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Alexander Hamilton: A Life
 
 
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Alexander Hamilton: A Life [Paperback]

Willard S Randall (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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From Publishers Weekly

Biographer of Washington, Jefferson and Franklin, Randall is in his usual engaging form in dealing with the complex Hamilton, who in 1804 died in a duel with Aaron Burr. Creating a bigger-than-life hero, Randall sometimes strains credibility in the interest of color, and the evidence of occasional unreliability is exposed by gaps in documentation or in attributions like "according to tradition." One quotation credited to a Tory historian of the Revolution describes an American gallows erected near Charleston harbor, where "twenty-four reputable Loyalists [were] hanged in sight of the British fleet, with the army and refugees on board." In Randall's pages the close of the quotation is altered incredibly to "the army and thirty-five thousand Loyalists looking on." Randall's restless Hamilton, illegitimate son of a West Indian Englishwoman, succeeds on his energy, industriousness and intelligence, and a little help from distant relatives, becoming the new nation's first Secretary of the Treasury at 34. As a New York lawyer, aided by a loveless but lucrative marriage, he scrambled for riches before becoming a power behind the scenes in the federal government, then by Cabinet appointment. Even after Hamilton's resignation at 40, he is described, too sweepingly, as "a sort of unpaid prime minister in absentia," even though he was disgraced by two adulterous affairs, one with his wife's sister. Most of Randall's narrative is vivid and accurate, but the rest should give the reader pause. Eight pages b&w illus. not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Hamilton is a popular choice for biographers and was most recently profiled in Richard Brookhiser's interpretive Alexander Hamilton, American (1999). Randall hews to a more descriptive style, narrating Hamilton's fortune-marked rise to fame, which was sealed when the ambitious aide-de-camp of Washington pleaded for, and got, the assignment to lead the final assault at the Battle of Yorktown. Randall's coverage of Hamilton's subsequent career is covered economically in the one-volume format, so the reader here has an offering weighted toward Hamilton's rise from obscurity on the Caribbean island of St. Croix, emigration to New York City, and enlistment in the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War. An extremely intelligent and diligent prodigy, Hamilton had a talent for attracting influential patrons, a feature Randall capably emphasizes while also using adroit detailing to vivify the worlds Hamilton moved through, from the slave economy of St. Croix to the upper American social crust into which he married. Randall's vigorous prose captures shows the compass of Hamilton's life and his role in making the U.S. a going concern. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Alexander Hamilton realized instantly that he would die. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3.0 out of 5 stars A good review of Hamilton, not as complete as Chernow's book, July 12 2004
By 
Mike Stanley "Boy Wonder" (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Alexander Hamilton: A Life (Hardcover)
This is a good solid biography of one of the most under-appreciated Americans of all time, Alexander Hamilton.

It gives you the basic rags-to-riches story and I was happy enough upon completion of the book... possibly even willing to give it as many as 5 stars.

However, about 4 months after I finished this one the attractive volume by Ron Chernow came out, and I couldn't resist purchasing IT as well. Let me tell you, Chernow's "Alexander Hamilton" is superior to Randall's in every way imaginable.

It is much more entertaining, and portrays Hamilton as the dashing young risk-taker that he was. Impetuous, ambitious, etc.

But enough... I'm supposed to be reviewing Randall's efforts here, not Chernow's.

The book is solid but not spectacular. You have to work hard to get 4 stars from me and unfortunately this volume falls just short. Worth the effort, but you can get more bang for your $10 Hamilton-faced buck in the alternative volume.

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4.0 out of 5 stars correcting erosfaust, May 18 2004
This review is from: Alexander Hamilton: A Life (Hardcover)
In his review, erosfaust (who seems to like any book provided it espouses a view of life to the right of Ghengis Khan) makes a serious error.

He claims the residency requirement was placed in the US Constitution to prevent Hamilton from being elected to that post. The US Constitution, in fact, says you must have been born in the country, OR BEEN A CITIZEN AT THE TIME OF RATIFICATION. Hamilton was always eligible for the Presidency.

Oh, and he wasn't "hated by anyone who had anything to do with the founding" of this country, unless you want to eliminate George Washington from that number.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Interesting, April 6 2004
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This review is from: Alexander Hamilton: A Life (Paperback)
Reads like the best fiction. A big book that reads quickly and ends too soon. Insight, education and enjoyment. Might be read before "The Real Lincoln" by Thomas J. DiLorenzo, which, you might say, is almost its sequel.
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