Books: Early American

PAUL REVERE & THE WORLD HE LIVED IN—Esther Forbes—Houghton, Mifflin—($3.75).

God did not make Paul Revere a very exciting person, and for all her skill and devotion Biographer Esther Forbes has not managed to do much better. But her 464-page biography of the famous night rider, silversmith, dentist, bell caster, copperplate engraver, and revolutionary politician is absorbing reading. Reason: Paul Revere lived so close to the center of the historical storm of Boston (colonial population about 15,000) which influenced world history ever since that the context makes him impressive.

Biographer Forbes (A Mirror for Witches, O Genteel Lady!) is a persistent rummager in...

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