Complex, passionate, brilliant, flawed—Alexander Hamilton comes alive in this exciting biography. He was born out of wedlock on a small island in the West Indies and orphaned as a teenager. From those inauspicious circumstances, he rose to a position of power and influence in colonial America. Discover this founding father's incredible true story: his brilliant scholarship and military career; his groundbreaking and enduring policy, which shapes American government today; his salacious and scandalous personal life; his heartrending end. Richly informed by Hamilton's own writing, with archival artwork and new illustrations, this is an in-depth biography of an extraordinary man.

"Alexander Hamilton was an enigma to his fellow Americans, both during his lifetime and following his early death. As one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Hamilton occupies an eccentric, even flamboyant, position compared with Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, and Marshall. Hamilton's genius, forged during his service in the Continental Army in the Revolution, brought him not only admiration but also suspicion. As the country he helped to found grew and changed, so did his thinking." "Hamilton wrote to persuade, and he had the ability to clarify the complex issues of his time without oversimplifying them. From the basic core values established in his earlier writings to the more assertive vision of government in his mature work, we see how Hamilton's thought responded to the emerging nation, and how the nation was shaped by his ideas."--BOOK JACKET.

Richly informed by original, primary-source research and lavishly illustrated with period works and new portraits, this biography is an unputdownable read.

The final meeting of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr took place in in 1804. It ended with Burr mortally wounding Hamilton in a duel. Hamilton and Burr first met in 1776, during the American Revolution. Their wartime experiences would shape their lives as Colonel Hamilton and Colonel Burr recounts. They were both young American officers at the time working to defend New York City against a British attack. Burr was a tough Revolutionary War combat veteran, having fought in the 1775 campaign to seize Canada from the British. In Canada, Burr battled alongside then Colonel Benedict Arnold and attacked the walled city of Quebec with General Richard Montgomery. Burr next accepted an invitation to join Washington’s headquarters staff. This book includes an account of Captain Burr’s brief tenure on the job that led to a lifelong animosity between him and Washington. In 1776, Hamilton was a captain and commander of a New York State artillery company. He leveled his cannons at the British at New York City, White Plains, Trenton, and Princeton before joining Washington’s headquarters staff. Both Hamilton and Burr wintered at Valley Forge and fought in the day-long Battle of Monmouth. After recounting the Revolutionary War exploits of Hamilton and Burr, this book then describes their postwar lives and political rivalry and why Washington told then President John Adams in 1798 that Hamilton was his principal aide de camp. Colonel Hamilton and Colonel Burr is a fresh approach to the American Revolution from the standpoint of two of its most interesting participants.

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Now a major motion picture, available on Disney Plus. Goodreads best non-fiction book of 2016 From Tony Award-winning composer-lyricist-star Lin-Manuel Miranda comes a backstage pass to his groundbreaking, hit musical Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject, the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims the origins of the United States for a diverse new generation. HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages - "since before this was even a show," according to Miranda - traces its development from an improbable performance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here. Their account features photos by the renowned Frank Ockenfels and veteran Broadway photographer, Joan Marcus; exclusive looks at notebooks and emails; interviews with Questlove, Stephen Sondheim, leading political commentators, and more than 50 people involved with the production; and multiple appearances by President Obama himself. The book does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became an international phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don't throw away their shot.

Discover the little-known role Alexander Hamilton played in the decisive battle of the American Revolution: Yorktown. Alexander Hamilton and the Battle of Yorktown, October 1781 is the first book in nearly two and a half centuries that has ever been devoted to the story of Alexander Hamilton’s key contributions in winning the most decisive victory the of the American Revolutionary war at Yorktown. Past biographies of Hamilton, including the most respected ones, have minimized the overall importance of the young lieutenant colonel’s role and battlefield performance at Yorktown, which was key to forcing the surrender of Lord Cornwallis’s army. Hamilton led the assault on strategic Redoubt Number Ten, located on the left flank of the British defensive line, and captured the defensive bastion—an accomplishment that ensured the defeat and surrender of Cornwallis’s army that won the American Revolution and changed the course of world history. You thought you knew the full story of the founding father of the American financial system from Lin Manual Miranda's Broadway smash hit Hamilton, but Alexander Hamilton and the Battle of Yorktown, October 1781 brings into sharp relief the vital role he played in the most important battle of the American Revolution, as told by renowned historian Phillip Thomas Ticker, PhD.

America has gone Hamilton crazy. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical has spawned sold-out performances, a triple platinum cast album, and a score so catchy that it is being used to teach U.S. history in classrooms across the country. But just how historically accurate is Hamilton? And how is the show itself making history? Historians on Hamilton brings together a collection of top scholars to explain the Hamilton phenomenon and explore what it might mean for our understanding of America’s history. The contributors examine what the musical got right, what it got wrong, and why it matters. Does Hamilton’s hip-hop take on the Founding Fathers misrepresent our nation’s past, or does it offer a bold positive vision for our nation’s future? Can a musical so unabashedly contemporary and deliberately anachronistic still communicate historical truths about American culture and politics? And is Hamilton as revolutionary as its creators and many commentators claim? Perfect for students, teachers, theatre fans, hip-hop heads, and history buffs alike, these short and lively essays examine why Hamilton became an Obama-era sensation and consider its continued relevance in the age of Trump. Whether you are a fan or a skeptic, you will come away from this collection with a new appreciation for the meaning and importance of the Hamilton phenomenon.