Thank you St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review The Ride on NetGalley.

Published: 03/25/25

Stars: 3.5

Thorough. This was more than I expected. Seriously I wasn't in a textbook state of mind. I expected a lightweight, middle grade to young adult story. Kennedy wrote a dry, nonfiction text.

This was okay, and perhaps in a different headspace I would have enjoyed it more. I would gift this to a history buff, etc.

This is an excellent read about Paul Revere, his famous ride and the start of the Revolutionary War. It's timely as this is the 250th anniversary of the ride. The book is short and a good read.

Thank You to Kostya Kennedy, Net Galley, and St Martin’s Press for this arc. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
This is a fabulous dive into one of American History's most compelling moments. The Ride is one of those moments where if the butterfly effect were to happen, where would we be?

You can never know enough about American History and The Ride by Kostya Kennedy takes an indepth look at one of the most important days/nights in our history. I appreciated learning more about this event before a recent trip to Boston where i was able to have a completely different perspective on what happened during the infamous ride.

I'd recommend this book to anyoe who wants a more indepth knowledge of the Revolutionary Era in Boston!

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution, Kostya Kennedy delves into the history of Paul Revere’s famous ride to alert colonial troops to fight against the British. While not the only rider that night and not on his first ride, Revere’s ride of April 18, 1775, has become a founding American legend, and Kennedy seeks to offer a new version based in primary and secondary documents pulled from archives, private papers, and other contemporary accounts to create a more complex portrait. The historical details and documents are well-researched and supported by strong interpretation and analysis, and the use of new documents creates a fascinating retelling of this iconic historical event. The complexities and new information that Kennedy brings to the table make this a fresh retelling perfect for the 250th anniversary, and these added details really enhance the current, pared-down version that most people are familiar with. The pacing and dramatic elements of the book itself really help build out the larger and more complex historical narrative that Kennedy offers, and the prose structure similarly helps the book achieve this goal. This book is detailed, interesting, and enjoyable with its new spin on an iconic historical event.

I thought the author did a good job on going into details on the ride of paul revere. it was very informational learning about the ride. I am not from new england so i do not know much about the particulars of the revolutionary war in new england.

thank you for netgalley and the publisher for giving me this chance to review this book

One of the most impactful nights of our countries history. I got to read this over the Independence Day weekend during the 250th year anniversary of the event. Outside of the Longfellow Poem and a visit to his home while in Boston I had very little information about who he was and a better understanding of all of the events leading up to The Ride. I got lost in it and gained a new appreciation for our freedoms. Great read.

Timed for the 250th anniversary of one of America’s most famous founding events: Paul Revere’s heroic ride, newly told with fresh research into little-known aspects of the story Americans have heard since childhood but hardly understood

A fresh look at Paul Revere's famous ride looking into his actions that night and the others who helped him warn Samual Adams and John Hancock of the British foray on that April night in New England. This book talked about lots of aspects of revolutionary era Boston including the attitude and deployment of the British commanders as well as the colonials that were working for and against them. The description of the bravery of the men who lit the lanterns in the Old North Church, climbing all that way in the dark knowing that their lanterns were visible to the British as well really put that action in perspective and particularly stuck in my mind. I found this book easily readable and well researched, full of quotes from Reveres personal journals as well as information and even the thoughts of his current decedents. I received a free digital ARC of this book from the publisher.

As we enter the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, I anticipate I will be picking up more and more books related to America's founding, even outside my regular book club reads. Paul Revere's Ride has been a popular topic lately with "The Ride" being my third book focusing on just Paul Revere or his legendary ride.

Here's my breakdown:
Structure/formatting: 4/5

I enjoyed the build up and background that this book provided leading up to "the ride." This book is not meant to be an autobiography of Paul Revere, but it gives enough information about him and the local area to appreciate the impact of this event. While it bounces around a little bit to introduce other key characters to the narrative, for such a narrowly-focused book, it says a lot with relatively few pages.

