Happy Friday! Fact Friday features Why Longfellow Lied: the truth about Paul Revere's Midnight Ride by Jeff Lantos. "Listen my children, and you shall hear..." Sound familiar? Those are the first words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem, Paul Revere's Ride. It was written in 1860 as the United States of America was on the brink of civil war. While it is a poem that many, including myself assume is historically accurate, it is actually filled with inaccuracies. Very little documentation about that fateful night is available BECAUSE IT WAS A SECRET MISSION. Colonists were not discussing Paul Revere's role in the relaying of information about British troop movement in the days and weeks after BECAUSE IT WAS A SECRET! Still, the poem endures, and rightly so, for it is a lovely, lively, inspiring poem.
Mr. Lentos examines the poem line by line and parses the fact from fiction in this absolutely fascinating book-definitely one to revisit over and over to absorb it all. It is opiously illustrated with maps, and photos of engravings and art. Back matter includes exhaustive source notes and a six-page bibliography. I can't wait to reread this when it publishes in August. The seventh grade social studies teacher at my school can't wait either! First purchase!
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