Book Review: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Vrinda Gupta
Vrinda Gupta

Founding Father of America: Alexander Hamilton

Written by Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton is a  biography of American statesman Alexander Hamilton. Ron presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton who is the Founding Father of the US. Alexander inspired and shaped the newborn nation at that time. He was the founder of the USA’s financial system and its first Secretary of the Treasury. Meanwhile, he also served a significant role in the development of the U.S Constitution.

Financial historian Ron Chernow writes in the book, “In all probability, Alexander Hamilton is the foremost political figure in American history who never attained the presidency, yet he probably had a much deeper and lasting impact than many who did.” The book was released in April of 2004 and has won the hearts of the readers.  Alexander Hamilton(the book) is well-researched.  Hamilton used to write extensively. Ron has described him, the human word machine“. He said that Alexander “must have produced the maximum number of words that a human being can scratch out in 49 years”

In his book, Ron wrote, “If Washington is the father of the country and Madison the father of the Constitution, then Alexander Hamilton was surely the father of the American government.”

Alexander Hamilton most received positive reviews from the readers and was even nominated for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award in biography.

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About the Author: Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow is a renowned biographer, historian, and journalist in America. He was born on March 3, 1949 (Present Age: 72 years old) in Brooklyn, New York. In 1970, he graduated from Yale University with a degree in Latin honors. Chernow also attained a degree in English Literature from Cambridge University. Later, he began his pursuit of a Ph.D. However, he did not complete it.

Initially in his career, he worked as a freelance journalist. From 1973 to 1982, he wrote more than 60 articles for national newspapers. He went on to become the director of financial policy studies in New York. In 1986, he left that organization and continued to focus on his writing.  Alongside writing non-fiction and biographies, Ron also regularly contributes to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Most of his writings are on the topic of business, politics, and finance. In 1990, he released his debut book titled The House of Morgans. This book highlighted the history of the finance empire set up by J.P Morgan.

Some of his popular works include- The Warbugs, The Death of the Banker, George Washington, and Ulysses S. Grant. 

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