Good for a quick review, since it's been a while since my youthful Shakespeare phase. Not sure it would have been as useful had I not already known moGood for a quick review, since it's been a while since my youthful Shakespeare phase. Not sure it would have been as useful had I not already known most of the major players (no pun intended) though....more
The lyrics annotations are nice, but they're pretty sparse and tend to be anecdotes about the creation of the show. That's not bad, I would listen to The lyrics annotations are nice, but they're pretty sparse and tend to be anecdotes about the creation of the show. That's not bad, I would listen to Lin talk about pretty much anything pretty much indefinitely. But if you want to know EVERYTHING about the lyrics, Genius has you covered. The real meat of Hamiltome is a) the beautiful photographs, and b) all the lovely background about the creative process and everything that went into the production, from when it was still a mixtape through off-Broadway and into the era of street-blocking Ham4Ham crowds. Good stuff, and a fun read.
I didn't read it straight through when I first got it, since I was a bit on Hamilton overload. But I picked it back up after I was lucky enough to see the show in SF, and I enjoyed getting some additional depth past my own scattered memories of the live show!...more
3.5 stars. I don't like history books in general (bad experiences in high school?) but I always burn right through Sarah Vowell books. This one was a 3.5 stars. I don't like history books in general (bad experiences in high school?) but I always burn right through Sarah Vowell books. This one was a little more rambling than others, and nothing stands out quite like Assassination Vacation, but it was a fun read.
And yes, I found myself grinning a bit when Hamilton or Laurens was mentioned. And I totally hummed "The World Turned Upside Down" while reading about the British surrender, even though Vowell was careful to point out that the account of the redcoats singing that particular song is likely apocryphal. But there's no official tie-in with the musical. It's still fun to picture the interactions between Lafayette and Jefferson!...more