Description

Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of one of America’s most celebrated founding moments, “The Ride” revisits the legendary midnight journey of Paul Revere, sharing newly uncovered insights and fascinating details that add depth and clarity to the story that Americans learn in childhood but seldom fully understand.

On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere—a skilled Boston silversmith, engraver, and prominent activist against British rule—mounted a borrowed horse and embarked on a perilous and historically critical mission: alerting colonial citizens of the rapidly approaching British troops determined to suppress their fledgling rebellion.

Though Revere’s name has become synonymous with this iconic nighttime ride, he was by no means alone. Revere himself had already completed over a dozen missions across New England and nearby colonies, delivering crucial intelligence of British movements. Yet, the ride he undertook on this famous April night would outshine all others, its repercussions resonating through the following months and years as scattered confrontations blossomed into a full-scale revolutionary war and contributed greatly to America’s foundational narrative.

In “The Ride,” author Kostya Kennedy provides a fresh retelling of the dramatic events on the nights of April 18-19, 1775. Drawing on extensive new research into primary historical documents including archival records, contemporary newspaper accounts, diaries, and personal family correspondence, Kennedy offers fresh perspectives on Revere’s journey. He vividly portrays a ride that was far more complex, risky, and turbulent than previously recognized. Kennedy brings to life the efforts and bravery of the multiple messengers who rode that same night, describes the near-disaster and Revere’s ultimate capture by British troops, and details how, despite these setbacks, the mission succeeded.

In this absorbing and compelling account, readers will also learn about other lesser-known heroes—men, and possibly a woman, who played pivotal roles by providing vital intelligence that helped spark the struggle for America’s independence. Expertly researched and compellingly written in a dramatic style, “The Ride” reintroduces this essential moment in American history to a new generation eager to truly understand the legendary story that forged their nation.