Thoroughness of research: 2.5/5

I do not like history books that don't have fully cited notes and sources. "The Ride" features a "selected bibliography" and some articles and websites for reference, but it doesn't cite individual passages or statements in the book. Some citations occur within the text itself, and those individual credits were great to me. Based on those few references, I can appreciate the reference materials that were named (including J.L. Bell's fantastic blog), but they didn't make this particular book stand out to me as a book offering new ideas or offering any new resources on the topic.

Storytelling: 3/5

The writing in this book was very different than the scholarly style I've been used to in other books on the topic. This may be something people new to the topic will enjoy, but it was not a style that worked well for me. I don't need to know that April 18th, 1775 was "the 14,717th day of (Paul Revere)'s life." It doesn't help me understand the scope of the events about to occur and instead takes me out of the story. The flow of the story being told was otherwise quite enjoyable, and I enjoyed the chapter titles and the way they helped set the scene.

Enjoyment: 3/5

Prior Knowledge Needed: 4/5 (5 meaning no prior knowledge needed, and 1 meaning you already need to be an expert in the subject matter)

This is a relatively short book, so some knowledge about Paul Revere and his "midnight ride," even just having heard the beginning of the Longfellow poem, may be helpful to understanding this book. On the other hand, I did feel that I had a little too much knowledge going into this book. I had recently read "Paul Revere's Ride" and previously read "Why Longfellow Lied" (and books on John Hancock and Samuel Adams) in addition to having just returned from a trip where I toured Boston, the Old North Church, and traveled along the trail marking Paul Revere's ride. While those tours and books assisted in my ability to visualize the locations being mentioned and to understand the obstacles the men encountered along the way, it lessened any potential impact this book may have had on me otherwise since I had already been immersing myself in the story for many days.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about Paul Revere's Ride or anyone looking to kick off a reading list related to the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. One of my favorite chapters in this book was the one on William Dawes. Dawes is one of my favorite "characters" from this tale, so it was great to see him get a moment to shine. I would love to see more books on Dawes in the future!

8 This was a really interesting book.Because you can see how Paul revere took this.
R Ride from the north end and to concord. I like it because there was different chapters in the book and you can see how this came about because of the british. And there was a woman who helped too which was really surprising because I never knew that. I like the story behind.Also the bells in the north and church and how they play the very important part two. Also about the lantern how it was in a museum as well This is a really good book.Because it showed paul rivera going to different places on his horse as well before this happened. You can see how the colonies wanted to be free from Britain.Because they were being Tax terribly. Book explain how everybody came together to make this happen. Reboot

The Ride is a well-researched, well written short history biography about Paul Revere's (and other's) ride on April 18, 1775-250 years ago. This is a short work, but it is highly informative and sticks to the title's theme. You get information about the man, his decedents, and the night that influenced history.

If you already know anything about that night, this book will fill in gaps and offer a more complete picture.
If you are interested in biographies, American Revolutionary history, or simply want to know more about events that shaped America as we approach our country's 250 birthday, then this book is a great, quick read you should check out.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review

While i loved reading and learning more about Paul Revere, i felt that the book meandered a bit from its ride to go into the woods. While the lead up to and the Ride itself were thrilling I felt there was not enough emphasis put on Revere's later life and instead the author chose to seek out and speak to relatives. I wanted to learn more about the man and his later life (he lived to 83 and the ride was when he was 40 so was there nothing else of note in 43 more years?) I also felt that the entire chapter on Slavery could be eliminated as it brought nothing to the story. I felt it was worthy of mention but not in this book

Like most people, I hear Paul Revere and immediately think "The Regulars are coming!" This book does a great job of giving us a much more well-rounded picture of the man behind the legend and what may have driven him to join the revolution as well as his dedication to it. I always enjoy Kostya Kennedy's biographies - they are well researched and very accessible. Highly recommend!

Actual Rating 2.5

This nonfiction work discusses Paul Revere and the most famous night he (and others) rode to warn the revolutionaries about the British movements. And it's released just in time for the 250th anniversary of America's battle for independence and Paul Revere's ride.

