Every American student has been taught about the ride of Paul Revere in 1775. Not everyone has been taught that Revere did not make the ride alone, or that he had previously ridden to pass on news of the movements of British troops. This book details Revere’s life – and that of many other American revolutionaries, some household names, some not – and his involvement in the cause of American independence.

From extensive research that included diaries, archives and family letters, the author presents a comprehensive narrative of events that helped set the American Revolution in motion. While there were times when the book read like a history textbook, I enjoyed it overall, especially because it included the contributions of William Dawes, Solomon Brown, John Pulling, Dr. Joseph Warren and more.

The Ride Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America by Kostya Kennedy was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had never read this author before but I had heard the story, hopefully we all have. I learned more about Paul Revere and the ride in this book than i had ever heard before. This book covers the ride very well as well as covering other aspects of the era, the time period and the night in question. If you, or someone you buy gifts for wants to learn more about American history, this is a good book to have on hand, especially with Americas 250th Anniversary coming up next year.

4 Stars, just because a Five Star Review is very, very special.

Combining a biography and history, Kostya Kennedy brings the history and characters to life in The Ride – Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America. The book focuses on the night of the famous ride, April 18 – 19, 1775. However, it sets the scene with information on Revere from the time he is fifteen when he was a bell ringer at the Old North Church and an apprentice silversmith to his father.

Revere was a silversmith, an engraver, a dentist, and an anti-British operative and express rider. While an artisan, he talked with and was friends with the wealthy, other artisans, tradespeople, and farmers. Revere was eager, curious, hardworking, confident, intelligent, persevering, and had a social manner that enabled him to deliver and gather information on behalf of the rebel leaders such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Joseph Warren. He also had a large family to support and thus, the multiple ways he had of making money. Revere firmly believed the colonists needed to resist the ever-increasing efforts the British had taken to intimidate and subdue them. Each new decree brought widening discontent and he spread the word of events and actions between Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

The author has a style of writing that is thought-provoking and provides new-to-me information about Revere and the fateful ride. I found it especially interesting to see how different the rides of Revere and William Dawes were on that night. My one small quibble was that there was some repetitiveness in the book. It’s also highly focused on the events of and leading up to the night of April 18, 17175. Thus, it isn’t a full biography. However, the title tells readers where the focus will be.

Overall, this was an excellent, but focused biography and colonial history book that was well-researched and written in an engaging manner. The author visited many of the locations and provides an extensive bibliography of books, articles, websites, documents, and more.

St. Martin’s Press and Kostya Kennedy provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for March 25, 2025.

I enjoyed reading this book. This book provides a deep dive into Paul Revere. This is a well researched and well written book. One of the interesting points is what would have happened had Paul Revere not made that ride. William Dawes, the second rider, is also covered in this book.
If you enjoy learning about history, this is an excellent read.

There has to be a story behind Kostya Kennedy, author of four well-regarded sports books, pivoting toward Paul Revere’s midnight ride from Boston to Concord to warn the rebels that the British were on their way to target their materiel. But we don’t hear it. Funnily for a time when puffy “author’s notes” often swell the beginnings of nonfiction books, The Ride does not even have an introduction, though perhaps the six full paragraphs of what-if questions that kick off the first chapter are it.

This book succeeds in one way and fails in another. In expanding on one of the most popular but vaguely told myths in grade-school American history classes, Kennedy has a few points to teach. Inspired by Revere’s decision to shine one lantern from the spire of the Old North Church if the British left Boston by land and two if they did so in ships, Henry Wadsforth Longfellow memorably transformed Revere’s signals into:
He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light, —
One, if by land, and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be.
Revere was a kind of Revolutionary War era ancestor to the modern gig economy, and an ambitious member of the growing middle class. He was an engraver, a smith, and a dentist. And he was a professional express rider, at a time before railroads and when what roads existed were bad. The famous ride to Lexington and Concord was not his first (more like his ninth or tenth on behalf of the rebel cause), and he was chosen for the famous ride because he was known as one of the best: “The countryside was alive with Minutemen, and anyone would have known the name Paul Revere, and anyone would have given him a meal and a place to sleep. They knew of Paul Revere, express rider, in every town in Massachusetts Bay and the Province of New Hampshire, and in every colony north of Virginia. They knew about Paul Revere—had seen his name in the papers—three thousand miles and an ocean away, in London, in Edinburgh, in Derbyshire.”

