The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
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 excellentDuel! 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, WACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.