Wow, what a great read! Lucky thing since the book was both long and dense, particularly in the sections on
The Federalist Papers. Unusually, everyone seemed to like this book and it has been a while since we got such good consensus. This was a wonderful example of a very serious, thorough biography that had a great narrative and told the story beautifully. There were many places in the book that were are joy to read for those who love language. The trail between scholarship and storytelling goes right through this wonderful book.
This was an interesting and different view of history than that described in history books. The contrast really reinforces the point vividly made in the
Hamilton, the musical, that history is told by those who are left behind. Sadly, those left behind like Jefferson, Madison and Monroe were not friends of Hamilton and gave perhaps a jaundiced view of his contributions and life.
Luckily for us, Hamilton himself left many, many documents behind including the very puzzling Reynold pamphlet about his extra-marital affair. While this seems a bit tame compared to Jefferson and Burr's romanic exploits, their facts did not come out for decades or even centuries. That Hamilton felt it a worse slur on his honor to be accused of stealing from the federal purse than to have an affair is both a comment on the times and on his character. Poor Eliza.
So seeing history with Hamilton as a main character was really interesting. While the writing at a few points was really a bit reverent, for the most part, Ron Chernow kept a good perspective. His portrayal of Jefferson was a shock. For those of us in Central Virginia, Jefferson borders on a deity, so his tactics in politics and governance were jarring to say the least. In particular, Jefferson and Monroe's mindless support of the French Revolution seemed particularly wayward.
Those conflicts, and Chernow's careful telling of the Revolutionary period and beyond, demonstrated just how difficult it was to end up with a functioning republic, thanks in large part to Hamilton's ability to create governing procedures and rules. There was little unity, other than George Washington himself, among the founding fathers. Each had his own idea of the direction of the country, his own purpose in acting which sometimes was not the long view of a democratic republic.
All in all, this was a model biography, and it is not hard to see how it could have inspired other great art in the form of the musical, hip hop and all. So on to the next one!
We come to the other end of the republic in our next book,
Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This book and author have gotten great attention, and I am really looking forward to it. We will meet at Fiona's house, maybe we can see some art as well!
Please note, we are shifting our regular meeting days to Tuesdays. I have joined a new chorus and we rehearse on Mondays, so thank you all for agreeing to accommodate my schedule. Our next meeting is Feb. 21.
Extra pages! I have been powering through some new books lately and finally got to one Val recommended a while ago,
Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. Kathy Baker published a review of this book in "Real Simple" magazine a while back, very impressive! This book was so interesting, so unusual in its form and message. It is a post-apocalypse novel but the story is with the people, not the circumstances. Really good.
And I have also been submerged in a new detective series,
Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear. These are set just after World War I in England, a very sad time with many scars on the people and the places. The stories are a bit far fetched, but so beautifully written, just "mind candy" as Jean says.
See you all in February!
