Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fischer
|
List Price: Our Price: $11.95 You Save: $10.00 (46%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.90 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Paul Revere's Ride
Book Review: Great Narrative!!
Summary: 5 Stars
David Hackett Fischer writes an amazing narrative of the history of Paul Revere and the beginnings of the Revolutionary War.
I am a history buff, but must confess that I did not know much about Paul Revere's true role or the Battles of Lexington & Concord. Like many others, I had always thought of Revere as a solitary rider, spreading alarm by himself throughout the countryside. I found Mr. Hackett's book as good as a suspensful fiction novel. I had no idea of how many people were involved in the alarms, the "midnight ride", and how overwhelming the response of the Mass. people to the alarms of "the Regulars are coming!".
The book is structured very well. It contains a short summary of key events, like the Boston Tea Party, the Stamp Act, etc. The author then introduces you to the two main players of his story - Paul Revere and General Gage of the British Army. The author explains Paul Revere's role as artisan, revolutionary, and community leader. Once the stage is set, the exceptional narrative regarding the alarms, the turning out of the militia, and the battles is given. The book wraps up with a great description of how subsequent generations were impacted and what Revere went on to accoomplish after the war.
If you want great insight into an icon of American history, and an entertaining education in the events that led to Bunker Hill and the Seige of Boston, this is your book. I will forever have a greater appreciation for the day that we now celebrate as Patroits' Day.
Book Review: More than just a biography.
Summary: 5 Stars
At one point in the book, Fischer quotes a historian as saying that less is known about the battles of Lexington and Concord than any other battle in American history. This book brings that battle, and the events leading up to it, to life as well as teasing out the factual Paul Revere from the caricature of the man that has been handed down through verse and illustrations. While Revere may not be the most commanding figure of the Revolutionary War era, he somehow managed to always be smack dab in the middle of everything that was happening, which makes the book a worthy read. Fischer takes great care to build his narrative with well-researched insignts into the people of that time on both sides of the conflict and the philosophies that shaped their interpretation of freedom, responsibility and governance.
I don't know how it rates among academics but as an average reader who has spent too little time in the study of history, I am greatly enjoying this book with one reservation: I purchased the Kindle version and the numerous maps, illustrations and photographs do not reproduce well for Kindle reading. If only the Kindle had a "zoom" feature!
As someone who leans heavily toward fiction in reading choices, I have been completely won over by this book and others about the Revolutionary War era (McCullough's 1776 and the John Adams biography), finding them as enthralling as any novel. Who knew history could be so interesting?
Book Review: Old New England Culture
Summary: 5 Stars
My own interest in genealogy and Revolutionary War re-enactment led me to buy this book, on several persons' recommendations. I am not a history scholar or even a serious history buff (yet!), but I must say that this book is engrossing! It is not a dry narrative description of an event that most Americans know almost by heart via Longfellow's famous poem. Fischer digs into the "whys" and not just the "hows" of history, which makes it much more interesting to me. For instance, he describes the relationships of the Boston people to each other as well as to the British Regulars who lived among them. He also describes the speech inflection differences ("maash" for marsh, "chaataa" for charter) between the Bostonians and the British, which is a subtle but profound wedge between the two cultures. Through his research of first-hand accounts and later diaries of the events, Fischer reaches into the minds of the principle people and draws the reader into the world of 1775. I highly recommend this book if you want to travel back in time and place yourself on the back of Revere's exhausted and bleeding horse at 2am, or among the Regulars as they slogged through Spring mud at night in a cold April drizzle, or in bed in a quiet town outside of Boston as you hear the agreed-upon alarm of three musket shots and rush out of bed with musket in hand to muster with "nay-baas" at the town green.Book Review: This should have won the Pulitzer
Summary: 5 Stars
Before David Hackett Fischer wrote his Pulitzer Prize winging book Washington's Crossing he authored this historical masterpiece. Paul Revere's Ride takes readers through the early stages of the revolution at a point when conflict is all but inevitable. The book frames these early moments through Paul Revere's life but is really an overview of the people and the times that afflicted the country in the weeks and months before Lexington and Concord. Fischer breaks down the myth of the lone rider and shows the vast network that Paul Revere and others built to spy on the British and mobilize the people of New England. One of the more surprising aspects of this book for myself was the way in which General Gage approached the American colonists with a firm respect for the rule of law which given American protests at the time provide stark contradiction to many of the complaints.
In addition to covering the vast network the author also gives a blow-by-blow account of the battles at Lexington and Concord doing a masterful job of showing how each side reacted. The implications of the battle are covered well and the strengths of the American colonists not only in battle tactics but experience are well illustrated. Overall this is an excellent summary of the events leading up to Lexington and Concord, recommended for those who want to gain an understanding of how the revolution began.
Book Review: There Are Already Enough Five-Star Reviews ...
Summary: 5 Stars
... of this intelligent, solidly-researched history so that I needn't ramble on about it. It's the shortest and most accessible of Professor David Hackett Fischer's works, and an excellent place to begin an acquaintanceship with one of our strongest contemporary historians. The portrayal of the artisan/merchant milieu of Paul Revere and his co-conspirators certainly deepens one's perception of what the "revolution' was about... of what the stakes were, and for whom. Just a hint: it wasn't all about taxes! But I won't summarize its hypotheses for you, since you owe it to yourself to read the whole book.
I'm calling attention to this thoroughly credible study right now in reaction to recent news about the so-called "Tea Party" movement, which held its national convention in Nashville last week. At that event, various speakers claimed some historical allegiance to the events in Boston in the years 1773-1776 - the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere's Ride, and others. Reading this book will rapidly disabuse you of such nonsense. The rhetoric of the Tea Party Klan is far closer to that of the 19th C "Know Nothing" Party, and to "nativist" reactionary claques that have sprung up again and again in US history.
Besides this book, I'd recommend "The Shoemaker and the Tea Party" and "The First American Revolution" as an antidote to social reactionary revisionism.