Alexander Hamilton

By: Ron Chernow

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 35 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

The inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton! In the first full-length biography of Alexander Hamilton in decades, National Book Award winner Ron Chernow tells the riveting story of a man who overcame all odds to shape, inspire, and scandalize the newborn America.

According to historian Joseph Ellis, Alexander Hamilton is “a robust full-length portrait, in my view the best ever written, of the most brilliant, charismatic and dangerous founder of them all.”

Few figures in American history have been more hotly debated or more grossly misunderstood than Alexander Hamilton. Chernow’s biography gives Hamilton his due and sets the record straight, deftly illustrating that the political and economic greatness of today’s America is the result of Hamilton’s countless sacrifices to champion ideas that were often wildly disputed during his time.

“To repudiate his legacy,” Chernow writes, “is, in many ways, to repudiate the modern world.” Chernow here recounts Hamilton’s turbulent life: an illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean, he came out of nowhere to take America by storm, rising to become George Washington’s aide-de-camp in the Continental Army, coauthoring The Federalist Papers, founding the Bank of New York, leading the Federalist Party, and becoming the first Treasury Secretary of the United States.

Historians have long told the story of America’s birth as the triumph of Jefferson’s democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power. His is a Hamilton far more human than we’ve encountered before—from his shame about his birth to his fiery aspirations, from his intimate relationships with childhood friends to his titanic feuds with Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Monroe, and Burr, and from his highly public affair with Maria Reynolds to his loving marriage to his loyal wife Eliza. And never before has there been a more vivid account of Hamilton’s famous and mysterious death in a duel with Aaron Burr in July of 1804.

Chernow’s biography is not just a portrait of Hamilton, but the story of America’s birth seen through its most central figure. At a critical time to look back to our roots, Alexander Hamilton will remind readers of the purpose of our institutions and our heritage as Americans.

©2004 Ron Chernow (P)2004 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

• George Washington Book Prize Winner, 2005

"Comprehensive and superbly written." (Booklist)
"This is a fine work that captures Hamilton's life with judiciousness and verve." (Publishers Weekly)
"Literate and full of engaging historical asides. By far the best of the many lives of Hamilton now in print." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Scott Brick delivers a highly professional, straightforward narration that holds one's interest throughout. Straight narrative can become boring, and Brick is never that. Nor does he become lazy in the course of 36 hours. His voice and evident interest are fresh throughout." (AudioFile)

Corrective for 200 Years of Jefferson Worship

I'm actively angry that the real history of this genius, Hamilton, was hidden in plain view by my teachers and professors. Jefferson! they said. What a genius of the Revolution! Compared to Hamilton, J was a privileged, lazy, bitchy dillettante. Simply because he never became president - and, of course, due to his murder by A. Burr - H was scandalized by generations of hypocrites who, when he was alive, couldn't hold a candle to him. (In other news, Mr. Lin-manuel totally misunderstood this book, if it was the Ur-text for his musical. H abjured his immigrant roots and spent his life building America on classical Greco-Roman philosophical foundations.)

Can’t recommend highly enough

Fans of presidential biographies such as Robert Caro’s Lyndon Johnson series, and fans of Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s Hamilton musical alike will love this book. It’s long but it’s completely worth it. So many details and fascinating stories that the musical doesn’t go into. The audiobook is particularly good, in terms of the narration. I loved listening to it and I’m sad that I’m finished.

“Astounding” would be an insult

Let’s call a spade a spade. I’m not a reader. But I have found that I can “read “audiobooks. I’ve listened to dozens of them. Not only is this the best audiobook I’ve ever heard, it could also be one of the single most impactful experiences of my life. I realize that sounds grandiose, and I would have never believed it. But it’s the truth. I’m gonna keep this short bc my writing skills are too elementary to pay the homage this work deserves. I think for the rest of my life, I will be encouraging people I come across to invest in this book. It’s the best of the best. Nowhere to go but down from here!!

Hamilton

I found this book to be excellent! I learned so much by listening to it com Things I never knew about the founding fathers and about Hamilton himself who is so in trench did not his history and kind of skipped over in historically class.The reading of the book was very well done And kept my interest the entire time.I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed it!

Great Story; Narration Lacking at Times

The narrative occasionally butchered words. Superfluous was “super flew us”; dueling pistols “secreted away,” as in to have been hidden, were instead secreted like a discharge; “confidants” is not pronounced like “confidence.” Inflection is often misplaced, and he speaks with an air of sophistication which ultimately falls short.

With those criticisms aside, his voice is pleasant and easy on the ears.

Well Rounded and Detailed Read

The overall writing and narrative is great. It covers Hamilton’s life in great detail. At time it seems a bit heavy handed toward the Jeffersonian Republicans, more specifically Thomas Jefferson. However, that just makes we want to read more on Jefferson’s life.
The narration was good, except for the pacing. I listened at 1.5x speed in order to keep my mind engaged.

Long journey

Great book that is the basis for the musical. Break it up if you can. Long audible, frankly if I had to read it, it would still be on my nightstand

Brilliant

A brilliant and engaging account of Hamilton, perhaps one of our greatest founding fathers. So well written, exhaustive, lively, and engaging that I would stay up long past my bedtime just to listen.

Fabulous Book, Superb Performance

Any additional comments?

Chernow is a wonderful author. This is the second book of his I've read, the first being Washington. The book moves like a novel. Well researched, balanced, fun to read. Highly recommended.

Fascinating, riveting and insightful

To say that the book treats Alexander Hamilton’s life thoroughly dramatically understated the case. Chernow writes historical narrative that reads like a novel. As a reader you don’t simply learn about a Hamilton, but get to know him as fully drawn as any protagonist. Chernow doesn’t just sketch in the background for context, but uses Hamilton’s life to shine a light on his times as much as vice versa. The characters in his life are likewise fully realized to take the reader beyond facts into the development of complex, growing relationships that further illuminate and are illuminated by the life of Hamilton. The analysis of Hamilton’s politics and his influence on the development of our country also offers surprising insights and elucidations for understanding our own day and age, what it all means in the long term and how we got here. Despite being 37 hours long, I didn’t want the book to end. Fascinating from beginning to end.