Rating: 
Summary: the conventional view, over lightly
Review: If you want a portrait of Hamilton that adds nothing new and essentially expounds the traditional mythology, then this is your book. As far as I can tell, Brookhiser has done no new research, questions nothing, and is content to assume Hamilton was a brilliant, competent, and good man who helped to forge the force for the good that America would become. While I learned some interesting biographical details, I could have gotten them from any other biography. Moreover, Brookhiser does not have a nice or very clear writing style - the tone of the book is rushed, somewhat repetitious, and boring. It was easy to skim for facts and offered no original pleasures. As such, I thought it was a real dud. If these criticisms don't matter to you, then you might find this book satisfactory. Not recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best biography on Hamilton
Review: I put the book down when I read what Mr. Brookehiser wrote about Alexander's father James, that he was a ne'er do well. I have visited Nevis, where Alexander was born and may be directly descended from Alexander Hamilton, Laird of the Grange, Scotland, Alexander's namesake and grandfather. I suggest to Mr. Brookehiser that he read Vincent Hubbard's book about the history of Nevis. The sugar cane business underwent boom and bust periods whose profits were intimately linked to supporting the war machines of individual european nations. (Nevis's income supported Great Britain's forces, in particular, its navy). James Hamilton's lack of success economically may well not be a fault of his own. One must be very careful in writing about Hamilton because in actuality, he was very much hated by Adams, Jefferson, and much that has been written about him historically is not accurate, because it was not accurate, strongly one-sided, at the time during which he lived. I must say, that hatred of Hamilton continues today which spurred me to read more about him with an eye on finding reasons why my own family would be hated so much. In fairness to Mr. Brookehiser, much is not known about James. And for those who want tabloid type details on any of Americas's founding fathers and are disappointed that that information is not supplied by the biographers, they must understand the types of information that were available at the time (mostly letters in the eighteen century), that could shed more light upon the persons being studied. I prefer Forrest McDonald's biography because it is written by a historian, someone who is a Professor, whose focus has been on early American history, and whose work is carefully researched. His endnotes, revealing his source material, indicate how he consulted personal letters and even read all of Alexander's sources of information in order to try to understand how he thought. I am wary of biographers with more experience in journalism writing historical biographies on people who lived before the twentieth century. Mainly because, in the modern century, one can very easily reconstruct the context in which actions, decisions were done and made, and a source's validity is more quickly verified or not. The problem, however, is that the journalist's story is better told and read by the public, and as such, will be the more popularized versions. But, for that last statement of mine, I am very much a black sheep. What is most important to me, is that the truth be told, even if it is not popular. That, I believe is a Hamiltonian trait that Hamilton and I do share, and I must add, as a biologist by profession, that it is in both of our genes. I am not impressed by the 500 glowing reviews of John Adams and his modern journalistic biographer, Mr. McCullough. Better to have 10 or 20 commentaries on a well-researched, truthful, work of art than a 1000 on a sweet sounding, well-written, but false, piece of junk. A good read can be a bad book. Please see my review dated 04/09/04. I'm responsible for the contents and any problems/misunderstandings it may have generated.
Rating: 
Summary: If you don't know the history don't read this book
Review: I enthusiastically bought this book as I enjoyed Brookhiser's biography of George Washington. I did expect and found that Brookhiser would gloss over some of Hamilton's faults as Brookhiser is rather pro Federalist. Despite this Brookhiser does leave the reader to decide for himself. Brookhiser does admit some of Hamilton's faults and gives opposing views in places. 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of details.
Review: This is a short biography of one of the most influential and troubled men in our early history. Brookhiser writes short biographies that gloss over and mention items that are not readily understood by those new to the subject. This volume is no exception. After reading this book, I felt I knew a great deal more about Hamilton; yet I still did not understand him. Much of Hamilton's life is not talked about, including more about his scandals and his personal (or not-so-personal) relationship with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. This book is a good primer for understanding the founder of the Federalist party, but more must be read to understand his very intriguing life.
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