The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr - Softcover

St. George, Judith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425288218 ISBN 13: 9780425288214

Publisher: Speak, 2016

Synopsis

Learn more about the men who inspired Hamilton: The Musical in this fascinating look at the historical friends turned revolutionary rivals!

In curiously parallel lives, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were both orphaned at an early age. Both were brilliant students who attended college--one at Princeton, the other at Columbia--and studied law. Both were young staff officers under General George Washington, and both became war heroes. Politics beckoned them, and each served in the newly formed government of the fledgling nation. Why, then, did these two face each other at dawn in a duel that ended with death for one and harsh criticism for the other?

Judith St. George's lively biography, told in alternating chapters, brings to life two complex men who played major roles in the formation of the United States.

About this title

About the Author:

Judith St. George has published dozens of successful nonfiction books for children, including the Caldecott Medal-winning So You Want to Be President? and the historical Turning Point series, including You’re On Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt; Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln; and Take the Lead, George Washington. You can visit her online at www.judithstgeorge.com.

From School Library Journal:

Starred Review. Grade 5-9–Early in the morning on June 11, 1804, Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton. Both men were prominent citizens of the infant United States of America–Burr, indeed, was the vice president–but while Hamilton was lionized, Burr was vilified for the rest of his life. Interestingly, this marked the parting of ways in two lives that were remarkably similar. Both men had been orphaned young; both were excellent, driven students; both men had served on the staff of General George Washington during the Revolutionary War; both were lawyers in New York City; and both were deeply involved in politics. In the course of 25 years, their life paths crossed time and again, culminating in a tragic duel, as senseless as it was damaging for both parties. St. George does an excellent job of presenting the stories of the two men, informed by particulars that give a sense of character as well as of the historical milieu. Readers who like historical fiction will find this equally intriguing and approachable. The nine chapters, chronologically organized and compellingly written, move along smoothly to the inevitable, but still distressing, end. Similar in content to Dennis Brindell Fradin's excellent Duel! Burr and Hamilton's Deadly War of Words (Walker, 2008), St. George's book has a bit more background on both men. Given its illustrative content, Fradin's title will move better with younger readers, but most collections could use both volumes.–Ann Welton, Helen B. Stafford Elementary, Tacoma, WA
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About this edition

• Publisher: Speak
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0425288218
• ISBN 13: 9780425288214
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112