Henry Knox, Bookseller, Soldier, Patriot - Anita Silvey

Illustrated by Wendell Minor
Clarion Books, 2010, $17.99
40 pgs.
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Lt. Blue map bordered by smaller illustrations.
Illustrations: Acrylic on gessoed wood panels.

This biography made the American Revolution come alive for me, more so than anything I've read in recent memory. And since I've visited Fort Knox in Bucksport, Maine, many times and know of the U. S. gold bullion depository of the same name in Kentucky, the name was familiar. But I knew no particulars about the man. Now I do.

Anita Silvey has created an informative, interesting story. She uses primary sources
- including Knox's own journals and diaries - and seems to have researched extensively. This would be an excellent addition to a study of colonial America, the American Revolution, or a unit on biographies.

At 25, Henry Knox completed the seemingly impossible task of transporting a convoy of huge cannons 300 miles from Ft. Ticonderoga in New York to General Washington in Boston. It was the turning point in the defense of the city of Boston. And from that point onward, Knox appears to have become General Washington's right-hand man and advisor.

Also included are pieces of information on Knox's childhood and marriage (to a Tory!) that add interest.