton: The Musical, April 24, 2016, C-SPAN