The Guy On The Ten Dollar Bill

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

One of the dangers that any biographer faces is that of taking sides. Either an author desperately wants to deflate the image of a previously lauded icon, or they work so hard to understand their subject’s point of view that they become a devoted advocate. Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton is certainly an example of the latter. If you were to read only this book, you would be convinced that Jefferson and Adams were downright sinister, with Hamilton deserving equal status with Washington. On the other hand, Chernow allows Hamilton all of his flaws--and he had plenty. While I disagree with building the reputation of one founder at the expense of others, some of the best books on Adams and Jefferson do the same to Hamilton. In fact, my favorites do.

   Is Chernow’s Hamilton a good book? Absolutely. It is a wide-ranging examination of an extraordinary man, with some stunning insights into his character and some thrilling passages that are hard to put down. The story of Hamilton’s birth in obscurity and his rise through intelligence and industriousness is perhaps even more compelling than that of Benjamin Franklin. And the chapters on the Aaron Burr duel are riveting beyond reason, since we know the outcome.

At times I found myself stunned by just how involved Hamilton was in the early Republic. The book does suffer from being a bit long, and Chernow can become tedious in his protracted style. One section in particular, in which Chernow weighs the possibility of Hamilton’s friendship with John Laurens having homosexual overtones, seems to be written just for the controversy. Especially since the terms of affection in letters between them and the possibility of their occasionally sharing a bed are incredibly common in the era. All of this is quickly forgotten when Hamilton’s real sex scandal emerges later in the book. By the end, 731 pages later, we have come to appreciate Hamilton--the brilliant, flawed and certainly underrated founder--in a way we did not before. I don’t think it’s fair to ask more than that of any biography.  Assuming that was Chernow’s goal, he unquestionably achieves it here. Alexander Hamilton is well worth the read.

Reviewed by Dan Shippey    Breed's Hill Institute     November  2009