This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. The products that I advertise are the ones I believe in.
If you haven’t read Ron Chernow books then you’re just not that into history! Any serious student of American history knows who Ron Chernow is and that ALL of his books are of the “must-read” status – you don’t just read Ron Chernow, you collect his books. Sufficed to say, this book nerd has his own Ron Chernow collection.
Author Ron Chernow has written 7 books so far, so in my estimation all of his books are “must-reads.” Chernow has won numerous publishing prizes over his illustrious career, including the Pulitzer Prize for his 2010 book Washington: A Life.
The only book I haven’t included in this list is Death of the Banker: The Decline and Fall of the Great Financial Dynasties and the Triumph of the Small Investor which is still a kick-ass read.
6 Must-Read Books By Author Ron Chernow
1. “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow
Ron Chernow has written the consummate biography of Alexander Hamilton. As one of America’s previously miscast heroes, Hamilton is now securely back in the pantheon of iconic founding fathers, and rightfully so. To my abhorrence and dismay I have read so many books knocking Hamilton because of his background, berating him for his personality and I must say I was pleased as apple pie to finally have found an author who treated Alexander Hamilton’s life as a one of intelligence and purpose.
Even then, I have no idea what that bloody play was about, it had absolutely no connection to the book. I will admit (fwiw) that thanks in large part to Ron Chernow’s writing “Alexander Hamilton” is one of the few books that actually brought a tear to my eye at the ending. Yeah, it’s the penultimate example of the book being better than the “movie.”
=> Find “Hamilton” on AbeBooks!
2. “Washington” by Ron Chernow
You know you’re a must-read author when you receive a Pulitzer Prize for writing a George Washington biography. I mean, for Georgie’s sake, literally everyone and their mother has written a Washington biography, so to be a Pulitzer Prize winner you basically have to be the crème de la crème, de la crème!
The thing that makes Ron Chernow such an outstanding author is his incredibly felicitous writing style; most of his books are around 700 pages yet they just melt away as you are reading his masterfully crafted words. Words fuse into paragraphs which fuse into chapters which fuse into all-encompassing novels and before you know it, you’ve finished reading them and longing for more.
Washington: A Life is such a book which is a beautiful exposition on the life, and foibles, of George Washington.
=> Find “Washington: A Life” on Amazon!
3. “House of Morgan”
Judging solely on my own “cool factor” there are a few books that I’ve read in my lifetime that I have absolutely enjoyed from cover to cover, mostly because of the subject matter, but also because of the writing style. The House of Morgan (along with Hamilton) is one of them.
I remember just getting into economics and wanting to know more about the history of banking and money when I came across this gem by Ron Chernow. I was absolutely overwhelmed with the story of the Morgan family, particularly J. P. Morgan and his sons, and how they established their multi-billion dollar dynasty here in the United States during the age in which they did. This book is the Baronial Age unmasked.
=> Find “House of Morgan” on Amazon!
4. “Titan” by Ron Chernow
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller is another one of Ron Chernow’s must-reads. If you’ve read House of Morgan, you’ll love this one because it is almost a continuation of that story line, taking you from the Age of the Robber Barons into the Industrial Age under the leadership of men such as Rockefeller and Vanderbilt. It’s an absolutely gripping narrative.
5. “The Warburgs”
There is an untold history revealed in The Warburgs, that of a banking family that has ties back to a small farming village in Germany called Warburg. This family settled in the town back in the 16th century and eventually took the town’s name as their surname. They were both connected to the infamous Rothschild family and at the same time diametrically opposed to it; it’s a fascinating history of power, wealth, and societal norms.
=> Find “The Warburgs” on Amazon!
6. “Grant” by Ron Chernow
I love the audacity of this title: Grant. It’s as if Ron Chernow is the undisputed heavyweight champion of biographers and he no longer needs to craft catchy subtitles! There it is in all its simplicity, larger than life, just one word: GRANT.
Despite its grandiose presence on a bookshelf, I gave it a mixed book review. Of all of Ron Chernow’s publishings it is my least favorite because of its historical inflexibility – it simply rehashes the same partisan party-line narrative regarding General Grant. You would figure that somewhere in the 900 pages of this book there would be room to deviate from that.
However, even as you get through the first 200 pages of the book it’s very difficult not to enjoy Chernow’s lucid ability to tell an interesting story. The part that is truly turning out to be amazing is that I was never a fan of U.S. Grant in my studies of history and the Civil War, just being honest. So the neat part is that I have gained a new appreciation of this paragon of military stratagem via the incredible power of the pen, Ron Chernow’s pen.
I even thoroughly enjoyed the 3-part TV miniseries about U.S. Grant that aired in 2020 on the History Channel.
For more great book reviews, check out all of the Family History Foundation’s FEATURES SECTION.
Which is your favourite Ron Chernow book? Tell us why in the comments section below.
SIGN UP to stay up to date on the latest posts from the Family History Foundation.
Discover more from Family History Foundation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
