Revere has been one of the best known legendary heroes of our country, embedded in the customary errors of [Long-fellow's poem]. As Esther Forbes … says, the legend was to swallow the actual man. It has been her task [in Paul Revere and the World He Lived In] to bring the real man to life, and to paint his portrait against the background of his times.

The original material for the purpose has apparently not been excessive, but it has been sufficient, and the author has evidently gone through it with care and discrimination. This is her first non-fiction book, but shows, like the five novels dealing with New England conditions which preceded this historio-biography, an extremely competent knowledge of the history of her section…. Esther Forbes wears her learning lightly, and in her easy style transmits to her readers some of the pleasure, and even fun, she has had in her work….

There are two themes in this book. One is the life of Revere himself, and the other the daily life of New Englanders in the stormy pre-Revolutionary, Revolutionary, and post-Revolutionary periods which his life spanned….

Miss Forbes tells us much about the real Revere, without, however, the slightest "debunking," for none is necessary…. Altogether, we get a very satisfactory picture of the man, his character, career, and his family and social relations, with no overdone hero worship.

In her other theme, the life of his times, Miss Forbes has been equally successful. In the broader political and military aspects there is little that is new. A good deal of it is rather antiquarian than historical, but it is so well done that one does get a new sense of what those days were like and what their problems were for our ancestors. There are many interesting glimpses down historical side-alleys, such as the pages on dentistry and bad teeth as compared with such matters among then contemporary Europeans….

The only serious criticism I would have of the author's treatment of her background is her account of Shays's Rebellion, which I think, in view of the general scale on which topics are treated, is far too short and gives a somewhat false impression. During most of the Rebellion, which in itself, in spite of scant treatment here, was an important factor in creating the American Constitution, Bowdoin and not Hancock was governor of Massachusetts, Hancock having stepped aside until he could safely reap the glory of ending it.

However, I can heartily recommend the book as a whole as both enjoyable reading and sound history.