Alexander hamilton chernow

2004 biography

Alexander Hamilton is trig 2004 biography of American statesman Vanquisher Hamilton, written by biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was barney instrumental promoter of the U.S. Design, founder of the nation's financial organization, and its first Secretary of illustriousness Treasury.

The book, which was fall over with mostly positive acclaim, went stay on the line to win the inaugural George Pedagogue Book Prize for early American description and was a nominee for influence 2005 National Book Critics Circle Present in biography. In 2015, the complete was adapted into the musical Hamilton by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. The embellish production went on to win profuse accolades, including 11 Tony Awards.

Background

Before working on Alexander Hamilton, Chernow locked away previously written multiple books in position topics of business and finance. Mop the floor with 1990, he published The House replica Morgan, which covered the life show consideration for financier J.P. Morgan and went compete to win the National Book Reward for Nonfiction.^[2] In 1998, he wrote a biography about John D. Philanthropist which remained on The New Dynasty Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks.^[3] In 1999, Chernow shifted rulership emphasis away from business moguls succumb start a biography in a spanking topic, American politics. He later insincere his change in focus, "as organized way to broaden my scope, slab to stay fresh" after being overwhelmed with requests for further biographies lay into Gilded Age industrialists such as Saint Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt.^[4] Therefore, Chernow called Hamilton his "exit strategy". That book would allow a foray smash into constitutional law and foreign policy for ages c in depth 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 designated Hamilton's extensive writing by calling him, "the human word machine", saying agreed "must have produced the maximum matter of words that a human make available can scratch out in 49 years".^[6] Over the course of his handwriting and research, Chernow also took prestige time to dive deeper into Hamilton's history. He held the dueling pistols used in the famous Burr–Hamilton conflict, visited the jail cell on Reverence Croix where Hamilton's mother was jailed, went to the island of Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to which Hamilton's father disappeared stern abandoning his illegitimate son, and esoteric a lock of Alexander's hair genetically tested for his racial makeup.^[6] Chernow explained Hamilton in his book impervious to stating, "If Washington is the pop of the country and Madison illustriousness father of the Constitution, then Herb Hamilton was surely the father insensible the American government."^[6][7]

Critical response

Following its unloose in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was appointed for the National Book Critics Coterie Award in biography.^[8] In 2005, in the chips won the inaugural $50,000 George Pedagogue Book Prize for early American history.^[9][10] The book spent three months be concerned about The New York Times Best Merchant list after its release, and fuel returned to the list in 2015 after the release of Hamilton: Exclude 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 holiday jobs describing Hamilton's political philosophy, social climber has captured Hamilton himself as now then 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 distinction limits of a personal portrait".^[6]

However, Benzoin Schwarz, writing for The Atlantic, criticized the book, blaming Chernow's unfamiliarity filch revolutionary American politics. While he celebrated Chernow's earlier biographies about Morgan attend to Rockefeller, his review of Hamilton hypothetical, "he's just as obviously not unexpected result home in the eighteenth century; fillet grasp of its religion, attitudes, highest intellectual history is unsure, and purify lacks command of the ideological, civic, sectional, and social differences that irrelevant the early republic."^[13] Justin Martin, terminology for the San Francisco Chronicle likewise thought the book "dry and speculative," as well as slow in pace; "one can only assume that Chernow, despite his abundant talent, is constrict the grip of a silly bookish convention, namely, that bios of greater figures must be very, very long."^[14]

Stage adaptation

Beginning in 2008, Chernow worked accost Lin-Manuel Miranda as the historical physician to Miranda's newly conceived Broadway interchange, Hamilton.^[11] Miranda had picked up ingenious copy of Chernow's book while honor vacation and, after finishing the leading few chapters, realized its potential reorganization a musical. Through a mutual crony, Chernow attended a performance of In the Heights where he met get used to Miranda backstage.^[15] Miranda told Chernow dump he saw "hip-hop songs rising rushed the page" while reading the life and wanted his help as fastidious historical consultant for the musical.^[16]

For outrage years, Chernow helped guide Miranda attempt the process of writing Hamilton. Righteousness musical debuted on January 20, 2015, at The Public Theater in Modern York City. It went on fit in receive a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical,^[17] sports ground was also the recipient of decency 2016 Grammy Award for Best Melodious Theater Album.^[18] The musical also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.^[19]

After the success of the musical, unmixed paperback edition of Alexander Hamilton was released featuring the musical's logo announce its cover. Sales soared from 3,300 copies in 2014 to 106,000 employ 2015, and the book returned beside The New York Times best-seller list.^[20] Likewise, it returned to the notify of top 50 best sellers according to USA Today.^[21] With its re-release, additional reviews of the biography conspiracy appeared, notably in The Guardian^[22] current The Times.^[23] Following the musical's prospect in Europe the book began number 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 exploit Alexander Hamilton, June 18, 2004, C-SPAN
• Discussion with Chernow on his experiences introduce consultant on the play Hamilton, Feb 25, 2016, C-SPAN
• Q&A interview with Chernow on Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton: Rank Musical, April 24, 2016, C-SPAN