I gave the book 4 stars because the corner was a little damaged when it got here. The packaging was just the book in a box. The book is great quality otherwise, the pages are thick and feel like you're reading an authentic historic book. This is perfect for any Hamilton musical lover.
...plus so much more.I had to stop reading this and write this review *now*.I've been reading this book skipping around, reading Lin Manuel Miranda's foot notes, stopping to read an essay here and there.It's fascinating. It enhances the experience of the lyrics and also gives background of the much of the music, the inspiration of rhythms, and the evolution of the revolution of the modern musical that became "Hamilton".So after playing around with reading (and honestly belting out more than a few songs; hopefully the walls in my apartment aren't too thin) here and there, I went back to the beginning and started reading the essays. They are amazing. They introduce the many people who are a part of this evolution of this revolution in musical theatre.I was reading "Part IV: In Which the Character of New York City is Considered in Its Musical & Scenic Aspects". It's fascinating in and of itself. The challenges of depicting of the show's settings.And then I turned the page it took my breath away and threw me back into the experience of anticipation as we waited for the performance begin. Start *now* here.I was lucky enough to see "Hamilton" 5 days ago. Everything you've heard about it cannot in any way express what an amazing, beautiful, dynamic experience it is. Listening to the soundtrack is amazing, but it's as if you forget the rest of the musical. The dancing, the choreography, the staging. I literally, unconsciously, had my mouth open the whole time.Okay, this isn't a review of the musical.The picture on pages 40 & 41 is the stage for "Hamilton". It is the anticipation of sitting in the orchestra waiting for the musical to begin.I have read many parts of this book in bits and pieces. It is an amazing supplement if you have the amazing luck to see "Hamilton". At the same time if you have not seen it, this book is closest you can get to seeing it.The musical is simply it is breath taking.This book has taken me back to that experience and taken my breath away again.The picture is of the actual stage. It is virtually an exact copy (but taken with a phone, far away, in crap ligh).Btw, this is a tome of a book. Hard covered, inches thick, archival worthy pages, fabulously rendered pictures, full lyrics with footnotes, and essays with Pulitzer winners and Presidents.The price of this book could easily be 4-6 times what it is. Even if you're on the fence about "Hamilton", get this.
Can't believe I got this for $16 (about $22 with shipping and tax). Mine came in perfect condition. The pages are kind fo lightweight, but that doesn't bother me. Really beautiful and interesting book!
Book showed up in rough shape.
My daughter is an absolute Hamilton fan. She knows everything about every character, their life, other roles and all things Hamilton related. This was her most favorite birthday gift this year.
Hamilton the Revolution is a gorgeous book. Before you even get into the actual content, just holding this beautiful book is a joy. The rich texture of the paper. The deckled edges. The elegant typography that evokes colonial letterpress typesetting.Every word of the libretto with footnotes from Lin-Manuel Miranda gives you insight into his thought process. How the Hamilton Mixtape took shape and evolved into a Broadway show. The actors, the producers, director, composer, choreographer. Geniuses all.This is a book to savor and come back to time and again.
If you love the musical you have to have this book! It was at the play and we didn’t buy it and regretted it so I looked online and was so excited to get it. My daughter LOVES this book so much she asked if it was “hers”. Beautifully done
If you loved the play this book is a wealth of information at a cost much lower than in most bookstores.
I bought this as a gift and after checking it was somewhat disappointed. Content appears to be spread thin in this collage of anecdotes and images that look as if they are stills repurposed from the recorded play if not the same. I was hoping for more plain script personally.
Cool illustrated book with a lot of backstories about the creation of the musical.
This book blew me away. When we saw Hamilton, we were clueless about the rap, that it carried the “dialogue.” The book (and playing the music on YouTube) was a wonderful way to relive the scenes, catch the lyrics, let it sink. To read about how the play evolved, the creativity and community of the company, the genius that is Lin-Manuel Miranda, made me realize that it carried more weight than if I had just read Hamilton’s biography alone (sorry, Chernow). Yes, the pictures were grand, but it was the words (and music) that made me cry again. And smile again.
