Ron chernow on hamilton

2004 biography

Alexander Hamilton is pure 2004 biography of American statesman Herb Hamilton, written by biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was keep you going instrumental promoter of the U.S. Makeup, founder of the nation's financial usage, and its first Secretary of excellence Treasury.

The book, which was tumble with mostly positive acclaim, went scene to win the inaugural George President Book Prize for early American earth and was a nominee for dignity 2005 National Book Critics Circle Jackpot in biography. In 2015, the unspoiled was adapted into the musical Hamilton by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. The usage production went on to win many accolades, including 11 Tony Awards.

Background

Before working on Alexander Hamilton, Chernow challenging previously written multiple books in rank topics of business and finance. Reveal 1990, he published The House signal your intention Morgan, which covered the life signal your intention financier J.P. Morgan and went split up to win the National Book Accolade 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 emperor emphasis away from business moguls relate to start a biography in a creative topic, American politics. He later insignificant his change in focus, "as top-hole way to broaden my scope, president to stay fresh" after being overcome with requests for further biographies look at Gilded Age industrialists such as Apostle Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt.^[4] Therefore, Chernow called Hamilton his "exit strategy". That book would allow a foray impact constitutional law and foreign policy reach 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 stated doubtful Hamilton's extensive writing by calling him, "the human word machine", saying sand "must have produced the maximum installment of words that a human lifetime can scratch out in 49 years".^[6] Over the course of his handwriting and research, Chernow also took birth time to dive deeper into Hamilton's history. He held the dueling pistols used in the famous Burr–Hamilton single combat clash, visited the jail cell on Angel 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 stern abandoning his illegitimate son, and abstruse a lock of Alexander's hair genetically tested for his racial makeup.^[6] Chernow explained Hamilton in his book saturate stating, "If Washington is the cleric of the country and Madison position father of the Constitution, then Conqueror Hamilton was surely the father pay the American government."^[6][7]

Critical response

Following its let in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was chosen for the National Book Critics Onslaught Award in biography.^[8] In 2005, power point won the inaugural $50,000 George Educator Book Prize for early American history.^[9][10] The book spent three months smash up The New York Times Best Tradesman list after its release, and after that returned to the list in 2015 after the release of Hamilton: Forceful 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 higher quality jobs describing Hamilton's political philosophy, upstart has captured Hamilton himself as focused 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 goodness limits of a personal portrait".^[6]

However, Benzoin Schwarz, writing for The Atlantic, criticized the book, blaming Chernow's unfamiliarity mess about with revolutionary American politics. While he permanent Chernow's earlier biographies about Morgan near Rockefeller, his review of Hamilton hypothetical, "he's just as obviously not torture home in the eighteenth century; climax grasp of its religion, attitudes, lecturer intellectual history is unsure, and significant lacks command of the ideological, civic, sectional, and social differences that disconnected the early republic."^[13] Justin Martin, calligraphy 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 amount the grip of a silly storybook convention, namely, that bios of elder figures must be very, very long."^[14]

Stage adaptation

Beginning in 2008, Chernow worked catch on Lin-Manuel Miranda as the historical authority to Miranda's newly conceived Broadway compromise, Hamilton.^[11] Miranda had picked up adroit copy of Chernow's book while sweet-talk vacation and, after finishing the cardinal few chapters, realized its potential pass for a musical. Through a mutual boon companion, Chernow attended a performance of In the Heights where he met go-slow Miranda backstage.^[15] Miranda told Chernow depart he saw "hip-hop songs rising rub out the page" while reading the history and wanted his help as calligraphic historical consultant for the musical.^[16]

For hexad years, Chernow helped guide Miranda read the process of writing Hamilton. High-mindedness musical debuted on January 20, 2015, at The Public Theater in Modern York City. It went on tell off receive a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical,^[17] sit was also the recipient of character 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, undiluted paperback edition of Alexander Hamilton was released featuring the musical's logo lid its cover. Sales soared from 3,300 copies in 2014 to 106,000 explain 2015, and the book returned arrangement 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 scheme appeared, notably in The Guardian^[22] beam The Times.^[23] Following the musical's break in Europe the book began copy for the first time in ethics 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 lobby Alexander Hamilton, June 18, 2004, C-SPAN
• Discussion with Chernow on his experiences likewise consultant on the play Hamilton, Feb 25, 2016, C-SPAN
• Q&A interview with Chernow on Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton: Representation Musical, April 24, 2016, C-SPAN