Product Description

A biography of the man made famous by a poem about the American Revolution, placing his life and work in its real historical context.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #491312 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-These titles have "reluctant reader" written all over them. They are decently packaged with well-chosen and credited photographs, but the large-print, generously spaced text is written in short, choppy sentences, losing the narrative flow and the drama of history well told. In Lewis and Clark, the expedition is said to be traveling "mostly north" toward the Gates of the Mountains, after their portage of the Great Falls on the Missouri River, an egregious geographical error. Even more bizarre is the use of the term "Chopponish" for the much more commonly known Nez Perce. Expedition journals used the uncommon appellation, but there is no footnote explaining the connection. Unfortunately, in telling about the expedition's various encounters with Native Americans, Sullivan emphasizes the potentially threatening, unfriendly, and fearsome aspects. Paul Revere also contains factual errors but suffers even more from oversimplification. There is no discussion of the American colonial system as context for the independence movement and revolution; events such as the First Continental Congress are mentioned with no explanation. For a title on Lewis and Clark that is truly "in their own words" see Peter and Connie Roop's Off the Map: The Journals of Lewis and Clark (Walker, 1993), and for an excellent, accessible history, Rhoda Blumberg's The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark (Morrow, 1995) is hard to beat. Jean Fritz's And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? (Coward-McCann, 1973) remains a favorite account of the silversmith's daring role in revolutionary America. Given the sloppy effort, these titles are marginal.
Nancy Collins-Warner, Neill Public Library, Pullman, WA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Paul Revere
Most people know Paul Revere for his midnight ride where he warned the colonists that the British were coming. There are many other interesting facts about him. He was a silversmith. You can find many items he made in museums today. He became a Patriot and joined many groups and clubs such as Sons of Liberty. I usually don't like history but this story was very interesting. After I read it we were talking about it all the time.

Exemplary scholarly and still-interesting writing
Sullivan uses primary sources to make Paul Revere's life and times come to life in this fine addition to the new In Their Own Words series. Partly biography, partly a detailed history of the American Revolution, the book explains the famous patriot's role in a young colony's fight for freedom. Revere is well-known for his career as a silversmith and his midnight ride from Boston to Lexington to warn colonists of the impending arrival of British soldiers; Sullivan also brings to light Revere's part in the Boston Tea Party, designed and printed money, and was a shrewd businessman who owned and operated a gunpowder factory and a copper mill.
Primary sources include letters, poems and documents. Longfellow's famous poem that immortalized Paul Revere is included. The illustrations include a map of Revere's route on April 18, 1775, photographs of Revere's silver, a reproduction of his famous portrait commissioned by John Singleton Cooper, and many illustrations and portraits, including Revere's own drawings.
The book includes a chronology, an index, a bibliography, further reading, and additional resources such as the Paul Revere House in Boston MA. Photo credits are listed. Sullivan has a distinct talent for making scholarly research accessible to young students in an engaging and interesting way, and sets an excellent example for crediting sources. Highly recommended.

Bleak Biography
This book about Paul Revere's life, was right out of a history textbook. It told all about Paul Revere's life, from his birth and raising until his death. It told about his wife who died and his second marriage and children. It also told about his many occupations. I didn't really like this book. Mostly this book has allusion in it because it's a history book and it mentions a lot of famous people and battles and so on. I would recommend this book to people who like history books about the American Revolution. I gave it only 2 stars because it wasn't very interesting and I don't really like historicial fiction books.