Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow · first published 2004
44% recommend56% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Dense but readable biography that serves as a solid introduction to the founding era of the US, including the Hamilton-Jefferson rivalry and Hamilton's economic vision; suits non-Americans and fans of the musical.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
From National Book Award winner Ron Chernow, a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, scandalized, and shaped the newborn nation.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 figu
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You should read the middle chapters of Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton, because he had a pretty expansive view of the "Necessary and Proper" clause.
on “Snowden lawyer: Bill of Rights was meant to make government’s job more difficult” ↗If you want to learn more about Hamilton I highly recommend "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow. (Which I now see was an inspiration for the play, who knew.) One thing I took away was that the world we live in pretty much what Hamilton envisioned. Another thing is that we're still…
on “‘Hamilton’ and History: Are They in Sync?” ↗…anyone looking for a good book on Jefferson, https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Power-Jon-Meacham/dp... The competition between Jefferson and Hamilton is also detailed in https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/159..., and it doesn't paint such a great picture of Jefferson. (Alexander Hamilton lived one of the most incredible lives ever. Anyone interested in history needs to read this book)
on “Historians Uncover Slave Quarters of Sally Hemings at Jefferson’s Monticello” ↗Have you ever read Ron Chernow bios? I've read Titan (Rockefeller): https://www.amazon.ca/Titan-Life-John-Rockefeller-Sr/dp/1400... and Alexander Hamilton: https://www.amazon.ca/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/0143... Both incredible. I admit I've never been terribly interested in Grant, maybe I should give him a look. Tough when there's an infinite…
on “The Scotsmen Who Invented Modernity” ↗…And you know, lead development of the atomic bomb. The Phoenix Project - Gene Kim - Great CI/CD book disguised as a novel, inspired me to push heavily for an improved build/release pipeline at work. Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow - Yes, the book the play is based on, but it goes into such great detail of the life of an incredible person. It’s hard to fathom what the United States would become without Hamilton. It…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It's a great read, and I learned a lot about the early years of the US. It's also the book that Lin-Manuel Miranda used as a reference for the musical, so I watched the musical for the…
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗Not many people fully appreciate the degree to which #1 is true. Folks should read Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton.
on “Apple files final response in San Bernardino iPhone case” ↗…Recommendations: - Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman - Souls of Black Folk by WEB DuBois - to answer the Question DuBois raises at the end: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond - 1776 by David McCulloch - Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow - not history, but if you've only read Lord of the Rings on paper, you really should listen to the Audiobook. Also lately I've been repeatedly listening to the songs from a musical about…
on “Ask HN: What do you listen to while programming?” ↗This might be a bit more on the national zeitgeist than the others mentioned so far, but I recently finished Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow and am now halfway through Chernow's George Washington. They're very dense, but very readable. I'm enjoying them thoroughly. I also recently finished Beneath The Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan.…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite history books?” ↗…https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49947205-the-end-is-alwa... I try to read a book about all major powers from a few centuries back. The last one I read was about Hamilton (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16130.Alexander_Hamilton), which for non-americans is maybe less known than say lincoln. Napoleon (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25637528-napoleon) or Churchill are other nice examples, because those are usually much more…
on “Ask HN: What are your favourite history books?” ↗Hot take (with recency bias): Ron Chernow Homer and Virgil were historians at the end of the day. Whether what they reported as happening was true or not is as irrelevant as whether Alexander Hamilton threw away his shot at Aaron Burr or not. Their writings, just like Chernow’s, are steeped in legend. Chernow’s work has excellently captured: Alexander Hamilton John D Rockefeller JP Morgan Ulysses…
on “Who Is America's Homer?” ↗Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow. The story of America's greatest loser
on “Ask HN: Which books you have read till now that were worth investing time in?” ↗On History: Not textbooks, but if you want an enticing read to relatively recent times, I suggest biographies. Ron Chernov: Alexander Hamilton. An excellent introduction to the birth of US. As a european US history is not that well covered in our school. There's also the musical version by Lin Manuel Miranda which alone is worth a few books…
on “Ask HN: What, in your opinion, are the greatest and most useful textbooks?” ↗Alexander Hamilton was definitely super smart. Read his biography, it's nuts how young he was while he was writing treatises that shaped world events
on “Lessons from a 45-year Study of Super-Smart Children” ↗…bank (Federal Reserve) is intentionally decoupled from our government. (Yes, it is subject to certain political pressures but the institutional independence remains.) I’d recommend reading biographies of Alexander Hamilton to learn more. I’m not going down the MMT rabbit hole with you; it is a waste of time.
on “Money bubble” ↗