Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist - Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Written By Mona Angéline

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner’s biography chronicling the life of Broadway icon Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of “Hamilton,” comes out on September 9th. This is a book not to miss for musical theater enthusiasts. Reaching into the depths of Miranda’s story, from his humble beginnings on the piano in childhood to award-winning fame on the international stage, the reader gets a detailed glimpse into the path that shaped Miranda’s career as an artist.

I loved reading about Miranda’s various influences when young; for instance, his bus driver, Billy Baker Jr., taught him rap lyrics while making his way from Inwood to his school for gifted children on the Upper East Side every day. His Puerto Rican heritage led to a Latin influence. 

Miranda’s beginnings in musical theater may have had to do with his father’s passion who regularly indulged the family in Broadway recordings for lack of funds to attend in person.

The book then dove into the production of “Hamilton” and “In the Heights,” which felt a bit long to me. I feel it is likely a savorable read for musical theater enthusiasts, though.

I really relished this story because it shows an artist who comes from a humble background, making his way towards global fame through passion and hard work. The book does a great job at including Miranda’s challenges alongside his successes–and that’s really what makes a biography successful.

Well done!


Out September 9th, 2025.

In gratitude to Simon and Schuster for the much appreciated Advance Reader’s Copy.

Mona Angéline

Mona Angéline is an unapologetically vulnerable writer, reader, book reviewer, artist, athlete, and scientist. She honors the creatively unconventional, the authentically "other". She shares her emotions because the world tends to hide theirs. She is a new writer, but her work was recently accepted in Flash Fiction Magazine, Grand Dame Literary, tiny wren lit, Down in the Dirt Magazine, The Viridian Door, The Machine, Whisky Blot Magazine, and The Academy of Mind and Heart. She loves to review books and has written them for the /tƐmz/ Review, the Ampersand Review, and the Beakful Litblog. Sooner or later she will have to condense this list… Mona is also a regular guest editor for scientific journals although she doesn't use a pen name when her engineering PhD degree is involved. She lives bicoastally in Santa Cruz, California, and in New York and savors life despite, or maybe because of, her significant struggles with chronic illness and mild disability. Learn about her musings at creativerunnings.com. Follow her on Instagram under @creativerunnings and on Twitter at @creativerunning.

https://creativerunnings.com
Previous

Don’t Call It a Comeback - Keira D’Amato
Next

If You Don’t Like This, I Will Die - Lee Tilghman