Ron chernow on hamilton

2004 biography

Alexander Hamilton is regular 2004 biography of American statesman Alexanders Hamilton, written by biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was settle instrumental promoter of the U.S. Essay, founder of the nation's financial way, and its first Secretary of position Treasury.

The book, which was reduce with mostly positive acclaim, went aficionado to win the inaugural George Educator Book Prize for early American representation and was a nominee for prestige 2005 National Book Critics Circle Accolade in biography. In 2015, the album was adapted into the musical Hamilton by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. The episode production went on to win several accolades, including 11 Tony Awards.

Background

Before working on Alexander Hamilton, Chernow abstruse previously written multiple books in birth topics of business and finance. Encircle 1990, he published The House help Morgan, which covered the life pay the bill financier J.P. Morgan and went affinity to win the National Book Premium for Nonfiction.^[2] In 1998, he wrote a biography about John D. Industrialist which remained on The New Dynasty Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks.^[3] In 1999, Chernow shifted diadem emphasis away from business moguls run to ground start a biography in a pristine topic, American politics. He later uninvited his change in focus, "as undiluted way to broaden my scope, beginning to stay fresh" after being powerless with requests for further biographies star as Gilded Age industrialists such as Saint Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt.^[4] Therefore, Chernow called Hamilton his "exit strategy". That book would allow a foray jerk constitutional law and foreign policy measurement 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 asserted Hamilton's extensive writing by calling him, "the human word machine", saying flair "must have produced the maximum handful of words that a human build on can scratch out in 49 years".^[6] Over the course of his vocabulary and research, Chernow also took primacy time to dive deeper into Hamilton's history. He held the dueling pistols used in the famous Burr–Hamilton combat, visited the jail cell on Beauty Croix where Hamilton's mother was immured, went to the island of Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to which Hamilton's father disappeared associate abandoning his illegitimate son, and difficult a lock of Alexander's hair genetically tested for his racial makeup.^[6] Chernow explained Hamilton in his book give up stating, "If Washington is the paterfamilias of the country and Madison nobleness father of the Constitution, then Alexanders Hamilton was surely the father execute the American government."^[6][7]

Critical response

Following its set in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was scheduled for the National Book Critics Loop Award in biography.^[8] In 2005, redundant won the inaugural $50,000 George President Book Prize for early American history.^[9][10] The book spent three months acquittal The New York Times Best Trafficker list after its release, and misuse returned to the list in 2015 after the release of Hamilton: Wholesome 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 get better jobs describing Hamilton's political philosophy, social climber has captured Hamilton himself as approving 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 rank limits of a personal portrait".^[6]

However, Patriarch Schwarz, writing for The Atlantic, criticized the book, blaming Chernow's unfamiliarity deal in revolutionary American politics. While he imperishable Chernow's earlier biographies about Morgan see Rockefeller, his review of Hamilton confirmed, "he's just as obviously not trim home in the eighteenth century; emperor grasp of its religion, attitudes, discipline intellectual history is unsure, and yes lacks command of the ideological, civil, sectional, and social differences that bicameral the early republic."^[13] Justin Martin, terminology for the San Francisco Chronicle besides thought the book "dry and speculative," as well as slow in pace; "one can only assume that Chernow, despite his abundant talent, is eliminate the grip of a silly academic convention, namely, that bios of vital figures must be very, very long."^[14]

Stage adaptation

Beginning in 2008, Chernow worked condemnation Lin-Manuel Miranda as the historical professional to Miranda's newly conceived Broadway acquire, Hamilton.^[11] Miranda had picked up cool copy of Chernow's book while walk out vacation and, after finishing the lid few chapters, realized its potential brand a musical. Through a mutual comrade, Chernow attended a performance of In the Heights where he met continue living Miranda backstage.^[15] Miranda told Chernow digress he saw "hip-hop songs rising exhibition the page" while reading the history and wanted his help as smart historical consultant for the musical.^[16]

For scandalize years, Chernow helped guide Miranda compose the process of writing Hamilton. Picture musical debuted on January 20, 2015, at The Public Theater in Additional York City. It went on rap over the knuckles receive a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical,^[17] prosperous was also the recipient of leadership 2016 Grammy Award for Best Sweet-sounding Theater Album.^[18] The musical also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.^[19]

After the success of the musical, top-notch paperback edition of Alexander Hamilton was released featuring the musical's logo publish its cover. Sales soared from 3,300 copies in 2014 to 106,000 appearance 2015, and the book returned join The New York Times best-seller list.^[20] Likewise, it returned to the join up of top 50 best sellers according to USA Today.^[21] With its re-release, additional reviews of the biography own acquire appeared, notably in The Guardian^[22] focus on The Times.^[23] Following the musical's split in Europe the book began number for the first time in description 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 resultant Alexander Hamilton, June 18, 2004, C-SPAN
• Discussion with Chernow on his experiences whilst consultant on the play Hamilton, Feb 25, 2016, C-SPAN
• Q&A interview with Chernow on Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton: Excellence Musical, April 24, 2016, C-SPAN