Alexander Hamilton (book)
 | |
| Author | Ron Chernow |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Alexander Hamilton |
| Genre | Non-fiction; biography |
| Publisher | Penguin Press |
Publication date | April 26, 2004 |
| Media type | Print, digital, audio |
| Pages | 818 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 978-1-59420-009-0 |
| 973.4092 | |
| LC Class | E302.6.H2 2004 |
Alexander Hamilton is a 2004 biography of American statesman Alexander Hamilton, written by historian and biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was an instrumental promoter of the U.S. Constitution, founder of the nation's financial system, and its first Secretary of the Treasury.
The book, which was met with mostly positive acclaim, went on to win the inaugural George Washington Book Prize and was a nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography. In 2015, the book was adapted to the stage by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda where it went on to win many accolades and awards.
Background
Chernow had previously written multiple books on the topic of business and finance – notably a biography covering the life of J.P. Morgan which went on to win the National Book Award for Nonfiction,[1] and a biography about John D. Rockefeller which remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks.[2] In 1999, he shifted his focus to start a biography in a new topic; American politics. Chernow began the writing process by going through more than 22,000 pages of Hamilton's papers and archival research around the world.[3] He described Hamilton's extensive writing by calling him, "the human word machine", saying he "must have produced the maximum number of words that a human being can scratch out in 49 years".[4] Over the course of his writing and research, Chernow also took the time to dive more into Hamilton's history. He held the dueling pistols used in the famous Burr–Hamilton duel, visited the jail cell on Saint Croix where Hamilton's mother was imprisoned, went to the island of Bequia where Hamilton's father disappeared to after abandoning his illegitimate son, and had a lock of Alexander's hair genetically tested for his racial makeup.[4] Chernow explained Hamilton in his book by stating, "If Washington is the father of the country and Madison the father of the Constitution, then Alexander Hamilton was surely the father of the American government."[4][5]
Critical response
Following its release in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography.[6] In 2005, it won the inaugural $50,000 George Washington Book Prize for early American history.[7][8] The book spent three months on The New York Times Best Seller list after its release, and then returned to the list in 2015 after the release of Hamilton: An American Musical.[9]
The book 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 and as beautifully as Chernow."[10] Maslin praised Chernow's biographical ability to "add a third dimension to conventional views of Hamilton while reaching beyond the limits of a personal portrait."[4]
However, Benjamin Schwarz, writing for The Atlantic, criticized the book blaming Chernow's unfamiliarity with revolutionary American politics. While he praised Chernow's earlier biographies about Morgan and Rockefeller, his review of Hamilton stated, "he's just as obviously not at home in the eighteenth century; his grasp of its religion, attitudes, and intellectual history is unsure, and he lacks command of the ideological, political, sectional, and social differences that divided the early republic."[11] Justin Martin, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle additionally thought the book "dry and speculative," as well as slow in pace; "one can only assume that Chernow, despite his abundant talent, is in the grip of a silly literary convention, namely, that bios of major figures must be very, very long."[12]
Stage adaptation
Beginning in 2008, Chernow worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda as the historical consultant to Miranda's newly conceived Broadway production, Hamilton.[9] Miranda had picked up a copy of Chernow's book while on vacation, and after finishing the first few chapters realized its potential as a musical. The performance went on to receive a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical,[13] and was also the recipient of the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.[14] The play also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[15]
After the success of the musical, paperback sales of Alexander Hamilton soared from 3,300 copies in 2014 to 106,000 in 2015, and the book returned to the New York Times best-seller list.[16] It also returned to the top 50 best sellers according to USA Today following the musical's success.[17]
References
- ^ "National Book Awards 1990". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Morrow, Lance (15 June 1998). "Books: John D. Rockefeller: Oil In The Family". Time. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Freeman, John (May 30, 2004). "Hamilton Envisioned U.S. Power". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 16 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Maslin, Janet (May 2, 2004). "Biographer fills in Hamilton's background". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 16 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hartle, Terry W. (15 June 2004). "The founder who gave America a bank to trust". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ Mickunas, Vick (April 3, 2005). "Hamilton gets turn in spotlight". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 16 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hamilton biographer honored with $50,000 book prize". The Star-Democrat. May 9, 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Historian Ron Chernow wins Washington Prize". Deseret News. – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . May 10, 2005. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ a b "Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian Ron Chernow to Speak at The Tennessee Theatre". Claiborne Progress. March 12, 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Brooks, David (April 25, 2004). "Creating Capitalism". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Schwarz, Benjamin (April 1, 2004). "New & Noteworthy". The Atlantic. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Martin, Justin (25 April 2004). "Alexander Hamilton, America's first moderate / Chernow's biography presents him as a farseeing statesman". SFGate. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Paulson, Michael (3 May 2016). "'Hamilton' Makes History With 16 Tony Nominations". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Park, Andrea (February 19, 2016). "Grammys 2016: "Hamilton" performs, wins Best Musical Theater Album". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Viagas, Robert (April 18, 2016). "Hamilton Wins 2016 Pulitzer Prize; Miranda Reacts". Playbill. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Alter, Alexandra (3 May 2016). "'Hamilton: The Revolution' Races Out of Bookstores, Echoing the Musical's Success". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ McClurg, Jocelyn (June 26, 2016). "'Hamilton' bump". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
Bibliography
- Chernow, Ron (26 April 2004). Alexander Hamilton. Penguin Group US. ISBN 978-1-59420-009-0.
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