Surprise surprise, I read this because of the musical. Would I have picked it up otherwise? No. Would I have enjoyed it otherwise? Probably not, but only because the American Revolution was something I knew so little about that I would have been lost at anything less famous than George Washington.

It's a long book, but it's worth every page. Much like Hamilton's life, it's never dull, giving a thorough and well-researched account of everything we do and don't know. As Chernow is seeing the Revolution from Hamilton's point of view, certain key figures - particularly Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr - don't come off well, but I never felt he was unduly biased towards Hamilton, giving a very vivid image of what he might have been like in life.

I would highly recommend this to anyone, even if they're not familiar with the musical or with that period of history. Apart from anything, this is a true rag-to-riches story, proving what you can accomplish if you're willing to work hard and, frankly, annoy people into doing what you want them to. It's also a fascinating insight for any non-American into the mindset of the American people, the American revolution, and how the country came about, because a huge amount of what was decided at the end of the 18th Century is still in place today. Perhaps most interesting in the current climate is the political set-up of America, and how the biases in the original system are still there and prevalent today.