Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let's just accept it...when Lin-Manuel Miranda does something, he does it right, all the way, and maybe better than anyone else. I'm fortunate enough to have seen "Hamilton" twice. I've read the Chernow biography, listened to the cast recording non-stop (ha) since September, and been an avid follower of Lin's tweets, Facebook posts, interviews, #Ham4Ham shows, and Genius annotations. I've been a musical theatre geek for five decades and have never felt this excitement about any show (with the possible exception of A Chorus Line). So when I heard months ago that Lin and former New York magazine drama critic Jeremy McCarter were putting together a book about the creation of "Hamilton," I pre-ordered my copy and started counting the days. Now it's here, and.... wow. Just wow. Given the show's deserved status as a cultural phenomenon that will be playing to sold-out houses for years, it would have been easy to just throw together a "behind-the-scenes" book with a few interviews, toss in some publicity stills, and have a guaranteed best-seller. This "Hamiltome" couldn't be further from that. Among other delights, it includes: the full libretto of this sung-through (and rapped-through) show, with extensive annotations from LMM that give new insights, meaning, and historical context to the words that you might already know by heart; more than 30 essays about the cast members, the production team, the creative process, and the facts of Hamilton's life; copies of relevant historical documents referenced in the show; pages from LMM's notebooks with early drafts and outlines; and a stunningly beautiful array of production photographs, cast portraits, and backstage candids. And all of this is thoughtfully organized and packaged in a beautifully bound volume with ivory deckle-edged paper - a book like books used to be. (Trust me, this is one book you don't want to read on Kindle; it's actually a sensory experience to hold it and turn the pages.) As McCarter notes in the Introduction, the title "Hamilton - The Revolution" has two meanings. There is the American Revolution that is brought to life in this show, and there is the revolution of the show itself - "a musical that changes the way that Broadway sounds, that alters who gets to tell the story of our founding, that lets us glimpse the new, more diverse America rushing our way." Do what you can to see "Hamilton," either on Broadway or when it comes to your town. It's unlike anything else. Until then, this book and the original cast recording will get you as close as possible to an orchestra seat at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.