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Paul Revere's Ride Paperback – April 19, 1995

by David Hackett Fischer (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 953 ratings
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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.
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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.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    445 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  4. Publication date
    April 19, 1995
  5. Dimensions
    9.31 x 1.18 x 6.23 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0195098315
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0195098310
  8. Lexile measure
    1280L
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fischer knows how to grip the reader as few historians do....Fischer succeeds brilliantly in re-creating the milieu of the 1770s."--The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)

"This well-written, carefully researched, and interesting book dispels much of the myth and legend that has grown up around Paul Revere's famous ride and has replaced it with an exciting account of the events on those early spring days of April, 1775....A good read as well as an excellent reference."--KLIATT

"In one of the best recent books on the Revolution, Fischer takes what might be the most famous episode from the war and carefully sifts accumulating legend from a substantial body of fact heretofore little recognized about the famous 'midnight right.'"--The Virginian-Pilot and the Ledger-Star

"Fischer has provided a nice update of one of the semi-mythological events associated with the American revolutionary experience. What is most impressive about the book is the scholarly apparatus indluded. Revere is now a human figure acting out an historical role without mythology to get in the way. For contextural biography, this is a first-rate volume."--Gerald Michael Schnabel, Bemidji State University

"The action in this exciting history illuminates New England's culture--especially the ways that it differed from old England's--on the eve of the American Revolution....Fischer's details are meticulous, and provide an irresistible sense of immediacy as a slumbering countryside is wakened to war."--The New Yorker

"A work of rare historical distinction, an unputdownable narrative scraping away the tarnish of time and myth to reveal the essential metal of Paul Revere, silversmith. It is crammed with anecdote, represents a meticulous standard of research...and offers a peerless portrait of its subject."--The Boston Sunday Globe

"It is rare when a scholarly history will appeal to a general readership, but such is the case with this book....A meticulously researched and wonderfully evocative narrative that will be enjoyed by history lovers and scholars alike."--Library Journal

"A detailed account of the legendary 'midnight ride' as narrated by a professional historian with a scholar's command of the facts and a gift for storytelling."--Los Angeles Times

"Restores Paul Revere to his place in the pantheon of American heroes by clearing away the junk of myth and mockery that has grown up around him....The book tells the story of Revere's ride in great detail and the ensuing battles with all the drama they possess."--Milwaukee Journal

"A rare volume of history that has something for every reader. Readers with a general interest in American history will find it engaging and richly illuminating. Specialists will find it packed with a wealth of fine detail. And scholars will appreciate the close attention to the sources, evidenced by more than 100 pages of notes, appendices, bibliographical commentaries, and scholarly apparatus. The maps are excellent, illustrations numerous and skillfully interpreted, and the prose sprightly and polished....Educational and though-provoking without ever bogging down in pedanticism."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

"A thrilling read. Part biography, part history, this is a mesmerizing look at democracy's infancy....This is a superb examination of the whys and hows of our Revolution."--Trenton Times

"A valuable contribution to the debate over the social structure of New England as well as an exceptionally vivid picture of the outbreak of war. This is historical writing of a very high order."--Colin Bonwick, The Journal of American History

"This is the perfect book for my honors seminar--it is beautifully written, carefully researched, and carefully illustrated. The historiographical section in the appendix addresses the very issues that my students will focus on as they examine different historical and fictional accounts of major events in America's past."--Christine Compston, Western Washington University

"Students loved it! I enjoyed using it in classroom--will use it again."--Anthony Iacono, University of Central Florida

Book Description

A dramatic account of Paul Revere's Ride that uses this one famous incident to offer deep insight into the outbreak of the revolution and the birth of the American republic

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; First Edition (April 19, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 445 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195098315
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195098310
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1280L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.42 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.31 x 1.18 x 6.23 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 953 ratings

About the author

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David Hackett Fischer

David Hackett Fischer

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David Hackett Fischer is University Professor and Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. The recipient of many prizes and awards for his teaching and writing, he is the author of numerous books, including Washington's Crossing, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in history.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
953 global ratings
Condition: Unused, Pristine
5 Stars
Condition: Unused, Pristine
Bought as ‘like new’ condition. Well, it most certainly was like new — it appears totally unused. Very reasonably priced, even with shipping the total cost was less than MSRP. And it arrived two days earlier than predicted.This is a great reference book for April 19, 1775, the start of the Revolutionary War. Every citizen should read this history.
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Top reviews from the United States

