Lessons from Ron Chernow

A preeminent biographer of our time, Ron Chernow has offered a wealth of wisdom not only on the historical figures he has so vividly brought to life but also on the craft of writing, the nuances of history, and the enduring complexities of human nature. Through his meticulous research and narrative artistry, Chernow provides profound insights that extend beyond the pages of his acclaimed biographies.

On History and Biography

On the Role of the Biographer: "What my job entails, as a biographer, is to penetrate the silences." [1][2] Chernow believes a biographer's duty is to explore the topics his subjects were reluctant to discuss themselves. [2]
The Importance of Narrative in History: "Even though I wasn't learning history, I was learning narrative—and narrative is at least as hard to learn as history." [1][2]
History's Relevance to the Present: "This is a case where knowledge of history is not just a nice adornment to your life, but actually is going to affect how you respond to a lot of different contemporary issues." [3]
The Allure of the Past: "I have developed a very strong partiality for the dead: they don't talk back, they don't sue, and they don't have angry relatives." [4][5]
Biography as Literature: "I really feel that biography is not only a branch of history, but a branch of literature." [6]
Choosing a Subject: Chernow is often drawn to misunderstood figures. He chose to write about Alexander Hamilton because he "seemed to be the neglected and misunderstood founding father" at the time. [7]
Humanizing Historical Figures: Chernow's goal is to make his subjects comprehensible. Of his Washington biography, it was said, "One comes away from the book feeling that Washington has finally become comprehensible." [8]
The Depth of Research: For Chernow, a biography is an examination from "cradle to grave." He often starts before the cradle, exploring the history of the subject's parents and their influence. [9]
Finding New Insights: When writing about a figure who has already written a famous memoir, like Ulysses S. Grant, Chernow's key is to "tackle what the subject ignored." [9]
The Surprising Nature of Historical Discovery: When researching Hamilton, Chernow found that not only was his life the "most dramatic personal story of any of the founders," but his accomplishments were "second to none." [10]
History as a Source of National Identity: "Who we are as a people — our knowledge of democratic institutions and ideas — that's all a question of memory. The Republic, in the last analysis, has to exist in our minds. And it's really formed from the memory of who we have been, in order to know who we are today, and what direction we should go in the future." [6]
The Incompleteness of the Historical Record: Speaking on the period after the Civil War, Chernow has stated, "Reconstruction is the great black hole that remains to be filled. Even experts on the Civil War don't really understand its full significance." [4][11]

On Writing and Research

The Writer's Process: "I'm looking for the silences and evasions. It's always significant what people want to talk about, and even more significant what they don't want to talk about." [6]
The Challenge of Long Books: "I always sympathize with people who complain about the length of my books. It would take me a year to get through one of them." [4]
The Foundation of Good Writing: Chernow, who studied English literature at Yale and Cambridge, emphasizes that this background taught him the crucial skill of narrative. [1]
Balancing Accuracy and Storytelling: His literary style is marked by weaving intricate historical details into compelling narratives, making complex figures accessible to a broad audience. [12]
The Goal of His Writing: "My aim has always been to straddle both the lay and specialized audiences." [6]
The Physical Act of Writing: Chernow admits to being a slow reader, which gives him empathy for his own readers: "It's a shameful thing to admit for someone who writes such long books, but I read so slowly that I almost subvocalize." [4]
Starting a Career: Chernow began as a freelance journalist, writing over sixty articles for national publications before publishing his first book. [8]
The First Book's Success: His first book, The House of Morgan, won the National Book Award, a surprise to him as he had no formal training in history or finance. [1]

On Leadership and Human Nature

The Contradictions of Greatness: Chernow notes that the people he writes about are often full of contradictions. For instance, Mark Twain was charming and genial on the surface, but also "moody," "temperamental," and "extremely volatile." [13]
The Common Thread of His Subjects: "One of the things that I mentioned was that in every single person that I've written about there has been a difficult or domineering or distant or even absentee parent." [14]
Self-Mastery as a Foundation for Leadership: Speaking of George Washington, Chernow observes, "he realized that in order to command people he had to acquire command over himself." [14]
The Power of Complementary Partnerships: Describing the relationship between Washington and Hamilton, he notes, "These two men complement each other in a way that just feels uncannily right." [7] Their differing dispositions—Washington's caution and Hamilton's impulsiveness—made them an "unbeatable team." [7]
The Naivete of Great Leaders: Chernow describes Ulysses S. Grant as "very naive" and "very innocent" in the political realm, a stark contrast to his shrewdness as a general. [10]
The Fear of Demagoguery: A key insight from his work on Hamilton is the founder's "besetting fear was that American democracy would be spoiled by demagogues who would mouth populist shibboleths to conceal their despotism." [15][16]
The Immigrant's Contribution: "In fact, no immigrant in American history has ever made a larger contribution than Alexander Hamilton." [15][16]
The Weight of Ambition: Chernow describes how Mark Twain's financial burdens and constant need for money began to interfere with his writing, leading Twain to say, "life has become a very badgering and harassing feeling and situation for me." [13]
The Drive for Attention: Chernow points out that a figure like Mark Twain craved attention from boyhood, stating Twain said "there was nothing that a boy craved more than attention." [13]
Resilience in the Face of Failure: Chernow finds inspiration in Grant's story because it shows that great individuals can rise, fall, and rise again. He says, "I'm sure there are many more people who can identify with failure and hardship in life, than with the success of an Alexander Hamilton or a John D. Rockefeller." [3]

