"; if(is_file("header.php")) include "header.php"; else include "../header.php"; ?>

Audio CD version - a great listening experience I listen to books in the car on my way to and from work. Usually I like fiction because fiction often moves a little bit faster. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Chernow's Alexander Hamilton. The reader is top-notch and the abridgement is excellent. Alexander Hamilton was everywhere in the early republic. I can't believe how little I knew about him (from high school history) since he was everywhere. This book does a good job of showing the strengths and weaknesses of Hamilton. He's brilliant, but he's impulsive and this often led to bad judgments. He and Washington were a great team - Washington leaning on his intellect and Hamilton leaning on Washington's judgment. When they are apart, Hamilton does not fair as well. One thing that may have been done better (and perhaps it was in the unabridged version) was that Jefferson came off as a pretty big jerk. It could just be that most of Jefferson's interactions with Hamilton were hostile, so of course Jefferson looks bad, since all we see of him is when he is angry. And Burr also comes off quite badly. However, I am unsure about how much Burr has to redeem himself by. I know Jefferson was quite accomplished, but Burr minus Hamilton might not have been anyone to emulate. Anyway - a must read for any student of American History. Great story.