I knew very little of Alexander Hamilton save for his untimely death. Perhaps my lack of knowledge was the main reason for choosing this title, along with other excellent reviews. I was rewarded with a splendid listen throughout the entire book. The narration is superb, with just the right inflections, which accurately conveys the author's fantastic phrasing and detailed knowledge. Chernow brought the early Republic to life for me and you won't go wrong if this biography captures your attention.

First point: A.H. is perfectly produced. This review tries hard to mention only major themes without spoiling actual details. Many (even who liked history class) are vaguely unimpressed by Hamilton often portrayed as a dandy concerned with money, big cities, and big government. (*WARNING* skip the end review if you want EVERY last fact to be a surprise.) MANY also think of Jefferson as "that cool country oriented founding father", the "down-to-earth homespun guy" (which was apparently a carefully crafted image, 'homespun' was early spin!) and, of course, author of the D.o.I. Chernow describes Hamilton as a fervent worker, superior to Jefferson in many ways. (You won't dislike Jefferson, just learn much more respect for Hamilton.) HAMILTON was one who TRULY lived "the American dream" of rags to riches. Also he was no hypocrite about slaves. Hamilton's huge part in writing the remarkably persuasive "Federalist Papers", convinced bigger states (who saw NO reason at all to cede ANY power to anyone) feel the NEED to join a central government. Read, too, about one of the first sex scandals in America, how insults were REALLY dealt in those times (was it always pistols at dawn?). Finally, it is very pertinent today that Chernow explains how deeply our founding fathers feared "factions", they called them, would develop. They were right to fear deeply entrenched political parties that now block laws that might serve the greater good. This is a MUST read for any lover of history. A. H. was a young genius and did much to help bind our divided states into a unified America. He was the top lawyer for N.Y and worked for George. Washington! Alexander Hamilton rightly deserves to be a top "founding father" and not disrespected by history as the hot-headed lawyer obsessed with money.

one of the best bio's I have read -- what an amazing contribution AH made to this country. A superbly written account of an incredible person.

This is a great book about the political and social environment surrounding our early republic. If you changed the names and left out the duals, you could be talking about today's politics - intrigue, backstabbing, personal attacks. This book really fills in the gaps between the revolution and the War of 1812. The narration is supurb.

I bought this book because it was on sale and would give a good long listen for the money. A well written history of about anything is a treat, so Hamilton went into my shopping cart. It sat in my library until I decided something a little meaty was in listening order, so A.H. moved into my ipod. A few weeks later, I decided to bite the bullet and listen to 40 hours of the life of Alexander Hamilton.

From the first sentence, I was hooked! What a story...Hamilton was a fascinating man!!! Chernow does a great job of entwining personal tidbits about Hamilton and others of his era with weightier discussion of monetary and constitutional foundations. He balances personalities and ideas extremely well, never allowing the biography to become tedious or boring.

The narrator also was excellent.

Do yourself a favor...get to know Alexander Hamilton. Your life will be the richer for it!