I ordered this book for my daughter for her birthday since she is completely into musicals, especially Hamilton. She is in middle school so she is into reading and also listening to the music. I thought this book would also help in giving her the timeline to how this musical was made and it really didn’t disappoint. It was a great book as her birthday present and she hasn’t put it down. Each chapter gives a new insight into the steps taken to make this Broadway hit. The lyrics to the songs are also in the book as well as stage directions which she loves. My other daughter loved it so much that she wanted her own copy and I ordered her one as well.
When I first saw "Hamilton" on Disney+, I was left ambivalent. A major fan of "1776" and "Les Miserables," I certainly had nothing against historical musicals. I also liked "The Fix," so I had nothing against political musicals. I just wasn't a fan of hiphop or rap (if there is a difference), and I was kinda floored by the casting.But I was intrigued. So I watched it again. And then again. And again...and then I purchased the soundtrack. I have to say I'm still not a fan of rap in general. But in this musical, it works. And as I got to know the musical better, I wanted to learn even more, and who better to show it to me than the author? So, I bought this book. And wow, what a freakin' awesome book. Every word from every song, plus a detailed how and why the song came about, what it meant to the author, and what he hoped it would convey to us, the viewers and listeners. Tons of photos in full color. And even an envelope of memorabilia, including a facsimile of the note Hamilton wrote his wife to say goodbye before his duel with Burr. All in a gorgeously bound, *HEAVY* volume in a box.Okay, you may have to be a bit of an Olympian to pick it up, but once you find a table to put it on so you don't flatten your legs, you can start turning the deckled edges (it's made to FEEL old), and then you'll read WHY the casting was done as it was, HOW King George's first song got its name, HOW "The Hamiltons Move Up Town" came to be, and much much more. And it's all fascinating.By the way, I was already a fan of Chris Jackson; I am rapidly becoming a fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Diggs, Leslie Odom Jr., and just about every other major player in the story. I'm even reading Chernow's bio of Hamilton. Thanks, Mr. Miranda, and thanks for a wonderfully fun book.
I was attracted to this book because… I wanted more of Hamilton, and this book has everything I was looking for.This book was about From the title pageBeing the complete libretto of the Broadway musical, with a true account of it’s creation and concise remarks on hip-hop, the power of stories, and The New America. It tells the story of how the musical was developed from Miranda taking Ron Chernow’s biography on vacation to opening on Broadway. The book tells the story of everyone who contributed to this production. The photos are incredible.Things I liked about this book If I had watched this show in the theatre, I would have been constantly referring to the program. That is usually true, but in this play there are several characters who play one role in the first act. And another character in the second act. This book helped understand so many things I saw in the performance and didn’t understand. It has the lyrics to the songs, which I desperately wanted. I cried in so many chapters. I feel like I know the people who brought the story to life. This book answers the questions I had after viewing and will increase my enjoyment of watching it again.Why you should read this book Sometimes when you know how something works, how it was created the magic of object is lost. That is not the case with Hamilton. The more you know, the more power of the story draws you into the magic of this enterprise. From the moment, Miranda sang the initial song, Alexander Hamilton, at the White House for the Obama’s (look it up on youtube) to how Miranda was still perfecting the song about the duel, The World Was Wide Enough, until just a few days before the time ran out or the critics are coming to the show, every detail, every breathe is pure magic. And you begin to understand why this musical rocks your world.This book lived up to the back cover copy A highlight of the book is hinted at on the back cover. ‘Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his libretto, the full text is published.
