Alexander Hamilton

So much to say about this. First of all, the book is truly mammoth. It was a true project to read it fully; Chernow is encyclopedic in his detail, which is of course the appropriate treatment that should be given to Hamilton, who embodied exhaustive, borderline superfluous linguistic output. It took me about a month and a half to get through it fully (with some interruptions).

The folklore this book has engendered, with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” has given it quite a positive reputation. That is of course deserved, but it is worth nothing that Chernow’s other biographies are also similarly good.

Of the many takeaways I got from the biography, I think there are two worthy enough to share. The first is just how viciously the “popular” media attacked major political figures of the day, and how viciously political figures of the day attacked each other. I had not fully appreciated this, and Hamilton’s biography is good grounding for those who might overstate the current nature of our politics today (although granted we are in a more mature democracy that should be higher standards).

The second is the extent of the tragedy of Hamilton’s life being cut so short. The raw human output that he exhibited in such a short lifespan, net, surpassed many of the most well regarded founding fathers who lived until their 80s or beyond. Were Hamilton to have lived on, there is a chance that he could have surpassed Franklin in contribution, albeit in different fields.