For a high school assignment, Lin-Manuel Miranda tried to make a film about the 1804 duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. While he and his girlfriend were scouting locations, a thief grabbed their video camera. Miranda couldn’t afford a replacement, and his social studies teacher, unimpressed with the script he submitted, awarded him a B-.

What must that teacher be thinking now?

The 10th anniversary of Miranda’s Tony Award-winning, culturally transformative musical “Hamilton,” with the duel as its centerpiece, has occasioned a new wave of critical hosannas. Daniel Pollack-Pelzner’s affectionate biography provides an illuminating look at Miranda’s creative development and influences, as well as a detailed account of how his greatest achievement (and other projects) coalesced.

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