“The missions weren’t solely for the advancement of the movement and its principles. They also generated income.” Quite a lot, in fact: for one ride, he earned five pounds and fourteen shillings. That equates to about £1,177, or $1,520 in today’s currency. (Despite several references to pounds and shillings, the author omitted conversions.)

I was not convinced that The Ride was a coherent concept of a book. It is too sparse in its treatment of Revere’s life, career, and correspondence to be a serious biography. It plods and pads with imagined meditations. (“He had strolled on these streets with Sarah and with Rachel and with his parents. The streets of Revere’s entire life, and now the streets where his son Paul and his other children made their daily way. These were streets and paths and alleyways, corners and bends, that Revere knew as well as any man alive. Moonlight, no moonlight, the full blackness of the narrowest way, no matter. Blind, he could have found Warren’s front door.”)

Being centered on an eighteenth-century subject, The Ride falls prey to the post-2020 requirement of shoehorning in a lecture on slavery, however irrelevant. Worse, Kennedy interrupts an otherwise exciting narrative to devote an entire chapter to slavery. You may be wondering why this was done, considering that neither Revere nor anyone in his family owned any slaves (the de rigeur term now is “enslaved people,” which is obviously better than “slaves” in the same way that “people of color” is better than “colored people”). Kennedy’s excuse is that on one ride, as Revere spotted British officers, he happened to have stopped at the same spot where a slave, Mark, convicted of poisoning his owner, was hanged from a tree — twenty years earlier. An important story, no doubt, but out of place here.

Toward of the end of the book, Kennedy attempts an answer to a perplexing question: considering that Revere was but one of many express riders who performed valuable services on behalf of the rebels, why do we remember Revere at the expense of the others? His answer — that Revere’s network of contemporary friends and acquaintances was broader than those of other riders — is plausible. Invoking the midwit psychology of Malcolm Gladwell to justify that not-mindblowing conclusion was probably not necessary. It also signaled that Kennedy may intend to sell The Ride more to his audience of sports fans than to students of American history.

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America, by Kostyra Kennedy, was meticulously researched and oddly disappointing for two reasons. First, the author intersperses the story of Revere's ride with truly important contextual information about the social structure, slavery in Massachusetts, the role of other riders and the Patriot network of which Paul Revere was a respected leader. I learned so much about the communication network and its necessity to inform and protect the citizenry. Unfortunately, the detours tended to diminish the tension of the ride(s) themselves as the continuity was broken. Secondly, there is simply much that cannot be known. The author often offered conjecture about what Revere or other riders saw or felt. I agree with other reviewers that this incredible example of patriotism and community is important and needs much more than the famous Longfellow poem. I also agree that this might have been a better read as historical fiction. As is, it is valuable but a slow and somewhat disjointed read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

A wonderful deeper look into the man we all remember from the poem "Paul Revere's Ride'. There is a lot of information and it is it written well. A little dry in parts but it is a history book and deems to be informative more than entertaining. A good read for historical buffs wanting to learn more about the man who was the Paul Revere.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this free ARC in return for my honest review.

Wonderful work by author Kostya Kenned,y who gives us a much more detailed look into the man Paul Revere. As we near the 250th anniversary of the ride Kennedy begins by posing questions as to how the American Revolution would have turned out had Revere not made that ride, even to the point of asking if the Revolution would have happened at all? From there we learn a lot about Revere's life and for me I found out so many details I was unaware of about Revere, and his role as an Express Rider and his role of getting messages throughout the Boston/New York/Philadelphia corridor. Revere was known as trusted by all in the Patriot group and it made perfect sense for him to make the ride. Yes William Dawes also helped, but nobody carried the gravitas of Revere whose words prompted others to ride out and get out the notice. Thoroughly researched and well written this is a book that we all should take the time to read. Solid 4.5****

Thank you @stmartinspress @kostyakennedy for the chance to review this book early. I really enjoyed this looking to the history of Paul Revere, and the American Revolution. I felt the book was really easy to follow along with very accessible and gives a lot of context about the laws King George was passing and the events that led up to the famous ride. I read it quite quickly. I enjoyed how he incorporated Longfellow poem about Paul Revere near the end of the book and how important Paul Revere is to American history.

