Alexander Hamilton: A Biography

by Forrest McDonald

“What Mr. McDonald’s book does, with exceptional skill and learning, is to re-examine Hamilton’s policies as secretary of the treasury. To this task the author brings a masterful knowledge of the politics of the period. . . . He brilliantly demonstrates how William Blackstone, David Hume and Jacques Necker affected Hamilton’s thought. Finally, Mr. McDonald . . . gives the clearest exposition that I have ever seen of just what Hamilton’s financial policies were and how they worked.” ―David Herbert Donald, New York Times Book Review The founders of the American republic were ardently concerned with the judgment of posterity. Had they known what a fickle muse Clio would prove to be, they might have been more anxious. The making of myths and legends, complete with a hagiology and demonology, is inherent in the process of evolution toward nationhood. Consequently, individual actors in the original drama have often been consigned by History to roles they did not actually play, and the most important of them have played shifting roles, being heroes in one generation and villains in the next. It is therefore not surprising that Alexander Hamilton―along with Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison―has had his ups and downs at the hands of historians.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, American History, American Revolution, Politics, Biography Memoir

464 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1979

About the author

Dr. McDonald was a Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Alabama, where he was the Sixteenth Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities in 1987. He was awarded the Ingersoll Prize in 1990. Professor McDonald is the author of several books including Novus Ordo Seclorum (University Press of Kansas, 1985), and The American Presidency: Roots, Establishment, Evolution (University Press of Kansas, 1994).

Reviews

[cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent look at the Hamilton's intellectual growth and the brilliance of his monetary policies. I encountered much new information about this period in our history.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. McDonald's book gave me a very good understanding of Alexander Hamilton. I was glad that the author went into detail about Hamilton's govermental policies; the federal government being the central force for laws and monetary enactments. The book is an easy read and it wasn't awkward to follow along as some other Hamilton's books I have read. I was also glad that the book covered many of the founding fathers and it did a very good job of letting the reader know that at this time in our country's foundation these men lived during a very shaky time period. Overall, I'd recommend this book to all my friends.

[Dave Benner · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Hamilton biographies.

[Csferguson222 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very thorough biography about a very important figure in American history. The author portrays Alexander Hamilton as having a much greater role in the forming of our nation than I realized. One wonders what George Washington would have done without him. Although some of the narrative gets too technical for anyone who does not have a degree in economics, the biography is otherwise a great read for the Anerican History buff.

[Eli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Still the definitive academic biography of Colonel Hamilton, Professor McDonald provide an in-depth study. Not the quickest read, but if you seek to know the man that was A. Hamilton commit to this text.

[JMarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Noped out on page six, when the author suggested Hamilton was LUCKY to have died young because he was a romantic. I would've plowed on through the dodgy writing and failure to put quotes in context, but this is not an author whose opinions I want to read.