War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation

(Paperback)

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In War of Two, John Sedgwick explores the long-standing conflict between Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr. A study in contrasts from birth, they had been compatriots, colleagues, and even friends. In War of Two, John Sedgwick explores the long-standing conflict between Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr. A study in contrasts from birth, they had been compatriots, colleagues, and even friends. But above all they were rivals. Matching each other's ambition and skill as lawyers in New York, they later battled for power along political fault lines that would not only decide the future of the United States, but define it. A series of letters between Burr and Hamilton suggest the duel was fought over an unflattering comment made at a dinner party. But another letter, written by Hamilton the night before the event, provides critical insight into his true motivation. It was addressed to former Speaker of the House Theodore Sedgwick, a trusted friend of both men, and the author's own ancestor. John Sedgwick suggests that Hamilton saw Burr not merely as a personal rival but as a threat to the nation. Burr would prove that fear justified after Hamilton's death when, haunted by the legacy of his longtime adversary, he embarked on an imperial scheme to break the Union apart.

Reviews

Praise for War of Two

SedgwicksWar of Two, like Chernows great biography, has depths and details that the musical [Hamilton] cannot match.Gordon Wood,The New York Review of Books

[A] lively, wide-ranging and immensely readable book. The world ofWar of Twois often more personal than political, an intimate portrait of Hamilton and Burr as they plunged toward their fatal collision.The New York Times

John Sedgwick has done a great thing here: he has painted a compelling and original portrait of a defining American rivalry. A story of ambition, conviction, and finally of bloodshed.Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prizewinning author ofThomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

In crisp, lively prose, the author presents evenhanded and insightful profiles of two highly intelligent, driven men with substantial flaws and very different characters...[An] entertainingly irreverent account of two consequential men from the dawn of the American republic.Kirkus Reviews

John Sedgwick rescues the most famous duel in history from musty mythology and gives us a richly textured, spirited, absorbing tale of yearning, rivalry, and pathos.War of Tworeads like the Great American Novelbut its all true.Evan Thomas,New York Timesbestselling author ofBeing Nixon: A Man Divided

Sedgwick perceptively suggests that Burrs skill at influencing public opinion epitomized for the emerging Republicans what Hamiltons preference for elite governance did for the Federalists: competing versions of democracy.Publishers Weekly

An explosive historical narrative. With Sedgwicks deft, clever writing, this true story of the dangerous and dramatic world of the Founders becomes as gripping as any novel.Matthew Pearl,New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Last Bookaneer

The famous duel has been recounted before, but never with such illuminating attention to the layers upon layers of ambition, vanity, talent, honor and pigheadedness that marked the antagonists...A master storyteller.H. W. Brands,New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace

Author Bio

John Sedgwick is the bestselling author of thirteen books, includingBlood Moon,War of Two,his acclaimed account of the duel between Hamilton and Burr, two novels, and the family memoirIn MyBlood. A longtime contributor toGQ,Newsweek,Vanity Fair, andThe Atlantic, he wrote the first national expose of the exploits of Whitey Bulger inGQin 1992.