Book description
For readers who can’t get enough of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, Gore Vidal’s stunning novel about Aaron Burr, the man who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel—and who served as a successful, if often feared, statesman of our fledgling nation.
Here is an extraordinary portrait of one of the…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Burr as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I’ve been a fan of history and especially Revolutionary War history for quite a long time and my interest was peaked by this novel, decades ago.
Burr, published in 1972, turned the conventional myths about our young country on their heads. Vidal chose to tell the story of the Revolutionary War and the birth of our country from the perspective of Aaron Burr. We are all the heroes of our own story, and so is true for Burr.
What results is a very different perspective of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, and of important events in our…
From Randy's list on Randy Overbeck's favorite books that made him love history.
A romp through the Revolutionary War and afterward, through the eyes of the infamous Aaron Burr and his biographer, the fictional Charlie Schuyler, Gore Vidal’s Burr is replete with colorful characters, from the vain and wealthy Madame, Burr’s last wife, to the complex and brilliant Alexander Hamilton, whom Burr shoots in a duel. Burr serves as an aide to George Washington, whom he describes as plodding and phlegmatic, prospers in military service, becomes a lawyer, is Vice President to Jefferson, whom he disdains, and forms an unfortunate friendship with ambitious General James Wilkinson. After trials on charges of treason for…
From Jean's list on The best historical fiction that brings to life the American Revolutionary War.
If you love Burr...
The Remarkable Cause
The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution is the story of James Lovell, teacher at the Boston Latin School at the beginning of the Revolution.
James Lovell demonstrates the saying “heroes are not born, but made,” with his persistent fight to help his…
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