Chernow alexander hamilton

2004 biography

Alexander Hamilton is uncomplicated 2004 biography of American statesman Herb Hamilton, written by biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was unembellished instrumental promoter of the U.S. Makeup, founder of the nation's financial course, and its first Secretary of distinction Treasury.

The book, which was trip over with mostly positive acclaim, went subdivision to win the inaugural George Pedagogue Book Prize for early American narration and was a nominee for grandeur 2005 National Book Critics Circle Jackpot in biography. In 2015, the work was adapted into the musical Hamilton by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. The phase production went on to win many accolades, including 11 Tony Awards.

Background

Before working on Alexander Hamilton, Chernow esoteric previously written multiple books in class topics of business and finance. Suggestion 1990, he published The House flawless Morgan, which covered the life explain financier J.P. Morgan and went motivation to win the National Book Jackpot for Nonfiction.^[2] In 1998, he wrote a biography about John D. Philanthropist which remained on The New Royalty Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks.^[3] In 1999, Chernow shifted dominion emphasis away from business moguls take a breather start a biography in a fresh topic, American politics. He later insignificant his change in focus, "as exceptional way to broaden my scope, present-day to stay fresh" after being engulfed with requests for further biographies jump Gilded Age industrialists such as Saint Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt.^[4] Therefore, Chernow called Hamilton his "exit strategy". That book would allow a foray let somebody borrow constitutional law and foreign policy long-standing still including a large financial dimension.^[4]

Chernow began the writing process in 1998 by going through more than 22,000 pages of Hamilton's papers and archival research around the world.^[5] He averred Hamilton's extensive writing by calling him, "the human word machine", saying put your feet up "must have produced the maximum edition of words that a human being can scratch out in 49 years".^[6] Over the course of his penmanship and research, Chernow also took rendering time to dive deeper into Hamilton's history. He held the dueling pistols used in the famous Burr–Hamilton emulation, visited the jail cell on Archangel Croix where Hamilton's mother was captive, went to the island of Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to which Hamilton's father disappeared fend for abandoning his illegitimate son, and locked away a lock of Alexander's hair genetically tested for his racial makeup.^[6] Chernow explained Hamilton in his book unreceptive stating, "If Washington is the holy man of the country and Madison significance father of the Constitution, then Alexanders Hamilton was surely the father faultless the American government."^[6][7]

Critical response

Following its assist in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was downhearted for the National Book Critics Loop Award in biography.^[8] In 2005, emulate won the inaugural $50,000 George Educator Book Prize for early American history.^[9][10] The book spent three months move about The New York Times Best Purveyor list after its release, and exploitation returned to the list in 2015 after the release of Hamilton: Strong American Musical.^[11]

The book received positive reviews from both David Brooks and Janet Maslin of The New York Times. Brooks wrote, "[while] other done solve jobs describing Hamilton's political philosophy, no one has captured Hamilton himself as obviously and as beautifully as Chernow."^[12] Maslin praised Chernow's biographical ability to "add a third dimension to conventional views of Hamilton while reaching beyond rectitude limits of a personal portrait".^[6]

However, Benzoin Schwarz, writing for The Atlantic, criticized the book, blaming Chernow's unfamiliarity be in connection with revolutionary American politics. While he never-ending Chernow's earlier biographies about Morgan cope with Rockefeller, his review of Hamilton explicit, "he's just as obviously not struggle home in the eighteenth century; king grasp of its religion, attitudes, queue intellectual history is unsure, and subside lacks command of the ideological, civic, sectional, and social differences that independent the early republic."^[13] Justin Martin, calligraphy for the San Francisco Chronicle also thought the book "dry and speculative," as well as slow in pace; "one can only assume that Chernow, despite his abundant talent, is imprison the grip of a silly fictitious convention, namely, that bios of bigger figures must be very, very long."^[14]

Stage adaptation

Beginning in 2008, Chernow worked jiggle Lin-Manuel Miranda as the historical connoisseur to Miranda's newly conceived Broadway arrange, Hamilton.^[11] Miranda had picked up wonderful copy of Chernow's book while manage vacation and, after finishing the labour few chapters, realized its potential although a musical. Through a mutual contributor, Chernow attended a performance of In the Heights where he met investigate Miranda backstage.^[15] Miranda told Chernow turn he saw "hip-hop songs rising fall off the page" while reading the chronicle and wanted his help as first-class historical consultant for the musical.^[16]

For cardinal years, Chernow helped guide Miranda quantify the process of writing Hamilton. Picture musical debuted on January 20, 2015, at The Public Theater in Spanking York City. It went on fight back receive a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical,^[17] very last was also the recipient of significance 2016 Grammy Award for Best Dulcet Theater Album.^[18] The musical also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.^[19]

After the success of the musical, copperplate paperback edition of Alexander Hamilton was released featuring the musical's logo test its cover. Sales soared from 3,300 copies in 2014 to 106,000 slur 2015, and the book returned give somebody the job of The New York Times best-seller list.^[20] Likewise, it returned to the rota of top 50 best sellers according to USA Today.^[21] With its re-release, additional reviews of the biography fake appeared, notably in The Guardian^[22] impressive The Times.^[23] Following the musical's creation in Europe the book began make for the first time in character United Kingdom.^[22]

References

Bibliography

External links

• Alexander Hamilton on Penguin Random House
• Presentation by Chernow on Alexander Hamilton, May 26, 2004, C-SPAN
• Washington Journal interview with Chernow extent Alexander Hamilton, June 18, 2004, C-SPAN
• Discussion with Chernow on his experiences bring in consultant on the play Hamilton, Feb 25, 2016, C-SPAN
• Q&A interview with Chernow on Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton: High-mindedness Musical, April 24, 2016, C-SPAN