ALEXANDER HAMILTON

by Ron Chernow

It was exactly one year ago that I had my breakthrough and realized that there are well-written, non-fiction books about history that even I could enjoy reading. It was Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals that opened my eyes. After Goodwin, I solicited ideas from friends and tried Jill Lepore’s These Truths and realized that not all popular history books would be to my liking. Therefore, when I read Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton, I was thrilled to find it so accessible and entertaining. Honestly, the incentives for choosing this book were twofold: friends had recommended Chernow as a great writer, and everyone who had seen the play Hamilton warned that I’d either have to really familiarize myself with the play’s soundtrack or read the book if I was going to fully enjoy the play. Of course, I chose to read the book. And I was not disappointed. Not only did it absolutely make the play more enjoyable – by making it more comprehensible – but the book was wonderful on its own merits.

Chernow, like Goodwin, knows how to make a non-fiction story as compelling as a fiction tale. He consistently examines the human side of his historical subjects. What motivates them? What insecurities do they have? How do they deal with those? What people encouraged them? Who challenged them? Alexander Hamilton was a complex, brilliant, flawed, strategic founding father of our country. His alliances and enmities with the other founding fathers are fascinating to read about. I heartily recommend Alexander Hamilton if you’re in the mood for a serious examination of the origins of the United States, written in an open and engaging style. (Liz)