Book Review: The Revolutionary Paul Revere (Joel J. Miller)

Beginning with his father's journey to America, the Revolutionary Paul Revere is essentially a biography of this famous player in American history that focuses on his activities as a member of the inner circle of revolutionaries in the events surrounding the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere became an apprentice in the goldsmith trade and developed his skills throughout his life, venturing into silversmithing and engraving. A father, freemason, soldier, craftsman, businessman, express rider and visual historian, Paul Revere was present during many key events leading to America's independence.

I really enjoyed reading about how Paul Revere documented the events he witnessed by engraving the scenes. Parts of the book were interesting, but I struggled through most of the book to concentrate and comprehend the material (partly because of the subject matter and partly due to the author's writing style). At times the author used "cute" phrases and analogies that detracted from the credibility and readability of this work (e.g., "Then Bernard--in what must have been one of the great you-can't-fire-me-I-quit moments in history...). I did not feel that I "knew" Paul Revere after reading this book. A more in-depth look at his home life would have been intriguing. I believe history lovers will enjoy learning some new facts about Paul Revere in this book.