Along with a few words . . .
I’ve gotten used to seeing Tolstoy, Flaubert, Ibsen, Woolf, and other literary greats’ book covers bearing “Now a major motion picture”, but this one caught me up short. (UPDATE: I just remembered the previously strangest one: seeing Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell on the cover of a collection of Auden poems, with the banner: “Includes “Funeral Train Blues” from Four Weddings and a Funeral””)
First, I should be clear, I love the music and the musical, and I think Miranda is an amazing talent and human being. I should admit I listened to it not knowing anything more about Hamilton than what I learned in a two-semester American history class that touched on him. Worse still, I totally bought the premise that his life, seen from 10,000 feet (or through musical verse), has a rising up from a ghetto to greatness through brains and pluck vibe – with all the consequences that come from going it alone.
So, having raised the issue of whether TV has cheapened the office of the President to the point where people are voting against a dangerous fantasy version of the job, I’m curious of whether I’m a hypocrite being not horrified by this?
(I also want to see how poorly you think of me, knowing that both of you have read Chernow, have intelligent thoughts about it and I just downloaded it based on the musical and am waiting for whispersync to come out before I make the commitment.)
In at The End of The World 
I think i speak for Mr. Jones in saying that your enthusiasm is cute and encourage it. The Chernow book really isn’t that different from seeing the Broadway show. I would recommend Elkins’s four-volume life of Hamilton published by Oxford University Press. Or just going straight to Hamilton’s collected letters. Or just taking some PTO time and reviewing Hamilton’s personal papers in the Library of Congress. Eliminate the biographer middle man.
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Actually have not read Chernow’s book, but I’ve heard it’s as good as it’s reputation. I want to read his book on Washington as well.
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Chernow’s bio is a great book to read if you don’t want to know anything about Alexander Hamilton.
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“it’s as good as its reputation” . . . hmmmmm.
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No irony intended. I think it’s a really good book.
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Everything you need to know about Alexander Hamilton, including all that’s bogus about the Chernow book, may be found in the link tweeted here by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes https://twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/672119413483692033. Regarding the show, and the question of historical accuracy, the author whose piece Hayes recommends expresses himself on his own blog, here: https://williamhogeland.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/historian-heal-thyself/. Filed under “don’t get me started,” this is the final comment I will make on this blog on any of these topics.
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