Hamilton by the Slice: Falling in Love with Our Most Influential Founding Father

By William George Chrystal

Review: "The world loves George Washington, and Washington loved Alexander Hamilton. The reasons stand out loud and clear as you read this insightful book. I recommend Hamilton by the Slice to any... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0981976077
• ISBN13: 9780981976075
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Empire for Liberty, LLC
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A taste of Hamilton: A Great Introduction

Excellent book by William Chrystal who is well know as Clay Jenkinson's narrator on the wonderful Thomas Jefferson Hour on National Public radio. He does wonderful first person portrayals of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. As noted in hi s intro, this book is for the individual who does not always have the time to read a full biography but introduces Hamilton covering approximately 30 topics relating to Hamilton's character in extraordinarily short chapters. Typically starting with a quote from an associate, family member or admirer of Hamilton about him of course followed a quote from Hamilton himself. Each chapter's topic relates to a particular character of Hamilton or position taken by Hamilton. The book reads more like a collection of pamphlets made into a short book with short examples of Hamilton's action, positions and quotes. Of particular refreshing references are to Hamilton's close association with George Washington during the war and during the formation of the Federal government, his support and defense of the constitution, his true rags to riches story, and his boldness in truth and opinion. An example of his character was his position, in writing, against the re-nomination of Adams for President because, although of the same party, he felt that Adams was not qualified to be President. Another was his public openness about an affair that had the potential to ruin him politically but he did so to counter an effort to blackmail him. In addition, he of course is best known for his position on a strong central government and as our initial treasurer secretary. Hamilton was a contrast to Jefferson. Both were very gifted and intelligent men but where Jefferson was shy and politically cautious, Hamilton was direct and bold. The caution here is that the book is a very positive portrayal of Hamilton, who was as an elitist by his political foes; however, a more careful reading indicates that this may certainly have been a political misrepresentation. To read a vast contrary book on Hamilton, read "Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution--and What It Means for Americans Today". The book's author takes political hindsight to extreme lengths. He equates the Federal Reserve with Hamilton's creation of a national bank but Andrew Jackson disabled that. The author forgets that the U.S. prior to the constitution had a failing economic trade system and foreign policy that required centralization to be successful. However, it is an interesting contrast. The book is endorsed by Congressman Ron Paul (not to be confused with Rue Paul), who himself has an interesting argument against the Federal Reserve.

Consise, accurate,NON-editorial

A quick read void of editorial propaganda for a person with an appetite for facts, with accurate review and presentation. I found it be a terrific refresher for one who majored in American History 47 years ago. The contents cleared a lot of cobwebs caused by time and slanted teaching.

Hamilton by the Slice

I just saw this author perform as Alexander Hamilton! He is so much more than an author; he is a first person historical interpreter of this founding father. Wow! He knows Hamilton inside and out. In the out-of-character Q & A, Bill told us he reads Hamilton's primary works for a couple hours a day. If anyone knows Hamilton, this man does! I bought copies for my grown children so they can see how to shape their thoughts, and thus their actions, for lasting greatness!

Hamilton by the slice

I love reading biographies to find out what made a great person great. This book was a treat! Instead of wading through all the incidents of Hamilton's life, Bill Chrystal gives us Hamilton's wisdom distilled into bite-size topical chapters. For example, I can look up any one of 31 topics ranging from Ambition to Dueling to Honor to War or Wisdom and find out what Hamilton thought about the topic. Chrystal doesn't just give us a quote or two by Hamilton, oh no! He explains where the quote came from and the context in which Hamilton used it. By the time I finished this book I knew how to model myself or shape my thoughts to think like Hamilton. What a great experience! My hat is off to this author who didn't make me sort through a million facts about Hamilton's life to get to the cream!