Alexander Hamilton's Guide to Life by Jeff Wilser - Three Rivers Press (2016)
Nearly all of the biographies I’ve reviewed have been impressive feats of scholarly research. They have been meticulous, obsessive, and in several cases, a significant challenge to my upper body strength. They have been testaments to academic ambition and perseverance. They have also required a considerable input of intellectual energy. It is not always easy to process such immense volumes of information. This week, I decided to give my tired brain a break before it completes its degeneration into oatmeal.
Jeff Wilser’s newest book, Alexander Hamilton’s Guide to Life, is by no means the definitive biography of Alexander Hamilton. In fact, Wilser happily admits that there are much longer—and more comprehensive—written accounts available. This book is not for the curious reader who is eager to learn everything there is to know about America’s trendiest Founding Father. But it does serve a purpose that other, more serious works of nonfiction, often disregard. Wilser’s book is funny. It is topical. Wilser writes with the sharp, sarcastic wit that is characteristic of blogs and ‘think pieces.’ His tempo is quick, the mental images he conjures are hilarious, and he makes use of inside jokes which speak directly to the modern reader. Wilser’s fast-paced journalistic style helps introduce the young millennial struggling to get by in Manhattan, to the distant heroes of American democracy. He identifies a persistent American spirit. He portrays Alexander Hamilton as a relatable, imperfect human and reminds readers of their own patriotic roots. This connection to the early days of American independence is crucial at a time when many people (younger generations especially) feel estranged from their country and its purported ideals of liberty and equality. With his comical voice and his deliberate decision to frame a biography in the format of a self-help book, Wilser drags the past into the present and reminds readers that there are still many reasons to be proud of American nationality.
Jeff Wilser has written four other books, with themes ranging from business, to self-improvement, to modern masculinity. His interest in the present is evidenced by his contributions to magazines such as GQ, Glamour, Cosmo, and Bon Appétit. His particular brand of humour consists of identifying the strange and ludicrous elements of modern behavior. Thus it is that when his online bio states that ‘he lives in Brooklyn with zero dogs,’ it can be read as a playful jab at all the modern writers who fill their back covers with odes to their canine companions. Wilser’s commitment to relevant humour is clear from the first page of his introduction:
…Hamilton fever is owed to the triumph of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical. It connects the old and young, the Left and the Right, the insiders and the outsiders. ‘It’s brilliant,’ gushed theater critic Barack Obama. ‘This is the only thing that Dick Cheney and I have agreed on in my entire political career.’ It will be sold out through 2047. Credit the genius of Miranda, credit the soundtrack, and credit the electric (and thrillingly diverse) cast.
Yet it is not only Wilser’s punchy voice that distinguishes his book from more conventional texts. To a certain extent, Wilser knows his audience better than many respectable academicians. His choice to organize Hamilton’s life into groupings of related parables for the modern American reader is really rather effective. This categorical treatment of history is easier to digest than the traditional chronological approach. Writes Wilser,
This book is not the exhaustive, comprehensive, list-every-fact book on Hamilton. Those books have been written and they are excellent. This is a different beast. It’s intended to inspire. Add perspective. Hopefully amuse. It’s organized by topic, from Self-Improvement to Honor, with a few stops in Money, Romance, and Leadership along the way…This is not a ‘How To’ book that will give you Hamilton’s shredded abs. And it won’t tell you how to get rich quick. Yet it cracks open his playbook, suggesting insight into how he went from abandoned son to Founding Father. Some lessons are literal and can be applied directly to your life. Others show us, through Hamilton’s actions, how to be more successful. And because Hamilton was a red-blooded man who made mistakes, still others guide us on what not to do.
In fact, it is Hamilton’s legacy as a ‘red-blooded man’ which sets him apart from the other Founding Fathers. Writes Wilser,
…there’s a deeper reason we’re drawn to Hamilton—and that’s the man himself. He feels somehow different from the other Founders, who, with their wise words and their marble statues, can seem more like myths than men.
Alexander Hamilton’s Guide to Life is unlikely to survive close scholarly scrutiny. Wilser can be careless with interpretations and is quick to jump to conclusions (assuming, for example, that ‘sober’ in the historical context means ‘not drunk,’ as it does today). He is also unashamedly biased, admitting that his book is,
…without a doubt, the second-most-pro-Hamilton book in history. (The first? The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, written by Alexander Hamilton. It comes in 27 volumes.)
In fact, it is difficult to predict whether Jeff Wilser will move on to a new subject, or whether his biography of Alexander Hamilton will fade into obscurity first. I don’t anticipate a lengthy shelf-life. But if you’re looking for a quick, jaunty ride through early American history, a casual, unpretentious conversation with one of our Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton’s Guide to Life may be the perfect fit. I read this book in a single morning and spent the rest of the day smiling. If that was Jeff Wilser’s intent, he deserves just as much credit as the ‘proper biographers.’
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