Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton is a 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton, written by Ron Chernow. Beginning with Hamilton’s birth in the Caribbean, the book traces Hamilton’s story from his childhood, to his early years in America, to his rise as one of the most admired—and reviled—politicians and statesmen that the country would ever see. The popular music Hamilton is based on the story told in Chernow’s book, and shows the development of both America, and one of its founders, in a medium that has reached millions. 

Alexander Hamilton was born in 1757 on Nevis, a Caribbean island, but was raised primarily on St. Croix, another island in the same Caribbean chain. His early experiences on the islands inspired in him a loathing for slavery and an admiration for just rebellions. Hamilton’s mother died of a fever when he was 11, and he began living with a cousin. 

A hurricane destroyed much of St. Croix shortly after his mother’s death, and Hamilton wrote a letter illustrating the heartbreaking plight of the thousands who had lost family members and homes. The tone and intellectual sophistication of the letter impressed many influential people who read it, a fact that culminated in a fund that sent him to New York for his formal education in 1772.