Amazon recommended this book when I searched for the Hamilton Broadway Soundtrack. Like so many, I was blown away by the stage show (seen on D+) and I wanted…more. This book delivers in spades!The book is part history of the show, part cast biography and the complete libretto – annotated. It is a perfect mix that kept me turning the pages. Fans of the show will surely love it, but I think anyone who has an appreciation of theatre would enjoy this volume. For me, the annotation was the highlight. The book is laid out chronologically beginning from the origins of the show, Chernow’s biography, through the songwriting, the development phase, casting, off Broadway run through to the Broadway premier, with the libretto interspersed throughout. Lin-Manuel comments on every song: on the origin of the lyrics, various couplets, how the song did or did not change, references to hip hop and bits of actual history that did and did not make it into the show, and more. It was a fascinating dive into his creative process, told alongside the show’s development from mixtape to musical.Oh, and in addition to the excellent content, the book is also physically beautiful. Made to look like an old-world volume, it has a Navy faux leather spine against parchment cream boards, with the gold Hamilton logo on the cover over the title. The pages are thick, with deckle edge, and the chapter titles evoke English as spoken in revolutionary times, in keeping with the theme. Full color and black and white photographs, of the show, the cast and other related images, are found liberally throughout.Overall, this is a fantastic companion to the show. I would love to see them release the show on bluray in a case designed to complement this book.
To read this book or see the show or listen to the music? The decision is a difficult one, but fortunately, is one we don't have to make. The answer, then, becomes, "All three!" This is one of those rare situations where each enhances the other.First, I listened to the album to familiarize myself with the songs before seeing the show on Broadway. I immediately realized that the album was not comprised of "songs," but it told a story. I then read this book. I then could appreciate more what the story was telling us--what was being said between the lines, and how it made me think about choices that we make as we pontificate about life's major decision points, what we believe in, and how we communicate that to others.The book is really three books in one, beautifully interwoven into a masterpiece. Between nearly every song, Lin-Manuel Miranda writes a chapter describing something related to the upcoming song. It could be about what was going through his head; it could be about a different song that he was thinking about at that time; or it could be about an actor or production person who had something to do with the song. In all cases, the story was compelling. In other words, in between all the stories that manifested themselves as songs, there were more stories!Then came the libretto, presenting the words from each song (plus one that wasn't on the album). I listened to them and found so much more meaning in them than I had received by just listening to the album. Some of this came from the chapter of narrative that preceded each, but much came from just being able to appreciate the subtleties and genius of each word -- yes, I had the feeling that each word was chosen for a reason, and taking the time to understand that reason made the song that much more meaningful.The third part of the book includes notes in the margins on each page. These explain either what was going through Miranda's head when he was writing that line, or where the idea for the line came from, or what he was considering instead of that line, or just an interesting anecdote related to that line.What I did for the fully immersive experience with the book was to read a chapter until I came to a song; I then listened to the song while reading its libretto in the book; and then, while the song was fresh in my head, I went back and read the notes for that song. Yes, it takes a lot longer to read the book this way, but it also makes it amazingly enjoyable.What it also does is enhance the show "beyond words," turning it into a total experience. And for the gift that keeps on giving, if you are lucky enough to see the show for a second time, I recommend you read the book again. I've done this only twice (so far), but I keep finding more each time I go through the cycle, and now, should the show and I happen to be in the same city at the same time, would do it all again. In other words, while the book, show and music are phenomenal, the whole (show + book + music) is far greater than the sum of its parts.One more thing about the book. It is rare that an author is able to capture so perfectly what was in his/her head when creating a masterpiece, putting it into words to share with others. Miranda has done that in exemplary fashion. Usually, one is either a genius at 'creating' or at 'describing how and why a work was created,' but not both. I have seen that done only one other time, by Stephen Sondheim in his duology,
Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes
and
Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany
-- the difference here is that Miranda's work was about one play, while Sondheim's was about all his plays.Miranda is a true genius, and this book enables us not only to realize it, but allows him to share it with us for a short while.
