Guys, guys, what do you know about Alexander Hamilton?

“Oh I know!” you say. “I’ve watched Hamilton: An American Musical! I know all about the man—”

NO! No. You. Don’t!!! Now, please, please, don’t get me wrong, I truly appreciate the musical. In fact, “My Shot” is one of the stock songs I hum while showering. HOWEVER, we can’t ignore the fact that there are many details in the musical that are inaccurate. To give a quick example, the Levi Weeks case, in which Hamilton and Burr defended Weeks, didn’t actually happen until 1800, wayyy after just after the Revolutionary War like the musical purports. 

“Now,” you reply. “I agree. But this detail is very trivial, no?”

Well, I wouldn’t say an 18-year disparity is trivial, but aside from being factually accurate, the book has so many good points that warrant a read (or many), even for those who have watched the musical. So bear with me! 

#BookReview: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

A largely spoiler-free analysis: 

Alexander Hamilton was born illegitimately in 1755 on Nevis, the West Indies, before moving to a nearby island, St. Croix, where he spent his adolescence clerking for a local trading company. Embattled and embittered by the obstacles for a “bastard” like him, and when his father walked out and his mom perished in an epidemic, he received a study grant from the community and moved to New York. What many didn’t know was this Columbia student would go on to join the imminent Revolutionary War, become the highest-ranked aide to Washington, practiced law as one of the most famous New York lawyers, became the US’s first Treasure Secretary, and beyond. He would fight for America, help govern it, enrich it, scandalize it, divide it, and, above all, leave a lasting influence on the country for centuries to come. 

Personal opinion:

As mentioned at the beginning, one of the best qualities of Alexander Hamilton must be how well-researched it is. You just need to look at the acknowledgement section, where Chernow thanks people whom he enlisted in the research of the book. Boy, he pulled out all the stops: ransacking the West Indies for drips of information about Hamilton’s past, visiting countless museums and universities for the elusive fragments during Hamilton’s time at college, and so on – you get the idea. In my view at least, the fact that Chernow goes all the way to research for this book makes it worth reading already. That’s also the exact reason why AI-generated prose flops. Who wants to read stuff that people don’t bother to write?

Another praise-worthy point is partiality. Chernow presents both sides of Hamilton, illustrious as he is. He laid bare the Martha Reynold affair, the John Adams letter, his compromises in matters of slavery for political expediency, and beyond. Granted, some parts may sound too flattering, but I’d argue that that’s because Hamilton himself was genuinely talented and arguably one of the more important Founding Fathers. (Conveniently, Hamilton’s story is intertwined with all the other Founding Fathers, so our kind Chernow always provides us useful comparisons. Therefore, this book is not only about Hamilton but also about the early history of the Republic as well! A win-win, shall I say?)   

One complaint, though: Chernow is rather excessive in his verbiage. Brace yourself for archaic, unfamiliar words like “numberless” and “rascality,” as well as latin words like “coup de grâce,” “vis-à-vis,” “à la,” and so on. That said, I suppose this is tolerable since it’s at least in line with the eighteenth-century atmosphere of the book (I’m looking at you, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.) 

To sum up, Alexander Hamilton is a well-researched, unbiased, if unnecessarily complex, biography of the esteemed founding father. And on a side note, notwithstanding the criticism at the beginning, and that this comes more than 2 months late…

HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY, HAMILTON!!!!!