Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. Read by Grover Gardiner. New York: Penguin Audio, 2004.
Ron Chernow is the master architect when building biographies. His reconstruction of Alexander Hamilton’s life is as detailed as it is complete. Chernow had plenty to work with as Hamilton’s early years were as rich with intrigue as his later political years. But, Chernow doesn’t stop there. Besides given a thorough snapshot of the political and historical times, he dips into the biographies of the influential people around Hamilton as well: John Adams, George Clinton, Elizabeth Schuyler, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and of course, Aaron Burr, to name a few. As an aside, I was surprised to learn that Hamilton enjoyed settling disputes with duels. He was quick to suggest them, enough so that his encounter with Burr was not the first, but definitely his last.
Reason read: Typically, we celebrate Presidents’ Day in February and even though Hamilton was not a president (his candidacy was denied), he was a founding father and an instrumental adviser to George Washington.
Author fact: Chernow also wrote Titan and The House of Morgan bot of which are on my list.
Book trivia: Alexander Hamilton is dedicated to, “Valerie, best of wives and best of women.” So sweet.
BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Founding Fathers” (p 92).
~*LunaSea*~ 