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Paul Revere's Ride

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 899 ratings · 102 reviews

Paul Revere's midnight ride is a legendary 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 study of this event - what led to it, what really happened, what followed - uncovering a truth more remarkable than the many myths it has inspire...more Paul Revere's midnight ride is a legendary 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 study of this event - what led to it, what really happened, what followed - uncovering a truth more remarkable than the many myths it has inspired. In Paul Revere's Ride, David Hackett Fischer has created an exciting narrative that offers new insight into the coming of the American Revolution. From research in British and American archives, the author unravels a plot that no novelist would dare invent - a true story of high drama and deep suspense, of old-fashioned heroes and unvarnished villains, of a beautiful American spy who betrayed her aristocratic British husband, of violent mobs and marching armies, of brave men dying on their doorsteps, of high courage, desperate fear, and the destiny of nations. The narrative is constructed around two thematic lines. One story centers on the American patriot Paul Revere; the other, on British General Thomas Gage. Both were men of high principle who played larger roles than recent historiography has recognized. Thomas Gage was not the Tory tyrant of patriot legend, but an English Whig who believed in liberty and the rule of law. In 1774 and 1775, General Gage's advice shaped the fatal choices of British leaders, and his actions guided the course of American events. Paul Revere was more than a "simple artizan, " as his most recent biographer described him fifty years ago. The author presents new evidence that revolutionary Boston was a world of many circles - more complex than we have known. Paul Revere and his friendJoseph Warren ranged more widely through those circles than any other leaders. They became the linchpins of the Whig movement. On April 18th, 1775, Paul Revere played that role in a manner that has never been told before. He and William Dawes were not the only midnight riders to ca(less)

Paperback, 464 pages

Published April 19th 1995 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published December 31st 1993)

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Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer

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7th out of 92 books — 53 voters

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Jul 23, 2008 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-history, american-revolution-era, non-fiction, biography, own-read

I read this book in graduate school quite some time ago, but I still remember it as being one that I was fascinated with. It is amazing how little we actually know about Paul Revere. His importance to the Revolution goes far beyond the Midnight Ride. He was a major player in the Boston rebellion and one of the great organizers of the Committees of Correspondence. This book details Revere's life and also goes into the specifics of the Midnight Ride and the entire events around Lexington and Conco...more

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Apr 12, 2011 Ben rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book itself is fast-paced, engaging, and written in an almost novelesque form. Even if you are one of those people who don't like nonfiction, you'll still find something to enjoy in this book.

The main reason I liked the book so thoroughly is that it enlightened me about a time and place in American history that I am now realizing I was almost completely ignorant about prior to reading this book. I was taught in school the general reasons for the revolution, as everyone most likely is, but I...more

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Mar 24, 2011 David Nichols rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a thoughtful, lavishly detailed, and very deeply researched book that performs several functions. It's a halfway-decent biography of Revere himself, and of his principal adversary, Thomas Gage. More importantly, the author maps out the network of Revolutionary societies to which Revere belonged, and which helped sustain the imperial resistance movement in Boston. Fischer also describes the system of communications and alarms which connected the rebels in occupied Boston to the rebel-cont...more

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Jul 31, 2009 Elizabeth K. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Melissa

Shelves: 2008-new-reads

I love it when a book is well-organized. This one started with some brief background on Paul Revere and General Gage, and then went through an extremely detailed (yet not at all tiresome) play-by-play of the ride of April 18, 1775. Then, an interlude for some information about the state of the militias at that time, followed by another extensive outline, this time of the Lexington and Concord battles, and retreat to Boston on April 19. You get a great sense of Paul Revere's personality: the man...more

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Nov 01, 2007 Christopher rated it 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely, without a doubt, my favorite history book of all time. (Part of that is nostalgic, I admit, but it's a fine book on its own, too.) Besides being a fantastic story teller, Fischer is a solid researcher, so his conclusions are at worst defensible. But the story is so well told, and the characters so compelling you can easily forget you are reading history. If you have ever read and hated history, open your mind and give this book a try. You could be very pleasantly surprised.

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Apr 09, 2013 Jemas Thamos rated it 5 of 5 stars

Revere's Ride reads more like an adventure novel, as opposed to what it really is; an historically accurate, densely footnoted textbook designed to resurrect truths regarding the American Revolution. Dozens of people were involved in the Midnight Ride. The story centers on General Gage and Paul Revere--individuals who were polarized in every way imaginable. Gage being the military lifer and Revere being a native of Boston from a solid French pedigree (who also smelted silver for a living). The s...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Philip Boling rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am glad to have read the book. There are some mental images associated with the folk lore of Paul Revere which the book helped correct for me. "The British are coming" as it turns out is a meaningless expression for that era and was probably never expressed.

