The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America by Kostya KennedyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Paul Revere’s famous ride from Boston to Concord, Massachusetts (18 miles) took place on April 18-19, 1775. Half of this book is devoted to Revere’s backstory – his early years, his family, and his occupation of silversmith, engraver, and dentist. It also sets the scene in Boston surrounding the Revolutionary War: the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, etc. The other half of the book is a thrilling re-telling of the actual ride. Revere was a very well-known and reliable Express Rider, so it was obvious that he should be the one selected to spread the news of the impending British invasion.
The last chapter, entitled Echoes, focuses on the Longfellow poem, historical Boston locations, various Paul Revere named items, and other related poems. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem was written 85 years later, just before the Civil War (1860), and is most likely why American schoolchildren are very familiar with Paul Revere’s famous ride. There’s also an interesting chapter detailing Jonathan Singley Copley’s painting of Paul Revere.
Overall, this is an exciting book of narrative
non-fiction. It is very well researched,
both with original sources and with visits to various sites mentioned in the
book. It also includes an extensive bibliography
of books, journal articles, websites and documents, along with an index including
all the individuals and locations mentioned in the book. The author even met and interviewed Paul Revere
III. The map of the various routes taken
was extremely helpful to this reader.
And I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s retelling of his climb to the top
of the Old North Church steeple, 175 feet off the ground!
Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.
