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Indulge Yourself with the best classic literature on Your PDA. Navigate easily to any novel from Table of Contents or search for the words or phrases.

Customer Reviews (1)

Paine as "Wisdom Literature"
Works of Thomas Paine. Includes Common Sense, The American Crisis, The Rights of Man, The Age of Reason and A Letter Addressed to the Abbe Raynal. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

Thomas Paine is required reading for anyone who wishes to understand the ideas from which America was made real. ... Read more

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The famous 1776 pamphlet Common Sense by Thomas Paine edited and adapted for readers 11 to adult.A breakthrough text for all ages. Adults as well as students will appreciate this concise version which includes an excellent glossary of terms, humorous illustrations, and a sensible timeline that illuminates Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense. The author has a deep love of American History, and it shows all throughout this book as he attempts to reintroduce the documents that made the American Colonies into the United States. Not a watered down version, but a clear and concise version that all readers will appreciate. Then read the original document; you'll have a much better grasp of the pamphlet's power and importance in convincing Colonial America to declare independence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

We have it in our power to begin the world over again
This was a required reading for a graduate humanities class.John Keane's biography succinctly showed that Tom Paine (1737-1809) was the consummate revolutionary and a daring adventurer.Not only was he an important figure in the American Revolution, but he also traveled to France in 1791 to give that revolution a push.Paine traveled from England, just in time to stoke the flames of the revolution with his pamphlet Common Sense, in January 1776.To call Common Sense a sensation in the colonies is actually a bit of an understatement.It was an unparallel sensation and monumental work of Enlightenment rhetoric that quickly fanned the flames of rebellion throughout the colonies.In four months, over 120,000 copies were printed in the colonies--over 500,000 copies by years end.No other pamphlet printed in seventeenth century America came close to its success.Most importantly, Common Sense served to get the colonial patriots to drop their fear of open rebellion, and also emboldened those delegates who favored declaring independence from Britain.The delegates now had the confidence that a large segment of the colonists would support rebellion.Similar to the Declaration of Independence, the philosophical ideas in Common Sense are primarily from the English philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704).The most moving quote from the pamphlet became quite prophetic, when one considers the impact it ultimately had on the delegates in the congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and on the world."We have it in our power to begin the world over again."

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.

More accessible than ever!
One of Thomas Paine's primary goals in writing Common Sense was to distill earlier writing about the conflict such that it was accessible to the common citizen.Now, with The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine, Mark Wilensky has done much the same thing.He has created a version of one of America's most important pieces of literature, easily studied by middle-grade students or consumed over a couple of hours by the average adult reader.

In just 60 pages of large type and generous spacing (there are only about 200 words per page), we learn about all of Paine's main points: how governments form, their general justification, why monarchies are bad, specific problems with England, and on to the incitement to war.Rather than just a condensed Common Sense, however, Wilensky gives us a translation of Paine's outdated English to a more casual, kid-centric language.For example, recall Paine's memorable line, "Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived."In Wilensky's version this line becomes, "Of more worth is 1 honest man to society, than all the bullies who wear the crown of a king!"

In addition to the revised text, Wilensky also provides a great deal of supplementary material.An introduction establishes context and some biographical data about Paine, a 35-year timeline covers the main events of the revolution up to 1776, and a glossary explains those terms that Wilensky chose to keep.There are also about 20 illustrations (some better than others) for more interesting or difficult concepts.

Overall, a very fun book.It is certainly appropriate for the classroom, though it's also great for any reader looking to reacquaint herself with Paine's work or the arguments of the early Revolutionary period.

Buried in Boulder Finals
(LOOK UP THE NEW VERSION HERE ON AMAZON.THE ELEMENTARY COMMON SENSE OF THOMAS PAINE: An Interactive Adaptation for All Ages)

I was given a copy of this book by a friend a few weeks back when finals stormed. As much as I love the original Paine's treatise on breaking from England--I never always fully understood several of the points he was making, and what a completely persuasive rant Common Sense really was. Generally because of the "Olde English." This book really clarified the entire pamphlet. I even kept my original Common Sense open as I read this adapted version, and was amazed at some of the details and imagery I had been missing in the original text. Now, I do feel I really know how a vast number of colonists were persuaded to break from King George III. The cartoons drawn for the book were really laugh out loud as well. I'm still laughing at the "cronyism clambake" t-shirts the titled peers of England are wearing in the book (which I have posted for all to enjoy). I can't imagine any age group not learning a lot from this version. Outstanding.

A non-historian's perspective
As a person who is only mildly interested in history, I found this work to be quite digestible.It is a quick read for an adult who is looking to fill in gaps in their knowledge about this important document, and I think it will prove to be an important tool to whet the interest of young people in the history of this country.The illustrations are particularly germane to the subject matter, and complement it nicely.