Beyond the amazingness that is the stage musical, there is the story behind it and its creation. As improbably as Alexander Hamilton's life was, the making of this musical is just as much so, born out of the random genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda and fostered by the creative energy of the amazing team he has around him, all brought to life by the original cast. This book captures this moment in theater and pop-culture history, that intersection of the two that so rarely happens anymore. Jeremy McCarter's journalistic style gives an intimate glimpse at the "room where it happened", giving fans snippets of all aspects of the "Hamilton" creation, from the small stories, such as the development of the sound system that makes the show so dynamic when you see it in person, to the even heartbreaking moments of struggle and loss for some involved in the production.Each story is tied, in its own way, to the very songs that make up the musical, their lyrics included for those of us who like to rap along with Lin and Daveed. Lin's personal notes are brilliant and often nerdy and funny, and show us how his crazy brain works as he is word-smithing some of these ridiculously complicated and smart lyrics. Though not as fully annotated as the Genius pages, these are Lin's notes and thoughts, and it's wonderful to see inside his skull and watch him write, re-write, scrap, start over, and write and revise again, and some of the changes that were made even between the Public and the Richard Rodgers are interesting indeed (though I still regret he cut up "The Adam's Administration" like he did, as that is the most cutting set down of the entire play and brilliant).The book itself is well made as well, with the look of a colonial broad page, done with amazing photos of the production, and lovely black-and-white ones done with 19th century lenses to add flavor. The ragged edges give it a feeling of something older than it is, and it makes the book feel like it is a part of the "Hamilton" experience itself: a version of our Revolutionary history told by these people, which is what it is.I was lucky enough to see the play in June before the departure of many in the main caste, (and would love to go back and see it with Javier Munoz), so this was a special treat. If you are a fan of the play get this book. It is a wonderful compliment. And if you have yet to see it, when it comes to you, go out and see it! You won't regret it. It's really every bit as good as they hype says it is.
Here is some background context: I’ve seen the show 9 times, including opening nights, off and on-Broadway. I wrote a book review of Ron Chernow’s biography long before I knew there’d be a musical based on it. I’ve given many speeches on Hamilton: The Man, the Myth, and the Musical. I believe that the Hamilton phenomenon is an ideal example of positive cultural change.This book is superb, and a perfect complement to the Cast Recording and live attendance at the show. It gives the reader insight into the details of the creative process by which the show was made, and I’m happy that so many talented people are credited.The chapter titles and graphics style emulate that of the Enlightenment era, so it puts the reader in the mood for that period. In keeping with that timeline, photos show the costumes and staging (with ropes and wooden devices everywhere)—all the way down to the paperwork on George Washington’s desk (including his personalized wax stamp).My decades spent in ballet class helped me appreciate how detail-oriented the dance/movement was presented. For instance, “Burr moves in straight lines because he see no options, and Hamilton moves in arcs, because he sees all the possibilities.”I was happy to learn why the sheets of The Reynolds Pamphlet that end up in the audience (I caught a few during performances) are written in Latin. That’s done so that the audience won’t become too distracted in trying to read what it written on them while the show is going on. This worked because once I knew I couldn’t decipher what the text stated, my focus went completely back to the show.The background on the musical numbers is well done, including how You’ll Be Back purposely pays tribute to the Beatles with riffs from Getting Better and Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.One of the first things I noticed when I opened the book randomly was the lyrics to Cabinet Battle #3, which contains the case against slavery. What a shame that didn’t make it into the musical. However, I believe there will be a recording release in the future. Glad to hear of Miranda’s admiration of both the musical 1776 and the HBO series on John Adams.In addition, I like how Miranda describes how and why he took creative license when departing from historical facts. For example, he has Hamilton meet both Mulligan and Laurens early in the musical and ignored the fact that the Schuylers had sons. Miranda says, if you want to see a musical with 8 kids, go see The Sound of Music.Much as I was disappointed to see One Last Ride changed to One Last Time, Miranda’s explanation of this contains sound reasoning. Aside from needing to reduce the length of the musical, the number condenses many aspects of Washington’s life more dramatically, and always leaves me in tears.With all of those positives—I can name many more, but prior reviews have covered them well—I need to note a few flaws. Unfortunately, the book is obsessed with race. Whether it is Nuyorican, Latin, Black, Irish, Cuban, Asian, Jewish, or West Indian, it feels like you can’t