I must say this is a grand way to start off the week.
Since early fall I have been reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow–with an app on my ipad. It is the first time I have digitally read a book. For all the times I have said never would such a thing happen–well–I am as surprised as some of my readers might be. In short, the hardcover 900-page book was not comfortable in any position to hold and read–and so I relented to modernity. Question is, once the book is finished do I revert to old ways?
The book is masterful, and since Hamilton has been my favorite Founding Father for most of my life, the topic is perfectly suited for my interests. Today it was reported that Chernow will be the featured speaker at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday, April 27, 2019.
“The White House Correspondents’ Association has asked me to make the case for the First Amendment and I am happy to oblige,” Chernow said. “Freedom of the press is always a timely subject and this seems like the perfect moment to go back to basics. My major worry these days is that we Americans will forget who we are as a people and historians should serve as our chief custodians in preserving that rich storehouse of memory. While I have never been mistaken for a stand-up comedian, I promise that my history lesson won’t be dry.”
This event may be more powerful the morning after as the nation hears quotes and news segments of provocative thoughts, and ideas. America needs to be engaged with big ideas, again.
The biography of Hamilton, published in 2004, was the first recipient of the George Washington Book Prize for the year’s best book about the founding era. Chernow has also authored Washington: A Life in 2010 and Grant, which I bought last week while shopping at Costco.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 