Alexander Hamilton
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 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.
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What Hacker News says
- 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 (!) S. Grant Etc.
As I type this out, perhaps the best comparison for Chernow is actually Plutarch? Either way, I haven’t seen anyone mention him and that would be an unfortunate oversight.
- The central 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.
- Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow. The story of America's greatest loser
- 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 first time after reading the book, and it blew me away.
- 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 of education alone.
On the birth of modern india: Herman: Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age
On the roman world: Julius Caesar: Gallic wars. This is a surprisingly readable book given that it's a propaganda piece written two thousands years ago. Highly recommended as it gives insight to just how organized-yet-cruel the ancient world was.
General history:
Acemoglu: Why nations fail. This is a must read. It attempts to explain (with great success) how institutions have molded the modern states into the way they are now, and what exactly seems to be at the root of inequality and prosperity.
If I had to recommend two books, "Why nations fail" would always be one on that list.
- Hey,
It depends a little bit on what you mean historical.
I am a great fan of Dan Carlin, who has a vibrant way to narrate history. His podcasts are the best but he also has books. I loved this one : 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 complex than history remembers them for :).
I'd love you to answer your own thread if you have suggestions, I'm searching for new ideas as well!
