Customer Reviews
I am 85 and a huge fan of Lin, I found it interesting to learn about his journey, think others would too.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artistby Daniel Pollack-Pelzner.I knew of Lin-Manuel Miranda through his works, his Tony Award performances and social media posts, but I did not know his background or how he came to fuse his Latino heritage with hip hop, Broadway and pop-culture to create his captivating productions.Packed full of engrossing interviews with friends, family, mentors, and the artist himself, this fascinating biography delves into the Tony and Grammy Award winner's life from childhood to today. It is a window into how Miranda became the master creator he now is. It also speaks of his compassionate, empathetic nature and of his many successful collaborations.What I most admire about Miranda after reading this work is his drive to continually learn (sometimes the hard way), improve, and challenge himself.Available September 9, 2025Simon & Schuster
This well researched biography, based on interviews with the subject and many collaterals, profiles a brilliant and always curious artist. Highly recommend to anyone with an interest in theater and/or New York culture.
A couple of parts I really liked: the first meeting between Chernow, the author of the biography of Hamilton; and the Epilogue, discussing Miranda’s works-in-progress.At that first meeting Chernow, 60 and a widower, says “for my generation, hip-hop was cold, violent, and misogynistic…in Lin’s hands it was Cole Porter!” I agree.In the Epilogue we learn about the 1979 cult film The Warriors. I’ve never seen it, but if he’s turning it into a musical, I will stream it.
I have admired the works of Lin-Manuel Miranda for years, so when I got the opportunity to read Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist by Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, I was anxious to do so. This authorized biography drew me in from the very beginning and held my attention until the very last page.Daniel Pollack-Pelzner lets us into the life and mind of Lin-Manuel Miranda by speaking not only to Lin-Manuel himself, but also to his parents, sister, wife, other family members, and many of the people who have served as mentors and collaborators. We learn about his early beginnings and when his love of writing, composing and creating became his passion. How the roles in his middle school plays set him on a path to know how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. How as a sophomore in college he wrote his first draft of "In The Heights" and even more amazingly how so little of the original still remained when it finally reached Broadway. How he became the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning he has with the explosion of "Hamilton" and all of the amazing projects beyond Broadway he has worked on that are part of the fabric of arts as we know them today.Two things that struck me so deeply as I read were Lin-Manuel's want to continually learn both from good and bad situations and his vulnerability and ability to show and feel emotions. His willingness to receive feedback and input to continue to learn is something that many are not open to. I think it is one of the things that has made him as successful as he is because he hasn't been afraid to embrace having to rewrite or reimagine things. His openness with feeling anxiety and fear is something else I admire so much. It is not an easy thing to do, but I think it has served him well.This is one of those books you read and you are happy to be alive during a time when someone like Lin-Manuel Miranda is creating art. It provided a look into a man who has provided so many wonderful pieces of art for us to enjoy, but also shows that he is a quality human being and someone that is doing so much good for so many. He is the type of person you are happy has a platform to continue sharing his work, but also his heart.
