A Study in Character by Roger Kennedy. Oxford University Press. Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and the Future of America by Thomas Fleming. It has been my fate to be the centre of a thousand inventions, mostly of a disagreeable nature. I never deny these stories.
People believe what they want to believe.
So states the title character of Gore Vidal's grand 1973 novel Burr, and he couldn't be more correct. He did not inspire indifference. Loyal backers defended him fiercely, and Burr haters, Hamilton and Jefferson chief among them, were consumed with destroying him. Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and the Future of America is a straightforward, closely detailed chronological account of the events leading up to the duel and Burr's later trial for treason. While both tell the same story from a generally pro-Burr perspective, they part with each other in important ways.