From the minute that we met up with Bruce on the steps of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom's House we were entranced with Bruce's knowledge and history retelling skills. His knowledge and love of the history of this subject matter were highly apparent in this ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL TOUR! It was a cold day but as we walked we didn't feel it because we were enjoying every minute. He made it nice for us halfway through and we got inside for awhile where we could get something warm to drink/eat and he told us about the history while we rested for a few minutes. Nice move on a cold day. There were three of us in my part of the 12 person small group tour, me- an avid history buff, my one daughter-in-law that was newly interested in Hamilton (from seeing the musical and reading the entire Chernow book) and learning more of the era of the war and my other daughter-in-law who didn't know much about the subject but was looking forward to learning something new and exploring the city. This tour was highly informative to all three of us even with our different history interest levels and I would highly recommend it to anyone no matter what you know or don't know about history. Throw away your memories of your boring high school history class when you take this tour. This was fun and definitely NOT boring. Bruce started from early in the history of the subject so anyone with even just a small amount of knowledge of it could easily "catch up" to any others in the group that might be very knowledgeable. He was highly entertaining and easy to understand and beautifully articulated with great insight about the people, places and events of that period in New York's history. Also, because many of us were taking this tour because of a new interest in Mr. Hamilton due from seeing the musical, "Hamilton", Bruce related many of his facts as like footnotes to parts of the show. He explained the meaning of certain lyrics or showed us the places where the different songs actually happened. It really brought the musical to life if you are one of the lucky ones to have seen it. But he also did not over do the tour with all references to the musical. He was very good at just a little reference here or there to please the fans of the show without putting too much emphasis on it entirely so as to not confuse anyone who has not seen the play. He did a great job making it fun for all.
I was amazed by his use of quotes, stories, footnotes and pictures to back up his oral presentation. I've been on many tours in many historical places and this, Bruce's tour, was by far the best one. It is now my favorite one because besides just the fact that he was knowledgeable and easy to understand; his use of so many moving quotes and historical accounts of the events added a higher understanding of the subject than any tour or lecture I've experienced. And he had most of the very heartfelt quotes memorized which was amazing to me. It all made you feel that you were right there, living it, part of it all, with all the famous people. There were even quotes that were so moving it made you tear up. I was sad when we got to the end. Next time I go to New York City I want to take his other tours and explore Central Park and Brooklyn. Maybe even take this one again!! This is a must do tour for anyone with even the smallest amount of interest in history.