go more than a few pages without being told about someone’s race. This is dismaying, since the content of one’s character is much more important than the color of one’s skin. This constant identification of one's race tends to deny the freely chosen actions that an individual takes which others of that same race might or might not have taken.Also, though immigrants have certainly helped to make America the greatest country in world history, they are too broadly addressed in the book/musical. Hamilton’s success did not come from being an immigrant, but from being an individualist. He was likely the most consistent defender of individual rights in his era. Individualism is the only cure for racism, which stems from a collectivist, tribalist, view of human nature.For example, Marquis de Lafayette became a hero during the individualist American Revolution, but he almost had his head chopped off during the collectivist French Revolution. Same person, same ideas. The fact that he was an immigrant was not essential to his achievement. Hamilton knew he would perish under the oppressive conditions in the Caribbean, where his ideas would not have been implemented. It was only the pro-reason, pro-individualism America that allowed orphan immigrants like him to rise up and make a difference.I also disagree with the book’s criticism of Hamilton over the war bonds that Revolutionary War soldiers sold to speculators. The speculators faced great risk (as is often the case) in having those bonds pay off, since the odds of America winning the war were miniscule. If we lost the war, I don’t think anyone would have shed tears for the money the speculators lost. However, Hamilton upheld the sanctity of contract. That turned out to be a core principle of his brilliant financial system, which was based on the protection of individual rights.On to a few material critiques: The first copy of the book we bought was not bound very well, as two...
*Originally published on book blog Will Read for Feels.With the Tony Awards scheduled for today, I couldn’t not pay tribute even in some small way to my current obsession, Hamilton: An American Musical. I can’t count the number of times I’ve listened to the soundtrack in the past week or two, but it was only this week that I started reading the book for it, Hamilton: The Revolution, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (the genius behind the book, lyrics, music, and titular performance for Hamilton) and his co-author Jeremy McCarter (who is also director of the Public Theater, where Hamilton was staged before moving to Broadway).By the time I read this, the lyrics to the songs were nothing new to me, but I really appreciated the annotations by Miranda (and a few from McCarter), as they let me look at each song in a new light, and I found myself experiencing the feels all over again, and magnified at that, thanks to the context provided by those notes. It took me three days to read this book because I kept stopping to listen and re-listen to the songs.And that’s not all. Between the annotated song lyric pages were chapters that explored Lin-Manuel Miranda’s writing and development process as well as all the work everyone involved in the production, from the director to the choreographer to the actors and more. Little details about what each person brought to make the story come alive onstage but also in terms of the words and music. Things like personal triumphs and tragedies and how they affected those who helped put the musical together made each song, each photo mean so much more, even though the lyrics held a rainbow of feels even without that additional information.Being over 8,000 miles from New York, I haven’t had a chance to see the Broadway musical myself, nor will I have one in the immediate future, but somehow the descriptions of the direction and choreography really helped me solidify it in my imagination. And some of the details the authors shared about the decisions made for the choreography were things I felt would enrich the understanding and appreciation of someone who did see the musical, maybe even multiple times.The overall result? The Hamilton soundtrack alone still chokes me up even after I’ve listened to it dozens of times, but several parts of Hamilton: The Revolution had me blubbering all over again, while others had me giggling or hugging myself in what we Filipinos call kilig (romantic sort of thrill). And there were enough notes on Miranda’s efforts to keep things historically accurate and the instances in which he departed from the facts that I’m now determined to read the book that inspired the musical, Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father’s biography written by Ron Chernow, as well as his Washington: A Life. I’ve also decided to rewatch a bio-documentary I watched a few years ago, called The Real George Washington, as well as HBO’s John Adams miniseries. Which is more American history than I’ve had since the seventh grade!In the end, Hamilton: The Revolution helped me understand that this musical tells of at least three revolutions: the historical one fought between the Americans and the Brits, for sure, but also the revolution in thought that created the United States of America and that still exists in and helps define it today. Thirdly, the revolutionary nature of this play in music and in theater, and the way it plays notes to a song we won’t hear the whole of for years to come. And that song? That same revolution in thought and burning ambition that keeps people like Hamilton inspiring people of today.
