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Title: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow ISBN: 1-59420-009-2 Publisher: The Penguin Press HC Pub. Date: 26 April, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.65 (51 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Phenomenal
Comment: This book is easily one of the finest biographies published over the past decade and focuses on a subject that has long been neglected. Chernow does a remarkable job of showing how Hamilton was the true visionary among the founding fathers. While Jefferson and Madison envisioned a nation of independent farmers, Hamilton had the foresight to recognize that the United States was to become the most economically and militarily powerful nation in the world through a highly sophisticated system of banking. While Jefferson's predictions about the future economic and political makeup of the US and his naiive and overly optimistic forecast regarding the French Revolution (he claimed that he'd allow himself to be stoned as a false prophet if the French Revolution did not turn out peacefully) never came to pass, Hamilton's vision has been validated by American history and experience, proving him to be the intellectual superior to his more famous counterpart from Virginia. Chernow's book also helps to dispell many of the untruths and misconceptions floating around after John Adams' undeserved rehabilitation at the hands of McCullough. Adams was an ornery, cantankerous, and stubborn individual of ordinary talents. It is no surprise that of the early presidents, only he and his son John Quincy failed to serve two terms. In the final analysis, Chernow's tour de force shows Hamilton for the visionary and man of integrity that he truly was (lest one forget, Hamilton was a vociferous opponent to slavery on moral grounds and, unlike hypocrites like Jefferson and Adams, never owned a slave). The America we inhabit to today, with all its economic, political, and military might is a Hamiltonian creation. For that, all Americans owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to this long overlooked Founding Father.
Rating: 5
Summary: The best Alexander Hamilton biography.
Comment: This is an excellent biography on Alexander Hamilton, a formidable and sometimes controversial figure among our Founding Fathers. He is best known for being one of the main contributors to the Federalist Papers and being the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
There is a lot to like and be in awe about Alexander Hamilton. There is also quite a bit to dislike. Was he a visionary and a genius? Or a power hungry and greedy autocratic figure reminiscent of the British the U.S. fought away at the time. Through the past decades his place in history has gone through several reincarnations of both positive and negative revisionism.
Ron Chernow is undoubtedly on the sides of the Hamilton fan. However, even though his portrayal of Hamilton may not be totally objective. It is nevertheless fascinating due to its breadth, and depth. Hamilton comes across as a brilliant individual sometimes centuries ahead of his time. Chernow develops a convincing case that Hamilton was without peers in his developing the necessary financial and economic infrastructure of what was going to become the modern U.S.
If Adam Smith was the Scottish genius who invented modern economics, Hamilton was his American counterpart who actually applied modern economics principles in the governing of a new nation. His understanding in such matters far surpassed his more famous political opponents such as Madison and Jefferson.
Chernow mentions several examples of Hamilton's unique foresight. One was Hamilton's successful defeat of the discrimination bill. This was a nonsensical concept that proposed that capital gains on sales of treasury securities should flow back to the original investor. Hamilton quickly saw that such a concept was operationally unworkable and would prevent the development of a liquid market in tradable government securities. It would affect the U.S. ability to issue new bonds and finance both government operations and other upcoming wars. He made his case convincingly and the discrimination bill was defeated 36 to 13. Another bold move by Hamilton was to enforce the assumptions of all States' debt by the Federal Government. Thus, the fragmented portfolio of U.S. debt formerly backed by the weak credit of each specific State was now fully backed by the U.S. This reassured foreign investors, and allowed the Treasury to refinance some of the bonds with much longer terms and at lower interest rates. This prevented the U.S. to become bankrupt under the mountain of debt it had amassed as a result of its wars to fight for its independence.
After reading this book, you will feel that we would be only so lucky as to have a Secretary of the Treasury of Alexander Hamilton's caliber and genius. He loved to tackle challenging, abstract financial problems that few others could conceive. He would have been a heck of a mind to apply towards resolving our potential fiscal crisis associated with the retirement of the Baby Boomers.
Chernow's book is a rich addition to the other already excellent biographies on Alexander Hamilton, including the ones written by Stephen Knott, Willard Sterne Randall, and Forest McDonald.
Rating: 5
Summary: True Founding Interests
Comment: The best all around depiction of a pivotal charecter in the founding of our country. With all of Mr Hamiltons accomplishments and pitfalls of character. Hamilton created almost single-handedly the modern capitalist society in addition to making huge implications into the manner which our government took shape that so many Americans take for granted. I would encourage anyone interested in the formation of the American experiment and a capitalist society read this book.
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Title: Plan of Attack by Bob Woodward ISBN: 074325547X Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 19 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History) by David Hackett Fischer ISBN: 0195170342 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Benjamin Franklin : An American Life by Walter Isaacson ISBN: 0684807610 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss ISBN: 1592400876 Publisher: Gotham Books Pub. Date: 12 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: My Life by Bill Clinton ISBN: 0375414576 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 22 June, 2004 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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