On Finance and the Economy

On Market Corrections: "Stock market corrections, although painful at the time, are actually a very healthy part of the whole mechanism, because there are always speculative excesses that develop, particularly during the long bull market." [16][17]
The Psychology of Bull Markets: "As the bull market goes on, people who take great risks achieve great rewards, seemingly without punishment. It's like crime without punishment or sex without sin." [4][17]
The Illusion of Genius in a Rising Market: "As a bull market continues, almost anything you buy goes up. It makes you feel that investing in stocks is a very easy and safe and that you're a financial genius." [16]
Blindness in a Bull Market: "When the market is just going up, up, and up, we all tend to be blind to the holes in the market. They're all papered over by the rise." [11]
The Value of Investing: "One of the very nice things about investing in the stock market is that you learn about all different aspects of the economy. It's your window into a very large world." [16][17]
On Market Volatility: "You don't want too much fear in a market, because people will be blinded to some very good buying opportunities. You don't want too much complacency because people will be blinded to some risk." [4][17]
The Importance of Financial Regulation: "The securities laws of the 1930s were so important because it forced companies to file registration statements and issue prospectuses, and it remedied the imbalance of information." [11][17]
The Evolution of Wall Street: "If you go back to the time of J.P. Morgan, the world of high finance was completely wholesale. The prestigious investment banks on Wall Street appealed exclusively to large corporations, governments, and to extremely wealthy individuals." [11]
The Democratization of the Stock Market: "The American public historically was really not part of the stock market." [4] Mutual funds, he notes, gave people a sense of access. [4][11]
On Mutual Funds: "Mutual funds have historically offered safety and diversification. And they spare you the responsibility of picking individual stocks." [4][11]

Learnings from Chernow's Work and Perspective

Learning from Failure is Universal: Chernow's biography of Grant serves as a powerful lesson that early failures do not preclude monumental success later in life. Grant's journey from selling firewood on the street to the presidency is a testament to this. [6]
Character is Forged in Adversity: A recurring theme in Chernow's subjects is the presence of a difficult childhood, particularly with a parent. This suggests that early struggles in governing one's emotions in a challenging family environment can be a crucible for developing the self-control needed for later greatness. [14]
History is Often Shaped by Unlikely Pairs: The dynamic between the cautious Washington and the brilliant, impulsive Hamilton demonstrates that progress often comes from the collaboration of opposites. Their partnership was more effective than either would have been alone. [7]
The Past is a Prologue to Modern Debates: Chernow's work on Hamilton, written years before the musical, highlighted issues of central banking, federal power, and immigrant contributions that remain highly relevant today. [3][5]
Greatness is Not Perfection: Chernow's biographies do not shy away from the flaws of his subjects—Grant's naivete, Hamilton's impulsiveness, Twain's volatility. This teaches us that historical giants were complex human beings, not marble statues. [10][13]
Understanding Motivations is Key: By delving into the early lives and personal relationships of his subjects, Chernow shows that to understand a historical figure's public actions, one must first try to understand their private motivations and psychological landscape. [1][9]
Narrative Makes History Memorable: Chernow's success demonstrates that how a story is told is as important as the facts themselves. His background in literature allows him to craft histories that are not just informative but also deeply engaging and emotionally resonant. [2]
Economic History is Human History: By focusing on the lives of figures like J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, Chernow illustrates that the grand, abstract forces of finance and capitalism are driven by individual ambition, vision, and personality. [8]
The "Lost Cause" Narrative is a Deliberate Distortion: Through his research for Grant, Chernow actively combats the romanticized view of the Confederacy, pointing to the historical record that clearly shows the Civil War was about slavery. [3]
A Biographer's Empathy is a Tool: Chernow's willingness to sympathize with the challenges of his subjects, and even his readers, allows for a more humane and relatable portrayal of history. [3][4]

Learn more:

Lessons from Ron Chernow

On History and Biography

On Writing and Research

On Leadership and Human Nature

On Finance and the Economy

Learnings from Chernow's Work and Perspective

Written by Antoine Buteau

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