ONE night that saved America
April 18, 1775 was the night before the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The night before the infamous "Shot Heard Around the World." What if the ride had never happened? A big thank you to Brown Beauty, the horse who carried him with excellence on that night.

TWO lanterns if by sea
The tower of the North Church was briefly illuminated by two lanterns at Revere's request to signal that the British were moving by water to invade.

THREE score Patriots were on the Crown's list of "enemies." Paul Revere was one of them having assisted with the Boston Tea Party and participated in other rebellious activities.

FOUR professional hats for Revere. He was a self-taught silversmith, engraver, and dentist as well as being a rider for the Patriots.

FIVE stars for a book that is perfect for reading as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of this famous night on April 18, 2025. Go with a print version if you can to see the fabulous photos and historical documents.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a DRC as well as Macmillan Audio for an audio ARC. I was glad I paired the two so I could see the visuals in the print copy.

4 Stars

Any fan of the American Revolution will LOVE this book. Painstakingly detailed about the life and friendships of Paul Revere, with a heavy focus on April 18 and 19, 1775, The Ride is a fascinating glimpse into our nation's beginning. I appreciated the author's inclusion of the horses and other riders, emphasizing just how many people participated and pulled together to make room for America to be independent.

I received an ARC; this is my honest review.

“The Ride” is a story about Paul Revere that we have all heard in school but with so much more that you’ve never heard. So informative and well written.

I was able to get this through NetGalley. I received both the ebook and the audiobook. This book was a well researched telling of events in Paul Rever's life as the relate to his famous ride. It provides information on a few others that were also involved in this ride. The audiobook is narrated in a way that makes the liatener interested in the information. The voice is easy to listen to.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the digital copy of this book and audiobook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I previously read Kennedy’s work on Jackie Robinson True: The Four Seasons of #JackieRobinson by #KostyaKennedy and had to admit that while I generally do not like a hyper-focused history book, I loved it. The same can be said for The Ride, with one exception. I did not care for Johnny Heller’s narration at all! He sounded like a crotchety older history professor, his gravelly voice showing little emotion. But I soldiered on and listened to the whole book while following along with the text.

My favorite subjects in school were writing and United States history, especially the Revolutionary War. Not the battles, but the stories of the people involved in the revolution. Many of us learned the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” and Kennedy actually devotes a chapter to it.

The author does a more-than-adequate job of showing what life was like in Massachusetts for Paul Revere, including the fact that he once rang the bell at the Old North Church as a teenager every weekend. In fact, the depth of discussion of what life was like for many people in Massachusetts is explored (even slaves). The book also does a good job of showing the many other ways Revere helped the cause of the patriots besides his famous ride. The famous ride was not the first time Paul took to his horse, either. He delivered messages as far away as Philadelphia! Kennedy also gives credit to numerous others, including William Dawes, the other rider on that night.

There should be some introspection here when reading about the beginning of the American Revolution, especially these days, and what people were willing to do to break free from England. I highly recommend this book, but stick to the physical book or digital version, not audio!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was an informative read about Paul Revere as well as the other riders that alerted the Minutemen that fateful night. The book delves more into Revere’s life as well. He was cool under pressure.

