Alexander Hamilton, American [Paperback]

Brookshiser is not interested in all the little details of Hamilton's life and times. He is not interested in reproducing volumes of Hamilton's writings, letters to Hamilton, or articles about Hamilton. He is interested in telling a story, and then making points about the role of words, rights, and passion in Hamilton's character.

I'm guessing that most Americans don't know the story of Alexander Hamilton, the relatively poor immigrant who became one of this nation's most important founders. Hamilton today is respected, but not always revered as some of his opponents like Jefferson and Madison are. Brookshiser reveres him. But he writes with a kind of awe for many who did not share the same feelings for each other. "It is impossible not to love John Adams," (p. 130) Brookshiser writes. Really? Who loved him back then? Not Hamilton, not Jefferson. Hamilton and Jefferson were, of course, at odds with each other, too. But not enough so as to prevent them from joining forces against Aaron Burr in 1800, who eventually killed Hamilton in a duel four years later.

The soap opera intrigue of the founders as highlighted by this book stands out as more severe than any product of current politics. Indeed, all of what people don't like about politics today was magnified and exaggerated in Hamilton's' time: back-biting and betrayal, partisan extremism, grandstanding and demagoguery, biased media, long political careers, abuse of power, corruption, racism, and sex scandals.

Hamilton was the central figure in America's first sex scandal. During his tenure as Washington's first Secretary of the Treasury (Washington alone rises above the fray in Brookshiser's early America), Hamilton was accused of financial shenanigans. Proof lay in payments he made to a shady character named James Reynolds. Hamilton's defense was a detailed confession to an affair with Reynolds' wife - the payments were more or less hush money. Reynolds himself was guilty of many things, including apparently using his wife as bait in this sordid blackmail scheme. Hamilton denied financial malfeasance, but admitted adultery like no American politician since.

I'm not sure if Brookshiser intended his Hamilton to be compared to Bill Clinton, but I couldn't get the comparison out of my head. Hamilton and Clinton share much in common up to a point. Both came from highly inauspicious beginnings but rose to the pinnacles of power. Both came from broken homes with unreliable father-figures who abandoned them early in life. Both were highly intelligent Ivy-League lawyers. Both had faith in the federal government. And both were accused of using their office for personal financial gain, only to have a love affair reveled instead. If this comparison is intentional, Brookshiser may be inviting a contrast between Hamilton's choices at crucial moments and Clinton's. Hamiton, during his war, joined the army and served faithfully under General Washington. Hamilton did not lie about his affair, or even hide any of the details about it (although neither was he proud of the matter - he seemed genuinely regretful). Hamilton was a principled lawyer who used words and law to try to unveil natural rights, not simply win or propel his ambition. To illustrate this last point, Brookshiser uses Burr as Hamilton's foil. But Brookshiser's Burr could also be a more violent stand-in for Bill Clinton. Even if the specter of Clinton is purely illusionary (Brookshiser does not mention him), the personalities and situations of the founders as Brookshiser writes about them are highly accessible to the modern reader.

Brookshiser doesn't let the reader forget that we're reading a book. Brookshiser includes asides, such as the number of words in the book (78,000 - p. 156). Many of these asides are highly humorous, in a very contemporary way - "William Cobbett...wrote under the name Peter Porcupine (not drawn form Plutarch or Livy)" (p. 138); "Tallyrand would serve a republic, an emperor, and three kings, though the only king to whom he was loyal was Brie, the king of cheeses" (p. 136). Somehow, none of this detracts from the book. Brookshiser includes many examples of the founders' own humor as well, suggesting that his writing is in the same vein.

But ultimately "Alexander Hamilton, American" is a serious and respectful book about a serious and important historical figure. Brookshiser clearly believes in the "great man" theory of leadership, and further believes that Hamilton qualifies. Regardless of whether Hamilton was great, this book is a great introduction to the man, and a good story too!

Brilliant, visionary, and enormously articulate, Hamilton was quick to argue his positions, most notably in "The Federalist Papers," in a series of anonymous letters to newspapers, and in the courtroom. His belief in a strong central government drew him into conflict with other luminaries, including Virginia Thomas Jefferson. His politics and simmering rivalry with Aaron Burr culminated in a famous duel. Today, when we think of Jefferson et al. as apolitical "statesmen," it is instructive to view the ferocious politics of the era.

Brookshiser's non-academic, breezy style enlivens the characterization of the people, the times, and the economic issues. Unfortunately, this style sometimes works against him: Describing the Hamilton/Burr communiques preceding the duel, Brookshiser merely states "It would dignify the mummeries that followed to describe them in detail." Still, Brookshiser's book is a welcome addition to the literature on the Revolution and early American politics. Recommended.

My disappointment with the book was how it was written. It pales to his Washington biography. I knew I would not learn much new in only a 217 page book, but this book fell much too short. I learned very little new about Hamilton. On the other hand, a person who knows a limited bit of Hamilton and his times who reads this book hoping to find out more may also be disappointed . Brookhiser writes with the assumption the reader already knows about the times. If the readers does not then he or she will be lost or having to scramble to a text book to find out what Brookhiser is writing about.

His chapters on "Words", "Rights" and "Passions" are great food for thought and each could begin as the basis for books on the subjects. However, in this book they only serve to fill in pages that could be better used to provide better detail about Hamilton. Brookhiser seems torn between writing about Hamilton's life and Hamilton's time. He comes up short in both areas.