"Hamilton's turbulent life, the dramatic birth of a nation . . . propelled with the page-turning intensity of an epic novel." —Ronald Blumer, Peabody Award–winning writer A new reissue of this important biography of Alexander Hamilton—arguably one of the most brilliant and complex of our nation's founders. From his less than auspicious start in 1755 on the Caribbean island of Nevis, to his unhappy fate in 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey, at the hands of his enemy Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton's short life left a huge legacy. Orphaned at eleven and apprenticed to a counting house, Hamilton learned the principles of business that helped him, as the first Secretary of the Treasury, create the American banking system and invent the modern corporation. He served in the American Revolution, primarily as aide-de-camp to General Washington, and subsequently developed a successful legal career, co-wrote The Federalist Papers, and built a life in politics. Told in a highly readable style, Alexander Hamilton presents Hamilton's contributions to America, and what they mean today. "Assiduously researched and appealingly written . . . an informative and insightful portrait of a highly complex personality." —Houston Chronicle "Engaging . . . vivid." —Publishers Weekly "Randall excels in describing the conflicts Hamilton created and weathered as a soldier, politician and lawyer." —St. Louis Post-Dispatch "This is biographical excellence—solid, first rate work." —William H. Hallahan, author of The Day the American Revolution Began "A fresh look at the many-faceted career of one of the Founding Fathers." —BookPage "This richly detailed, deeply sympathetic biography gives us a Hamilton we're compelled to know—hungry, human, brilliant and magnificant." —Virginia Scharff, author of Twenty Thousand Roads