Description: 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. 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.
When the alarm-riders 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.Brief description: David Hackett Fischer grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. He received an AB from Princeton University in 1958 and a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1962. Fischer is University Professor and Earl Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have tackled everything from large macroeconomic and cultural trends to narrative histories of significant events to explorations of historiography. He is best known for two major works: Albion's Seed, and Washington's Crossing. He has won many awards including the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for History, the 2006 Irving Kristol Award from the American Enterprise Institute, and he was a 2004 finalist for the National Book Award in the Nonfiction category. In addition to these literary awards, he has been recognized for his commitment to teaching with the 1990 Carnegie Prize as Massachusetts Professor of the Year and the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
Review Quotes: An enjoyable work that doesn't compromise its scholarly accuracy.--Booklist "Booklist"