Historical Ken
5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the Best of Its Kind
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024
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Paul Revere’s Ride by David Hackett Fischer is an extraordinary look on the surroundings of what occurred on the night of April 18, 1775 and the following day at Lexington & Concord. But Mr. Fischer doesn’t just keep it centered there – he gives us the events on what lead up to those fateful days and shows us how Paul Revere was at the center of much of the activity and planning. The author goes into great detail on the setting, the people, and even the clothing, as well as the actions, but it is not at all boring in any sense. Quite the opposite, in fact. Like every good historical novelist (for, though the information here is well-researched facts, it reads like a novel), the author draws the reader into the story, yet not in a tedious manner. I’ve read some of the one, two, and three star reviews, and they seem to have been written by high school or college kids who fail to understand historical writing – who seem to prefer to get their information from either a quick overview lecture or cliff notes so they can bypass the “meat” so they can pass a test.
Am I being harsh?
Perhaps, but that’s what it seems like to me. Everyone has their opinion, I suppose.
Personally, there cannot be enough factual details in a history book.
And if it seems that the author “is in love with Paul Revere” (as one reviewer wrote), well…who is this book about? And, yes, Revere is the main character, but much time is also spent on General Gage, Adams & Hancock, and a host of other players, as well as giving the reader a wonderful view of the times. It is as well rounded a depiction of the beginning of the Revolutionary War as anything I’ve yet to read.
Together with The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson and Paul Revere and the World He Lived In by Esther Forbes, Fischer’s Paul Revere’s Ride is at or near the top of my listing of historically well-researched books on the subject.
Kudos!
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Tom Fenton
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Informative, Ground Breaking and Credible
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2011
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"Paul Revere's Ride" is the second book I have read by David Hackett Fischer, the other one being "Washington's Crossing". Although this work did not win a Pulitzer Prize as did "...Crossing", I found it every bit as good and readable a history. It was so readable, in fact, that I could not put it down easily, and read it in less than a week. In order to absorb all that is there, I intend to read it again.

In terms of style of writing, Fischer begins with the history of the legends surrounding Paul Revere's ride and establishes very handily and credibly the line between the event as it really happened and the event as it is told traditionally. Having heard since childhood that Paul Revere rode alone into town crying "The British are coming! The British are coming!" it is surprisingly refreshing to know that there were other riders besides Revere, that he himself was captured briefly, and was either released or escaped, that apart from the famous ride, he had a much larger part in the events leading up to and surrounding the alarm, and that the cry itself was almost certainly not "The British are coming." I find that I have a sense of a "wonderment" about the story, retold, with 148 pages of "evidence" provided in the form of supplemental appendices, a historiography, a bibliography, notes and index in addition to copious maps and illustrations.

Fischer reveals that the ride itself is but a small part of the story of how Lexington and Concord and surrounding towns were alerted to the coming of the British Regulars. The part Revere played in the event itself may have been exaggerated by legend, but, according to the evidence, his work, his character, his determination, his stature in the community, and the testimonials of witness and other participants show that had there not been a man named Paul Revere who did what he did, we might well still be a colony of Britain.

As I read "Paul Revere's Ride" I found myself captive to the story as if I had never heard it before. In the chapter entitled "The Alarm", Fischer details the elaborate system the colonies used to alert the people. It was a system designed in advance that almost certainly could not break down, even if isolated individuals failed to follow through, and, indeed, some towns did not get the message in a timely manner. I found myself reading almost breathlessly as the news spread from town to town almost like wildfire. The Regulars could not stop it, even after they realized their march had been detected.

In short, as I read "Paul Revere's Ride" I found myself thinking adjectives such as "fascinating", "captivating", "informative" and "entertaining". A significant part of what inspired these adjectives was the precise quotes of letters and messages that Fischer used, complete with 18th century spelling and grammatical phrasing.

My opinion of this book may seem a bit overly effusive, but no more so than I am actually thinking. David Hackett Fischer did his homework and produced a marvelous work. At this point, over two centuries later, much of the line between fact and fiction is permanently blurred until someone invents a time machine and takes a camera back to the event itself. Fischer has done that for me: he has taken me in a time machine and allowed me to stand on the sidelines, and sometimes in the very rooms the plans were being made.

Five stars for a masterful job of credible story telling.
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Top reviews from other countries

alex weger
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely well researched
Reviewed in Germany on March 12, 2024
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D.H.Fischer's book is extremely well researched, as are all his books I've read - the last was "Champlain's Dream", also highly recommended ! The book about Paul Revere - one of the iconic personalities of the American Revolution - impresses through its wealth of material, its thorough backgrounding in the times, and the thoughtfully added pictures and maps. A fascinating read !
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Glenn
5.0 out of 5 stars A story that must be told, re-told and told again
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 23, 2020
Verified Purchase
The bravery of those who led the charge in freeing the US from British rule is a story that shold be told in a blockbuster Hollywood film. However, as it would be flattering to those who fought for freedom, it will never be made.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book loved it
Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
I would guess that writing historic novels has many challenges. Least of which is the burden on the author to make the story as captivating as possible even when the outcome of the event being described is already well understood by the reader. A rare skill indeed. David McCullough ( Washington, Adams, Truman, The Path Between the Seas .. many others ) has that rare talent. Paul Revere's Ride was by first book by David Hackett Fischer and I was - in McCullough fashion - drawn into the story. I heard about the book on a You Tube Newt Gingrich video addressing the NRA on a well worn topic - the Second Amendment. Gingrich described in rich detail the challenges that faced the 'Rebel Army' in facing down the British and the importance of having arms to engage the Regulars. During that speech, he mentioned Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fischer as providing even more detail on the famous post rider from Boston and his historic midnight ride to alarm Lexington and Concord that the Regulars were on the march to confiscate the gun powder stored by the Rebel army. At the outset I though that the scope of the book would be a bit narrow and wondered how the author could possibly expand one event - albeit a significant event , that in effect started the American War of
Independence - into a whole book. Boy was I wrong! The numerous events and characters on both sides are brought to life in vivid details .. and the event is expanded into the macro level that now allows the reader to see the intricate details unfold that makes this a story of epic proportions. Great book loved it ..
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Key Perspective
4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2020
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Interesting read- a life well lived, and told
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t gates
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2016
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I enjoyed this book,a good source for anybody interested in US history.
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