Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist by Daniel Pollack-Pelzner isn’t what I normally expect in a biography. It’s Miranda’s origin story, the story of the development of his creativity. As I’ve said before, it’s never easy to review a biography. How do you review someone’s life?

Miranda cooperated with the author, providing time for interviews, and providing contacts so Pollack-Pelzner could talk to others who worked closely with him, from childhood and school friends, to college friends and others who worked with him in development of his work, particularly “In the Heights” and “Hamilton”. It doesn’t gloss over Miranda’s flaws or mistakes he made along the way. It certainly doesn’t skip Miranda’s love of applause, a passion that may have led to his career as a performer and director. But, it also stresses the time he spends on research, and his empathy.

I will mention that I teared up three times in the course of reading this. I cried when Lin-Manuel Miranda’s grandfather died. My sister, Linda, is moved by the YouTube video of the “Hamilton” casts performance at the White House. I cried when I read about Chris Jackson’s performance as George Washington there and President Obama’s reaction to Jackson’s song, “One Last Time”. And, I cried when Stephen Sondheim died, although he was 91. He had been such a mentor for Lin-Manuel-Miranda.

This really is a story about the education of an artist, from the time he was a child. It celebrates the people who supported him, beginning with his mother. And, it celebrates all the creative people who worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda over the years. It’s a compelling account of a creative spirit, and all the elements that came together to make him the artist he is.

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner’s website is https://www.danielpollackpelzner.com/

Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist by Daniel Pollack-Pelzner. Simon & Schuster, 2025. 389p.

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