## Chapter 1 - Alexander's childhood - 55:36 - Books that Alex. most likely had at his home and read: - Alexander Pope (poetry) - The Prince (Machiavelli) (Politics) - Plutarch's Lives / Parallel Lives (History/Philosophy) - 1:05:50 - Alex. spending a lot of time with the wealthy Thomas Stevens' family and specifically his son, Edward. [[Thought - You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with]]. ## Chapter 2 - Adolescence Starting to fulfill his potential, working hard and beginning to make a name for himself, becoming more certain in his abilities, becoming more independent, learning business. - 33:22: “Men are generally too much attached to their native countries to leave it and dissolve all their connections, unless they are driven to it by necessity.” ## Chapter 3 - Attending college, forming his own opinions. - 34:00: Academic influences on Alex. - Locke. - Montesquieu - Hobbs - Hume - Sir William Blackstone - Hugo Grocious - Samuel von Pufendorf (jurist) - Emmerich de Vattel (jurist) “Whom he (Alex.) approved as the most accurate and approved of the writers of the laws of nations.” - “He could rattle off the classical allusions” - 34:50: His academic schedule - waking up at 06:00 and working most of the day, allocating some time to pleasure. ## Chapter 4 - Start of military career. - 32:36 (p.72): How he commands his troops: - “Almost perennial command” - “Tough but fair-minded” - Shares hardships with them - Promotes meritocracy and promotion from within ## Chapter 6 - 09.45 (p.110): Thanks to his pay book we know that he read a considerable amount of philosophy, including Bacon, Hobbes, Montaigne, and Cicero. He also perused histories of Greece, Prussia, and France. - Probably the first book that Hamilton absorbed was Malachy Postlethwayt’s Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, a learned almanac of politics, economics, and geography that was crammed with articles about taxes, public debt, money, and banking. ## Chapter 11 - 08:22: Books Alex read in his adult life. ## Summary Cool to see how Linda Ray managed to incorporate quotes and events from history into the play. For example, Burr actually did say this: “Had I read Sterne more and Voltaire less, I should have known the world was wide enough for Hamilton and me.” Speaking of Burr, in the play the feeling I got about him was that he was a conflicted and complex individual, at the same time participating in the war effort but also being selfish. This seemed to be true from the book also - the event with the New York watering company where he basically gave up an opportunity to improve the water quality for the people of New York but instead wasted it as a political sacrifice to move him forward. Also his womanizing and lack of care for Hamilton’s death made me see him as slightly more of a douch than the Burr from the play. But in Burr’s defense, he wasn't solely responsible for Hamilton's death. They both went to that duel willingly and Hamilton is just as much to blame for his death as Burr. On to Hamilton - he seemed to be a VERY impressive individual. What impressed me, in addition to his mental capabilities, was that he seemed to live his life the way he chose, never compromising on his values and principles, even if it meant additional hardship for himself and his family. For example, he died leaving his family in debt even though he could have easily taken more money, legally or illegally, from his positions in government or from his practice. Instead, he kept his law prices fair and made do on the fairly low government/soldier pay. His dedication to his family was heartwarming. Even though he was extremely busy he managed to find time to spend with his children and with his wife Eliza. Their relationship is one I aspire to have, except for the Reynolds Affair of course. But except for that they seemed to be the closest of friends, constantly worrying and asking for each other and their children. And Eliza’s dedication to keeping her husband’s legacy after his death. Also the vibe I got about Eliza’s intellect was that she wasn’t super smart, at least not contracted to Hamilton, but they still managed to get on well which shows that what really matters is the personality of the people in the relationship and how much they care for each other. *** ## Footnotes Resources