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Paul Revere's Ride
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.3311092
EAN: 9780195098310
ISBN: 0195098315
Label: Oxford University Press
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: April 19, 1995
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Studio: Oxford University Press
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Editorial Review:
Paul Revere's midnight ride looms as an almost mythical event in American history--yet it has been largely ignored by scholars and left to patriotic writers and debunkers. Now one of the foremost American historians offers the first serious look at the events of the night of April 18, 1775--what led up to it, what really happened, and what followed--uncovering a truth far more remarkable than the myths of tradition.
In Paul Revere's Ride, David Hackett Fischer fashions an exciting narrative that offers deep insight into the outbreak of revolution and the emergence of the American republic. Beginning in the years before the eruption of war, Fischer illuminates the figure of Paul Revere, a man far more complex than the simple artisan and messenger of tradition. Revere ranged widely through the complex world of Boston's revolutionary movement--from organizing local mechanics to mingling with the likes of John Hancock and Samuel Adams. When the fateful night arrived, more than sixty men and women joined him on his task of alarm--an operation Revere himself helped to organize and set in motion. Fischer recreates Revere's capture that night, showing how it had an important impact on the events that followed. He had an uncanny gift for being at the center of events, and the author follows him to Lexington Green--setting the stage for a fresh interpretation of the battle that began the war. Drawing on intensive new research, Fischer reveals a clash very different from both patriotic and iconoclastic myths. The local militia were elaborately organized and intelligently led, in a manner that had deep roots in New England. On the morning of April 19, they fought in fixed positions and close formation, twice breaking the British regulars. In the afternoon, the American officers switched tactics, forging a ring of fire around the retreating enemy which they maintained for several hours--an extraordinary feat of combat leadership. In the days that followed, Paul Revere led a new battle-- for public opinion--which proved even more decisive than the fighting itself.
When the alarm-riders of April 18 took to the streets, they did not cry, "the British are coming," for most of them still believed they were British. Within a day, many began to think differently. For George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Thomas Paine, the news of Lexington was their revolutionary Rubicon. Paul Revere's Ride returns Paul Revere to center stage in these critical events, capturing both the drama and the underlying developments in a triumphant return to narrative history at its finest.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - America needs to understand it's beginings
Excellent book Extremely well documented. Dispells some common misconceptions about the American Revolutionary War and provides great insight into many individuals who were instramental in the efforts of American Liberty.
A couple misconceptions that are covered:
The image Americans have of Paul Revere being a lone rider yelling "the British are coming!" is a fanciful one. First, there were many players and riders on the night of April 18th and the day of April 19th, 1775, ... Read More
Rating: - "One if By Land....."
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the American Revolution, and the movement leading up to it; and desires to find authors who bring it back to life for us, who make us feel we actually know the people who have given so much of themselves for the rest of us, allowing us to make it to this century where we now live in comfort and liberty due to the extraordinary motivation that paved the way for us. Accurate historical account, but aided by vivid narrative rather than structured ... Read More
Rating: - Both Detailed and Gripping
I happened to grow up on the road that Paul Revere road down -- well, one of them. My family spent a few years on Virginia Rd. in Lincoln, Mass. We lived right across the street from Hartwell Farms, where the Minutemen apparently stopped on their ride. Every year on April 19 we would get out of bed (this was the early 1960's) and watch the re-enactment of Paul Revere and The Minutemen. Down the road, at Rte. 2A there's a stone marker in a place that used to be an ice cream stand (might still be) where Revere ... Read More
Rating:  - The Mercury of the American Revolution
Seldom does an academic book reach across the aisle and become a classic of popular history as well. Mr. Fischer's "Paul Revere's Ride" does just that. "Ride" captures the reader with incredible little known anecdotes as well as flawless research and a smooth narrative flow. The theme of Fischer's book was that Revere's ride far from being a singular achievement was in reality a collective effort of a multitude of revolulutionaries throughout the colony. Simply put, in reading history, Americans must sometimes ... Read More
Rating: - Everyone in America Should Read This Book!
I wish I could give it 10 'stars'! It is an entertaining read. It is unusual among history books in that the maps are actually useful, easy to understand and related to the text. The author writes the story so well, it almost reads like an entertaining novel. I definitely have a much greater appreciation of the events that sparked the American Revolution. I strongly urge everyone in America to read this book. It will change everything you never learned of American History in school.
Oh, by the way, I liked ... Read More
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