A dramatic re-evaluation of the founding of the United States and the history of capitalism. In retelling the story of the radical Alexander Hamilton, Parenti rewrites the history early America and global economic history writ large. For much of the twentieth century, Hamilton-sometimes seen as the bad boy of the founding fathers or portrayed as the patron saint of bankers-was out of fashion. In contrast his rival Thomas Jefferson, the patrician democrat and slave owner who feared government overreach, was claimed by all. But more recently, Hamilton has become a subject of serious interest again. He was a contradictory mix: a tough soldier, austere workaholic, exacting bureaucrat, yet also a sexual libertine, and a glory-obsessed romantic with suicidal tendencies. As Parenti argues, we have yet to fully appreciate Hamilton as the primary architect of American capitalism and the developmental state. In exploring his life and work, Parenti rediscovers this gadfly as a path breaking political thinker and institution builder. In this vivid historical portrait, Hamilton emerges as a singularly important historical figure: a thinker and politico who laid the foundation for America's ascent to global supremacy-for better or worse.

"While President Jefferson's addresses are well known, the extent to which they were published and distributed, and the responses to them by both individuals and governments, has not previously been considered. In a world where the new republican government of the United States represented a major departure from the dominant monarchical governments of Europe, the recognition given to Jefferson's inaugural addresses in Europe and elsewhere is of considerable significance. His addresses were widely published in newspapers and journals not only in the United States and Canada, but also in Great Britain, France, Italy, and other European states, as well as later republished in South America.".