Back in 2005 I bought the Hamilton biography by Ron Chernow. I was extremely excited to buy this book. I have always loved American history, and this book was fairly popular at the time I purchased it. I even remember where I bought it - at the Sears Grand in Jordan Landing because I had a coupon. I started reading it. But never actually finished it. Not even close.
When I moved to New York, I was still quite taken with Alexander Hamilton even though I had not come close to finishing the biography in the year I had it. Even still, when we were in Philadelphia on our way to New York I insisted on getting my photo taken with the First National Bank.
The caption I put with this photo on Facebook: Big fan of Alexander Hamilton, so this was a big deal for me.
While in New York, I took a couple opportunities to visit Hamilton landmarks. The first was a statue of him in Hamilton Heights and the home he lived in while uptown (where it's quiet).
A little bit later I took a day to travel the Staten Island Ferry and check out the grave site of Hamilton and Eliza in the Financial District.
I lost my interest in Hamilton and the biography has sat unread on my bookshelf. Lin-Manual Miranda, however, did not lose interest and read the biography all the way through. And then he created a fantastic hip-hop musical about the life and legacy of the bastard, orphan, son of a whore, Scotsman. I've taken the biography off the shelf, and have listened to the Broadway cast recording on repeat.
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