The narrative of this one could have been stronger. There was a lot of wandering and backstory and doubling back that weakened its readability in my opinion. It was indicative of the level of research the author put into this book, which is quite impressive. And there's a lot to learn from this work if you don't mind a more wandering history.

I appreciated the author's focus on trying to separate the myth/legend from what actually happened that night. But this work was a weird in between. There wasn't enough information to be a full biography of Revere. But the details included were much more expansive than the single night or the events leading up to that night. Then there were also a lot of imaginative scenes included that were more fiction than nonfiction, which added to the oddness of the mix.

This history wasn't the most engaging, but it was informative. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

THE RIDE by Kostya Kennedy is subtitled "Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America," but this book encompasses so much more. Kennedy, an award-winning author, writes about the others (William Dawes, Samuel Prescott, possibly Sybil Ludington) who rode that night and about the other rides which Revere undertook on behalf of the Sons of Liberty. This text is full of fascinating facts and additional insight into Revere's character and motivation. For example, he describes Revere's life as an adolescent and the friendships formed then (one of Revere's sons is named for fellow Patriot Joseph Warren). Another interesting tangent is the discussion of the portrait by John Singleton Copley, saying "You step away from the portrait and you come back to it, and you recognize something of the irreverent. You get the strong feeling that Paul Revere is up to something.". THE RIDE (which includes an extensive bibliography) received a starred review from Booklist and praise from other reviews like Library Journal ("An important book for readers seeking a deeper understanding of a crucial moment in American history. It will captivate history scholars, students, and enthusiasts from start to finish"). Definitely worth a read and reflection on America’s founding values. 4.5 stars

Compared to other books I've read in the last few years pertaining to the American Revolution, the Ride was one of the most digestible. Kostya Kennedy builds Paul Revere's world, contextualizing his personal connections and how he came to be one of the two main riders to alert the countryside of the advancing Regulars (yes, there's also a chapter on Dawes). I might have liked to see a chapter about the battles of Lexington and Concord themselves, and maybe some more information about Revere's life after the Revolution, but I also appreciate the succinctness of the book. All in all, well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance review copy!

In his book, Paul Revere and the Night that Saved America, Kostya Kennedy gives a well-researched, well-written account, not only of Paul Revere’s most famous ride, but of his background, his work and his family. He provides information about the lead up to the revolution and tells about other riders including the possibly untrue ride of a young girl. Kennedy’s writing style avoids the too often dry pedantic style of many historians making this a very interesting, accessible, and, dare I say, entertaining account of probably the most famous ride in all history. I read an eARC of the book while listening to the audiobook narrated by Johnny Heller who does an excellent job.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for this book in exchange for an honest review

As schoolchildren, we are told an abbreviated and abridged tale of the role Paul Revere played. The Ride, by Kostya Kennedy, expands on that tale and fills in many of the gaps by detailing the role Revere's contemporaries played, It also details the previous trips Revere took prior to the American Revolution and his relationship to the burgeoning rebellion.
The book is crisply written and easily read as it lays out the timeline in a narrative fashion. The style allowed for suspenseful storytelling even in a tale we know the ending of.
I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Paul Revere's famous ride is discussed in detail along with alternate accounts and the famous poem in this riveting and exciting read.

My plan was to post this review on the date of Paul Revere's ride, but I didn't manage to get it done. The book, I thought, was supposed to center on Paul Revere's ride, but to be honest, it was all over the place. I found the book choppy and in need of a good editor. The flow was horrible and didn't appear to make any logical sense as we jumped back and forth here and there without any sense of purpose. My main complaint was the the style of writing, for whatever reason, it seemed like the book needed to be cut by a third by the use of a good editor. Too much minutia was shared. Others my have found it fascinating, but at times I felt like I was reading a book intended for a teenage audience. It wasn't my cup of tea. I was thankful when I finished, and didn't feel like I learned much new about "the ride."
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.