Alexander Hamilton

So this was definitely not a thing I'd planned to do when I thought about what I'd read in 2016.

Of course, I also hadn't planned on falling head-over-heels for a hip-hop musical about the least-known founding father, so clearly my scouting for the year wasn't the best.

This book was, honestly, fantastic. You know how you are flipping channels, and you see PBS is showing Ken Burns' “The Civil War”, and you think, “Oh, yeah, that's supposed to be good. I can watch an episode, and maybe if I like it I'll look it up on Netflix later or something”, and then the next thing you know it's 4 hours later and you're trying to find a kleenix because you're crying about a confederate soldier, and you don't even know what's happening except you have to keep going because how can history ever be this compelling?? Yeah, it's that kind of good.

Chernow uses an immense number of primary sources, and spends pages and pages on things like the formation of the US banking system, and manages to make none of it seem dry or boring or lecturing. I would venture to guess that Chernow is a fan of Alexander Hamilton (because how could he not be?), but he doesn't shy away from exploring Hamilton's weaknesses (pride; impulsivity; inability to keep his mouth shut) while also showing what an incredible man he truly was.

This is fascinating history, and I'm thankful I took the plunge into this amazing beast of a biography. Highly recommended.