Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

I listened to this as an audio book and enjoyed all 36 hours of it. While it has been fun to have the option to listen to books, I enjoy reading books with my eyes more than listening with my ears.

This is the book the musical was based on and it is an amazing work of history. I knew Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, but that was about all I recall. He crammed a lot of living in his 49 years on earth. He was brilliant intellectually and was able to think about immense issues with great clarity. He established the first bank in the United States. He was George Washington’s main assistant during the Revolutionary war and also saw battle. He was a lawyer and practiced law in between various cabinet positions. Mr. Chernow doesn’t gloss over his significant human frailties in this account. He was vain and very sure of his own opinions and had an affair that deeply wounded his beloved wife.

For anyone who loves a good biography, I highly recommend this one.