995 Finding a Founding Father at Meijer’s

My grocery bill would be more reasonable if I stayed out of the non-food section of Meijer’s. This week I took a stroll through the book section--some weeks it is towels, other times it might be CDs. Anyway, I came across Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton and couldn’t resist. In paperback and with the 25% discount, it was $13.50.

“Hamilton's was "the most dramatic and improbable life of any of the founding fathers" (p. 713), a life "so tumultuous that only an audacious novelist could have dreamed it up" (p. 4). He grew up on St. Croix in the West Indies and by age fourteen his life was a tragedy of Dickensian proportions: his father deserted the family, his mother died, his cousin who was supposed to care for him committed suicide, and his aunt, uncle and grandmother all died. Family assets were auctioned to pay debts. He never finished high school or college. At age seventeen the orphaned, penniless Hamilton sailed to New York City, which would become his home, and began to evidence traits that would characterize his entire life—unrelenting drive, superhuman stamina for work, and a prodigious intellect.

By age twenty-two he was Washington's de facto chief of staff. After distinguishing himself as a hero in the Revolutionary War (he fought in the front lines for five years), he eventually became a key contributor to the Constitution, the primary energy behind the Federalist Papers (he wrote 51 of the 85 articles), and the first Secretary of the Treasury at age thirty-four. He founded our first central bank and financial markets, and articulated a prescient, entrepreneurial vision for a vibrant, capitalist, global economy (in contrast to Jefferson's backward-looking dream of a bucolic, agrarian America). He organized the Coast Guard and wrote plans for a military academy to train a standing army. He practiced law as one of the country's leading attorneys and started a newspaper. His published, collected works of legal, political and personal papers run to over 30 volumes.”

Although I’m not looking forward to reading 800 pages, I think he is an amazing man, and the obstacles he overcame are stunning. If I can get it read by next Monday, I’ll recommend it for next year’s book club reading list. Several years ago we read John Adams by David McCollough and it was one of our most interesting selections. But it would need to be September’s selection so people could get it read over the summer!