Based on this tale I might also pass on reading a biography of John Hancock, certainly it has dropped low on my list.

General Gage and Lord Percy (Loyalists) were both favorably depicted in the telling of this story which I appreciated; I a...more

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Jan 14, 2010 Bliss Tew rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book at a time that I had time to enjoy it as I was home on doctor's orders in 1999. This is a scholarly work that delves into the opinions, thinking, historical documents, actions, etc. of the American people and leaders during the build up towards war with Great Britain, what became a war for independence. The book isn't just a stiring account of Paul Revere's ride, but so much more. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking better understanding of the forces and heroic people...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Sean Yunt rated it 5 of 5 stars

While I'm a fan of history, I never expected to be so thoroughly entertained while reading a book in this genre. This book is not an enumeration of events, rather it describes the context in which the events took place.

Popular culture has distorted the events of April 1775 a great deal. Some of our assumptions about our rights and motivations for maintaining them are a bit different today from how they were originated.

These brave people did not set out to be independent from Britain, or to divor...more

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May 14, 2013 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

I am beginning to think that I should read everything written by David Hackett Fischer. He makes history look so easy to write. This book, like his Pulitzer winning Washington's Crossing is an engaging, thoughtful and grander viewing of a small event in a particular time. What makes Fischer's work so great is his ability to show the reader the backdrop of historical events, while at the same time creating a compelling narrative that makes for an enjoyable read. The strange thing is, is that one...more

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Mar 26, 2009 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book dispelled a lot of myths surrounding Paul Revere's ride and the whole battle of Lexington and Concord that signaled the beginning of the Revolutionary War. For instance: No one ever cried "The British Are Coming" as the colonists considered themselves British. The colonists were not a bunch of rag torn, last minute soldiers, who picked up the guns they used to kill varmints, and somehow repelled the British Regulars. Instead, they were well prepared, trained, and organized, as they cam...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Neil rated it 4 of 5 stars

damn! just wrote a long review and computer froze, losing it all!!

short version:
I've never been a fan of historical non-fiction, but a buddy essentially made me read this....and i'm glad he did!
fascinating story of the months leading up to the start of the american revolution, particularly the battles of lexington and concord, and the critical roles played by american silversmith paul revere, and the british commander john gage.
reads like a great novel!
but of course, is all true...
learned alo...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Marie Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very interesting. I don't normally like non-fiction/history, but this book was very engaging. I especially liked all the references that were provided in a many page footnote section at the end. It was clearly very well researched. For example, to prove his point that Paul Revere was very well connected, he had a spreadsheet of the men the belongs to ~16 Boston meeting societies. Many were just members of 1, some were members of 2, and so on. The most that any one person belonged to was 6 societ...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the finest descriptions of pre-war Massachusetts and the beginnings of the Revolutionary War that I have ever read. Do not be intimidated by its length, author/historian Fischer is one historian who can write without boring the reader. I read this book over ten years ago, and it still resonates with me. It still sits in my bookcase because I do not plan to part with it. Fischer is very adept at including so much information without it bogging down the pace of the story. Ditto for his desc...more

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Dec 12, 2008 Jean rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book sets the record straight of the historical events of the midnight ride and the battle of Lexington and Concord. This book is a history book and not a biography.
I enjoyed reading the facts about what occurred in 1775 here in Massachusetts. I am glad that the city of Worcester, where I grew up, was mentioned several times, as it is often left out in accounts of the founding of our country.
I did not like the fact the author referred to how Paul Revere was feeling or thinking. I feel th...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-history-revolution

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 a...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

wow i haven't been on here so long i couldn't remember my password :)

this book definitely qualifies as a "good read." i really enjoyed fischer's writing style. the book was exciting and easy to follow.

i had no idea how ubiquitous paul revere was in the revolutionary movement. this book dispels the myths and legends surrounding paul revere and reveals the remarkable man behind them. it also takes you through the battles of lexington and concord in an exciting play by play. i really really enjoye...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Lora Innes rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-books, my-favorites

I wish that David Hackett Fisher wrote a book about every subject I was interested in. He writes the way my mind works--following every rabbit down its hole and yet finds a way of not loosing track of what he's talking about in the midst of all that exploration. He flushes out his subjects and events so completely that you can see them from angles you've never looked at them before, which makes his approach holistic in a way very few history books are.

Paul Revere's Ride is no exception to this a...more

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Jun 28, 2009 Eric_W rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir, history-historiography

David Hackett Fischer strips myth from history in Paul Revere's Ride. All sorts of fables, poems, and stories have been written about the event, which has become embedded in American culture. Any school child can tell at least something of the midnight ride and the lanterns. Fischer's book is the first scholarly treatment in two hundred years. He has discovered all sorts of information that make Revere a much more seminal participant in the Revolution than had previously been suspected.

