Jeffrey Thompson's bold illustrations capture the drama, the urgency of that midnight ride on the eighteenth of April, 1775. The somber quality of Longfellow's poem is reflected in Thompson's use of muted backgrounds, contrasted with powerful black, stark white and red accents. The three-dimmensional quality of certain illustrations is reminiscent of primitive wood carvings. The design of the text pages is effective, with ample white space and an authentic, colonial appearance. Close attention to the details of the poem and time period are apparent. The historical endnote includes a map and informs the reader that Paul Revere was captured before completing his ride to Concord. He was released but sent on his way without his horse. Jeffrey Thompson has contributed his own style to Longfellows poem, in stark contrast to Ted Rand's softer, more classical paintings in his book Paul Revere's Ride. (Dutton, 1990) This is Thompson's first book - an impressive beginning.

Another Revolutionary War rider for freedom was Sybil Ludington. Read about her adventures in Sybil's Night Ride, written and illustrated by Karen B. Winnick. (Boyd's Mill Press, 2000.)

I just finished reading Jeff Shaara's "Rise to Rebellion," a novel about the start of the American Revolution, which includes a chapter on Paul Revere and William Dawes riding to Concord to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them and then go on to Lexington to capture the gunpowder and munitions stored there by the colonial militia. So when I saw "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" I happened to pick it up. I have never been a fan of the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, especially since I remember someone arguing that the only reason he picked Revere to immortalize was because it is hard to rhyme anything with "Dawes." But once I opened up this book and saw what Christopher Bing had done in the way of graving and painting, I was captivated. On the frontpiece there is a letter you can open up that turns out to be a reproduction of a letter from Thomas Gage, the commanding general of the British troops in Boston, giving the 10th Regiment, Foot their fatal mission.

The poem is told over the course of a dozen spreads; the breakdown is not in terms of stanzas and is cued more to the narrative than the form of the poem. But as much as you might enjoy this book if you like poetry, that is nothing compared to what you will think about it if you are a student of history. There are maps of "The Plan for the Secret Expedition to Concord" and "Paul Revere's Ride and the Middlesex Alarm." On the backpiece you can open up a pamphlet being "The Deposition of Paul Revere prepared for the Massachusetts Provincial Congress." Bing might be out to illustrate Longfellow's poem, but he is also very much aware that the poet made up a lot of the details. In his "Miscellany Concerning the Historical Ride of the Patriot Paul Revere" Bing keys his comments to each of this twelve spreads, explaining the "true" history of the fabled ride. In his note on the preparation of this book, Bing take equal pains to explain the stages used in creating his masterful illustrations, which involved a glazing technique to create the "glow" in the nighttime scenes. This is a superb effort and I will definitely track down Bing's earlier volume on Ernest Lawrence Thayer's "Casey at the Bat" and eagerly await anything else this talent conceptual illustrator sets his mind to do.

As a middle school English/Social Studies teacher, I require my students to memorize The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. I was interested in how Christopher Bing had interpreted this most famous poem by Longfellow. I must say that I was stunned by his artistic rendering of the different parts of the poem. Most unique of all was the three dimensional letter attached to the flyleaf which was written by Thomas Gage, the British commander. This letter, sent to Lt. Col. Smith, described how he (Gage) would march a force of men to Concord to seize any munitions the Americans might have stored there. And equally incredible is the three dimensional fold out deposition by Paul Revere which described the actions he took to warn the Americans the British were coming. This book was alive with surprises and "hands on" interactivity. When I tried this book out on my 110 students, they were amazed. Then something really amazing happened....history and a poem came alive, giving them a much fuller understanding of the events of April 18, 1775. The way the poem was layed out page by page even helped them memorize the poem quicker and more accurately. The maps, illustrations, and the miscellany concerning the historical ride lend so much to this famous poem that even the most jaded American historian/teacher could learn all over again why we Americans are who we are and why we do the patriotic things we do. This is a must have book for every red-blooded American! Thank you Christopher Bing for transforming American history.

As any high schooler should know, the Puritans who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony were strongly anti-Catholic in their religious opinions. The very name of their movement came from their desire to "purify" the Church of England by removing most vestiges of Catholicism from its doctrine and liturgy. Moreover, as any true student of history also knows, all the Thanksgiving Day drivel about how the Pilgrims (who were the first contingent of Puritans to settle in Massachusetts) came in search of religious liberty is, at best, only half right: they certainly wanted the liberty to practice their own beliefs, but were notoriously intolerant of others. Thus, Roger Williams and his Baptists were banished to what is now Rhode Island. Quakers were imprisoned. Catholics, likewise, were made most unwelcome.

Harvard College was founded in 1636 by the Puritans, initially with the primary purpose of training their ministers. By the 18th century a solid majority of students were training for secular careers, and represented a spectrum of Protestant denominations. By the 19th century, small numbers of Catholics were attending and, in keeping with the increased secularization of the college, found their beliefs increasingly tolerated. Meanwhile, successive waves of immigration to Harvard's hometown of Cambridge from predominantly Catholic countries (starting with Ireland in the 19th century) created an increasingly Catholic local populace. By the 20th century, after also absorbing immigrants from Italy and Portugal, Cambridge became a majority Catholic town, in which Harvard was an island of Protestant ascendancy (albeit with a growing Catholic minority of its own, which today is about 25% of the student body).

Much of this book focuses on the founding and history of St. Paul's parish in Cambridge, which has been the base for the Catholic chaplaincy at Harvard since the latter portion of the 19th century. St. Paul's also is noted as the home of the Boston archdiocesan choir school, and draws worshippers from a broad geographic radius because of the splendor of its liturgical music.

Additionally, St. Paul's has been the focal point for dialogue between Catholics and non-Catholics at Harvard, and the vehicle for a great number of conversions to Catholicism, including those of people from eminent Protestant families. This story is a major theme in the book. It also tells of the Jesuit Father Feeney who, after establishing an independent base in Harvard Square loosely associated with St. Paul's, won many converts in the 30's and 40's.

This book must have been a labor of love for the author. He was an undergraduate at Harvard, and attended St. Paul's at that time. He has taught classics at the university level since then, and currently is devoting most of his energies to establishing a Catholic university (Eastern Rite) in Ukraine.