I received an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from the publisher and NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair review. One thing I learned from 'The Ride' is that there was a whole lot more to Paul Revere than his fateful ride to warn the colonists that the British were coming. Author Kostya Kennedy brought to life one of the most famous Revolutionary War heroes who was immortalized in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Kennedy traced the Revere roots back to France where his father, Apollos Rivoire, came from. After arriving in the New World, he changed his name to Paul Revere. His young son and namesake learned the silver trade from him and also earned extra money as a bell ringer in Boston's Old North Church. Revere was a man of many trades, including dentistry, and was often tasked to deliver messages on horseback. He participated in the Boston Tea Party and then took the news via horseback first to New York and then on to Philadelphia, before returning to Boston--a December trip of more than 700 miles that took him a total of eleven days. If you have any interest in Revolutionary War times or what Paul Revere's contributions to the rebellion really were, I would highly recommend this book.

The Ride
By Kostya Kennedy

The ride of the title, of course, is the ride best known as Paul Revere's ride. It took place starting on April 18, 1775 through April 19, 1775. As you can imagine, an event taking place over 24 hours, no matter how historically significant, does not provide enough filler for even a 200 page book.

Instead, the author provides lots of background leading up to the event – and further information and anecdotes during the event and afterword right up until today. We learn about William Dawes and other express riders who participated. We learn about Sybil Luddington, the "female Paul Revere". We meet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who gave us the poem that made Revere famous around the world. These and other stories fill out the book.

There is a lot of speculation here. What would have happened if…? It is an interesting read – but there is not enough here to sub-title it "Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America".

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Cool in thought, ardent in action. ~Paul Revere’s obituary, noted in The Ride by Kostya Kennedy

Everyone knows Longfellow’s 1860 poem on the midnight ride of Paul Revere. Kostya Kennedy tells how, on the floor of the senate, Senator Edward Kennedy recited the poem from memory to Senator Robert Byrd, who recited it back to him.

We know Revere as a hero of the American Revolution, and some of us know he was a silversmith, or that he engraved the famous picture of the Boston Massacre of the British firing on protesting patriots. But did you know that his April 18, 1775 ride was only one of many he made for the patriots? Or, that he also was a dentist? Or that after his ride, he was found by the British but let go? Or, that Revere was not the only person riding that night to spread the news, and one was a teenaged girl?

The Ride is filled with surprising details of Paul Revere’s life and service to his country. He was a first generation American without land, money, social standing, or education. He worked hard to support his family. He was a remarkable horseman, traveling from Boston to Philadelphia to bring news of the Boston Tea Party.

The British had confiscated the colonists’ arms and gunpowder and cannons to disarm them, shut down the port to trade, and were amassing ships and soldiers in Boston harbor. Samuel Adams and John Hancock fled town. But the patriots had secretly collected and hid armaments, prepared to defend their freedom.

Revere, as we all know, climbed the ladder to the tower of the Old North Church, lit two lanterns to warn the British were coming by sea, extinguished then, and climbed down, in the dark of night. He then rode from Boston to Lexington, warning patriots along the way while evading British soldiers.

The Ride is an accessible and entertaining history that finds the man in the legend, while affirming the remarkable achievements of the legend.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley

Even after reading this entire book, I’m still not really sure what it’s about. Some of it is Paul Revere’s life, some of it is American Revolutionary history, and some of it is ancillary facts. But there’s no real through-line, as far as I can tell. The book is too chaotic for me—I need an overarching story arc, or my mind wanders. This book reads more like a series of facts in no particular, with no organizing principle. The narrative is frequently interrupted by asides, without appropriate transitions, and I mostly had no idea where we were in time or how one event related to another.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

2.5 stars, rounded up. I seem to be in a minority with this book, which is a shame as I was really excited to read it. It's not a bad book, but I found the writing clunky as well as the way the story was laid out. Granted, unless you're writing historical fiction, it's pretty much impossible to build an entire book around one short horse ride, no matter how important that ride was. But we'd have a little of the linear timeline, then a plunge into some biographical or historical side story, then a lurch back to the linear timeline, then another digression. The flow was awkward and by the time we got to the actual riding part of Paul Revere's ride, I felt pretty checked out. I wonder if Kennedy should have given himself the free rein of writing this as a novel; his constant use of "could," "might," "perhaps," etc. grated on me. I did enjoy learning more details surrounding this slice of American history, especially since I've been to so many places in the story. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital review copy.