Talk:Alexander Hamilton (book)/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Hurricanehink (talk · contribs) 15:14, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

• "The book, which was met with mostly positive acclaim, went on to win the inaugural George Washington Book Prize and was a nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography." - since the lead is pretty short, I'd split this in two, say what year it won the book prize. Just a suggestion for how to lengthen the lead, try and add more if you can

Y Added the years, I think it's ok to keep this paragraph together as it stands, rather than two short paragraphs.

• "In 2015, the book was adapted to the stage by playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda where it went on to win numerous accolades and awards. " - is it worth saying that it was adapted as a musical, or what kind of awards it won? The lead sounds like it was some ordinary play, and not a 11-time Tony winner

Y Expanded slightly, since this is the lead I feel the larger section on the bottom is the better place for this.

• "Chernow had previously written multiple books on the topic of business and finance – notably a biography covering the life of J.P. Morgan which went on to win the National Book Award for Nonfiction,[1] and a biography about John D. Rockefeller which remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks." - considering this is the start of the background section, I suggest you add what years Chernow wrote these books. Maybe start with "Before working on Alexander Hamilton, Chernow had previously written..." etc. Just a thought.

Y Great idea, thanks.

• "In 1999, he shifted his focus to start a biography in a new topic; American politics." - did Chernow ever say why he shifted his focus? Also, I'm not sure if the semicolon is appropriate here, when I think an ordinary comma would suffice

Y Found a great interview that addresses this, and made the punctuation change.

• You don't say much about the writing process itself. Did Chernow say when he began? Had a first draft? Sent to publishers? Did he have a deal with Penguin Press before he started it, or did he option it?

Can't find much about this

• "Following its release in 2004, Alexander Hamilton was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography." - "but lost to...?" Also, you mention the release date in the infobox, but not in prose (and it's not cited)

I don't think it's important to list the book it lost to - just the nomination itself is notable. Also, I'm based some of the style elements of this page off other GA book articles which don't list the release date in the text - infobox should suffice.

Can you add a citation to the infobox then for the release date? ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 18:55, 7 April 2020 (UTC)

Y Added.

• Was there any critical response after its initial release, such as in 2015 when it reentered the NY bestsellers list?

Y Absolutely, added a couple refs there.

• You mention in the lead that it was adapted to the stage in 2015, but you don't go into much detail on its opening on stage in the "Stage adaptation" section. Could you add a few sentences there? Maybe add what theatre it opened in, the date it opened for previews, whatnot?

Y Added some more here!

• Was the book reissued when the musical came out? Or did it come out in a different form? I seem to remember there being a special edition of this book, but I could be wrong.

Y Yes, updated this section.

So that's my review! It's a cute little article, but it seems lacking. I don't think my comments will be too hard to address. Given the popularity of the play, I hope the information I requested is out there, so you can go into a bit more detail. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for working on this article! ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 15:14, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

Appreciate the insights. Will starting working through this list shortly! SEMMENDINGER (talk) 17:29, 7 April 2020 (UTC)

@Hurricanehink:, finished the list, save for one bullet. Couldn't find much more information on the writing process itself, even though old interviews with Chernow. I'll keep looking. In any case, your points were much appreciated and have made for a much stronger article. Let me know where we think we stand now. SEMMENDINGER (talk) 21:41, 7 April 2020 (UTC)

I'm going to assume good faith that you'll keep looking for info from older interviews. That would be a good way of improving the article further. As it stands, I'm quite happy with the changes you've made, and I'm happy to pass the article. Good work on this article. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 02:09, 8 April 2020 (UTC)

Appreciate your help and insights, Hurricanehink! SEMMENDINGER (talk) 03:08, 8 April 2020 (UTC)