The next book in the 2021 Alternative Reading List is Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. This book is the source of the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” and was a New York Times bestseller, and chosen by the New York Times as one of the ten best books of the year when it was first published in 2004. It is available in paperback from Penguin.
This book was selected by Professor Michael Schwartz. Professor Schwartz directs the Disability Rights Clinic at Syracuse University College of Law, where he supervises students in disability advocacy and teaches clinical skills and disability law. He has a B.A. in English from Brandeis University, an M.A. in Theater Arts from Northwestern University, a J.D. from New York University School of Law, an LL.M. from Columbia University School of Law, and a Ph.D. in Education from Syracuse University School of Education.
Self-Directed Focus Questions
In a departure from the usual process with the Alternative Reading List, there are no prepared focus questions for this book. To be frank, the book is so long that the focus questions themselves would be the length of a regular-length book. This does not mean that the book’s length should deter you from reading it. On the contrary, you should be excited to have the chance to read a book that covers a crucial period of this country’s history in so much depth, because not only is this a biography of a central figure in the founding of this country and the development of the Constitution, it is also a history of that period. Reading it will give you a much greater understanding of the events and decisions that informed the decisions that went into making the country what it is and will make your study of Constitutional law during your first year of law school deeper and richer.
Reading this book also gives you the chance to practice your active reading skills without the training wheels of focus questions. In essence, the art of active reading is to ask yourself the same questions as you would be asked by focus questions prepared by someone else. Broadly speaking, these should be questions that address two large areas: mode of expression and content.