One reaso...more David Hackett Fischer strips myth from history in Paul Revere's Ride. All sorts of fables, poems, and stories have been written about the event, which has become embedded in American culture. Any school child can tell at least something of the midnight ride and the lanterns. Fischer's book is the first scholarly treatment in two hundred years. He has discovered all sorts of information that make Revere a much more seminal participant in the Revolution than had previously been suspected.

One reason for historians', neglect of Paul Revere may be that the only creature less fashionable in academe than "a dead white male is a dead white male on a horse." Less jocularly, Fischer suspects it has to do with historians' emphasis on monographic treatises and reluctance to study any event that can't be graphed or put in a table. Fortunately for us, Fischer has eschewed this tradition and returned to the narrative form of historical reporting that was in vogue during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when history was alive and well and enjoyed. His book covers the eight-month period from September 1774 through April 1 775, beginning with the powder alarms through the first battles at Lexington and Concord up to the bloody events of 1775.

Paul Revere was the son of a French immigrant silversmith. He grew up in Boston, at that time a town of 15,000 that more resembled a medieval village. Virtually an island at high tide, Boston greeted strangers crossing the "neck" of land to enter town with the unsettling vision of a gallows. Strangers were not generally welcome; certainly they were regarded with great suspicion. It was also a major seaport, and sailors reported that "no town of its size could turn out more whores than this town could."

Revere had lots of children (16) his first was born shortly after his first marriage, a common event in the eighteenth century, when perhaps 35% of couples were expecting at the time of their formal marriage. His first wife died shortly after their eighth child was born, and he married his second wife shortly thereafter.
The principles of working together were pounded into the children from a young age. Cotton Mather, a famous preacher of the day, used the metaphor of rowing a boat with two oars. Pull on one oar only and the boat will simply go around in circles. Both oars together make great progress.

Revere was a genius at collective action. It turns out there were more than sixty riders out that night. He was a major organizer and instigator. He helped organize the Sons of Liberty, a terrorist group that included many Freemasons and used numerous secret signs and cryptic codes to communicate. They were organized into "cells" where the members only knew the leader, not each other, a structure copied by many underground and terrorist organizations later on. Their violence was tempered and organized, however. During the famous Tea Party, the locks on the tea chests were carefully replaced after the tea was dumped into the harbor, and one of the participants was severely chastised for stealing some of the tea rather than dumping it. Their careful symbolism was lost to the British, however.

It's important to remember that the Americans considered themselves British. This was really a civil war at the beginning. The riders did not cry out "the British are coming," which would have been like saying, "We are coming" but rather, "the Regulars are coming," meaning the regular British troops.

Revere became the "messenger" for the rebels. He made numerous rides of several hundred miles each to carry messages between the Bostonians and the Continental Congress meeting in New York. These were difficult rides at a time when roads were rough, if they existed at all, yet he made them with extraordinary speed.

He was not the leader of the revolutionary movement, rather a doer and actor. He was able to get things done, partly because he knew so many people and his trustworthiness crossed many class boundaries.

General Gage was not a simpleton - unlucky perhaps as had been most of his ancestors - but he was handicapped in his plans for the attack on Concord by having his most intimate plans ferreted out by the Whigs almost as soon as he made them. Only Dr. Joseph Warren, who was respected by both sides, knew this secret spy and ally to the Americans. He never revealed who the spy was, but Fischer suspects it was Gage's wife, an American very sympathetic to the American cause. Gage himself had cause to suspect her, and after the Concord fiasco, sent her to England.

The army's march on Concord is told in fascinating detail. The regulars wore the most impractical clothes: snow white breeches that had to be kept immaculate upon pain of flogging; tall frir hats that were intended to make the men seem taller, but required additional caps to protect them from the weather; coats worn very tight, that were supposed to be preshrunk, but which continued to get smaller in the rain and often became so tight men could barely move their arms; and shoes not made for right or left, but square toed so they could be worn on either foot and were switched from right to left every day so as not to get overworn on one side. Officers' coats were scarlet, (unlike the red of the men) dyed from the dried bodies of female cochineal insects. That meant they did not fade (unlike the uniforms of the soldiers) and they made outstanding targets. They also wore a highly polished gorget just below the neck that provided an excellent bullseye.

Fischer has appended a most interesting historiographical section at the end of the book that discusses how the various Revere myths became cemented into American folklore. Much of it stems from the Whigs themselves, who wished to reveal as little as possible of their complicity in antagonizing the British to act. It was very important that the British fire the first shot and that the Americans be seen as innocent victims in order to garner as much support as possible. In fact, Revere's first written account was suppressed by the Whigs as he refused to acknowledge it was the British who fired first, and his report of all their activities prior to the event made it obvious how the conspirators had orchestrated many of the events. His deposition was not found until 1891 among his private papers. But it was Longfellow's poem that solidified Revere's ride as a solitary event. Great poem but short on historical verity Fischer notes in several short essays how the crosscurrents of American political thought have tempered the Revere legend and myth and used it to reflect their own perspective of American history. Fascinating.

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Jun 05, 2012 Douglas Audirsch rated it 5 of 5 stars

I first heard about this book after attending a rifle training camp that also teaches this portion of American Colonial history. Project Appleseed (www.appleseedinfo.org) uses this book as a way of demonstrating the huge impact that American marksmanship had in the history of our nation. After hearing the retelling of some of the events of Revere's ride at an Appleseed event, I bought the book and had three of my children read it with me a chapter at a time. We would discuss each day's reading o...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: informational-read

The first 50 pages or so were tedious, but the narrative became quite compelling and difficult to put down! It was easy to feel empathy for all sides in this historical turning point and founding of our country. It would be instructive for all to read and remember how we started. The Appleseed.org events are a great credit and dedication to this story. Revere's role was so much more than just a ride, and the ride/alarms were so much more than one person. Excellent job David Fischer!

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Oct 20, 2010 Heloyce rated it 4 of 5 stars

It should be given the title Paul Revere's RIDES since he was an active member of the Sons of Liberty and made many daring rides during the time leading up to the Revolutionary War. He was a man of integrity and honor and able to influence and organize others in the battle for independence. I also appreciated the insight regarding General Gage who was also a man of integrity but on the side of the British.

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Jul 04, 2009 Mac rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thank God Mr. Fischer wrote this book, so few people know the story of the all the midnight riders on that April morning. Thank God for Longfellow for writing the poem. Was it due to the poem that we remember the event and Paul Revere at all, maybe, but reading the poem as "Listen my children and you shall hear of the Midnight ride of...Joseph Warren" just doesn't work. Long live the Sons of Liberty!

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Jul 27, 2012 Timeglider rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-revolution

As old as this story is, Mr. Hackett Fisher fills out and clarifies matters even more. Paul Revere is on the one hand over-glorified for a single great act that he didn't do alone, and on the other hand under-appreciated for the broader role he played as a connector, communicator, and real doer in the build-up to the revolution. The fine details of the ride itself are given a definitive account.

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Nov 04, 2007 Mary Pellecchia rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who thinks they know the history behind Patriots' Day

I really liked this book and thought it did a superb job of explaining just what happened before, on the night of, and after Paul Revere's ride. It gives you a much broader perspective than you would have if you just relied on Longfellow's poem and folk beliefs. (Revere never shouted, "The British are coming!" He thought of himself as British, although the awareness of the possibility of independence was growing.) The actual truth is much more complex and just as compelling. You get almost an ho...more

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Feb 05, 2010 Marilee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED this book! I read it after a "British Re-enacter' told me that anything I ever wanted to know about 1775 and the beginning of the Revolutionary war, can be found in this book. I found Paul Revere's life amazing (16 kids!) and he truly was a Patriot who knew everybody. If alive today, he'd know 100's of people on Facebook!

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Mar 25, 2013 Roger Prather rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best narratives of the early American Revolution I've ever read. I found out about this book through Project Appleseed, and Appleseeders will recognize many of the stories.

It was a refreshing read because it's a traditionalist retelling of Revolutionary events written by a New England academic. A must read fir all Americans.

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Nov 28, 2008 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

More Revolutionary War goodness. Fascinating how a silversmith could do so much. I really enjoyed reading all the details of his involvement, what really happened on his ride and the "one if by land two if by see" thing etc. Author did a good job.

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Nov 17, 2008 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this in college and loved it! You learn a lot more about Paul Revere than you thought there was to know. Let's face it, when we were kids, all we heard was "The Red Coats are Coming, The Red Coats are Coming!" You learn that he was definitely not alone in that feat, and that it was not just a spontaneous thing he did, but something he planned and organized with numerous people, including women. You also learn that that was not exactly what they said! Furthermore, he argues that many of th...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

This book was fascinating from start to finish. If you thought that the midnight ride was just one guy shouting "The British are coming" I highly recommend you read this interesting piece of history. You'll learn so much about this important time.

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About David Hackett Fischer

David Hackett Fischer is University Professor and Earl Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University. His major works have tackled everything from large macroeconomic and cultural trends (Albion's Seed, The Great Wave) to narrative histories of significant events (Paul Revere's Ride, Washington's Crossing) to explorations of historiography (Historians' Fallacies, in which he coined the term H...more

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Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America

Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought

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