Finally It All Makes (Common) Sense
As a teacher of American History, I know it is difficult to find text that really captures the excitement and the richness of the story of the American Revolution.Source doccuments are difficult for students to understand, so, as teachers, we usually end up paraphrasing doccuments before we present them to our classes.Mr. Wilensky has done a fantastic job putting Thomas Paine's Common Sense into words that my students (5th graders) can easily understand.Paine captured the spirit of the American Revolution, and Wilensky captured Paine's spirit and made it available to my students.What an amazing resource this has turned out to be. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (10)

a hard look at the life of a great man
A poor and mostly self educated man
Tom Paine was a strange literary figure out of the American Revolutionary era.
He wrote several very popular books and essays that gave energy
to the struggle against England. He also tried to carry his ideas to Europe
and as a result had his health ruined by a stay in a French prison
and just survived with his neck intact from the terror period of that revolution.
He came home to America to find the winds of change had
cursed his name yet again.
He was a drunkard and used the drunken rage to fuel his
writing at times, but his set of books and essays
survives and puts him in the category of great political writers
of history. There is little doubt the "Common Sense"
was an influence on the fathers of the United States
in the formative era.
This novel seems to be an honest effort to put the man into prospective
and seems well researched as well.
Tom Paine sought to be treated fairly:
to make a world where all man had a fair chance.

citizen tom paine
Written very wellandenjoyableto read. A must read for those interested in hisory.

CITIZEN TOM PAINE-REVOLUTIONARY HERO
Howard Fast, as a part of a series on the American revolution, has written an interesting historical novel based on the exploits of the famous English-born American Revolutionary hero, Tom Paine. Thomas Paine is probably most well-known for his pamphlet COMMON SENSE which did much to galvanize the lower classes in American to support, even if haphazardly, the fight for independence. In fact, the part of the book concerning the distribution of the pamphlet is its most interesting part. If you like drama, history and an engaging, if sullen and unkempt,character this book is for you.

If Leon Trotskywas considered by many to be the "prince of pamphleteers" for his efforts on behalf of the Russian Revolution and socialism then Tom Paine can rightly be regarded as the "prince of pamphleteers"for his efforts on behalf ofthe American and French Revolutions (and its offshoot- the pro-revolutionary English radical movement of the 1790's) and plebian democracy.

Tom Paine, like many important revolutionaries in their time, had an impact on more than one revolutionary movement and therefore justly earned for himselfan honored place in plebian democratic history much to the chagrin of some later historians of these movements. In an age when sales of printed matter were small his tracts sold in the hundreds of thousands and those purchases were not merely for the coffee table at a time when money was dear. That alone helps defines the impact of his work.

Tom Paine, like other revolutionary leaders, has suffered through the ups and downs of reputation depending on the times. His Age of Reason, theconsummate tract in defense of 18th century popular deism, led to a steep decline in his reputation for most of the 19th century, an age in America of religious piety. Even the revolutionary abolitionist John Brown was driven by a religious furor. Paine has fared better lately, in an age that is much more secular and which is not shocked by deist conclusions. Paine also comes in handy as an ally when democratic rights are, like now, under full-scale attack in the name ofthe `war on terrorism'. Let me conclude by saying this, if a closet-Tory likeFounding Father John Adams can look pretty damn good in comparison to today's bourgeois politicians then Tom Paine can rightly take his place as a Founder in the pantheon of revolutionary heroes.

Stirring, tragic historical novel
For those who need a refresher, Paine was the American revolutionary who helped transform a disorderly and often frightened collection of rebellious colonists into a nation with his series of pamphlets, beginning with the famous Common Sense.

When we first meet Paine, he is a frustrated loser on the verge of middle age, unable to break free of the class system that traps him in menial jobs in London. He forces his way into the office of Benjamin Franklin, the minister from the "colonies," who kindly recommends that he emigrate to America. When Paine, who tells Franklin that he "writes a little," comes to Philadelphia, he haltingly finds his true talent at last: as a propagandist. As the colonies hurtle towards revolution, it is Paine who roars the truth in his little pamphlets, giving courage and meaning to the efforts of the rebels.

For the first time in his life, this shambling, lonely, often drunk man is truly alive. Encouraging, exhorting, burning with anger and determination, Paine plays his vital role without thought of personal gain or a plan for the future. Before reading this novel, I hadn't realized how powerful the Tory forces were in America, especially in Philadelphia, nor how many folks simply sat on the sidelines during the war, wishing the whole mess would just go away. At the war's lowest point, Congress hightails it out of Philadelphia (then the capital) and begins talk of sacking George Washington.

Paine took personal responsibility for saving Philadelphia (the capital) from a Tory takeover, an action that may well have saved the country--but at the cost of making powerful enemies. Paine's passion and sacrifice for the cause sets the stage for the tragic second act of the book. Now a throughly committed revolutionary, Paine doesn't know what to do with himself after the American Revolution comes to an end.

He is once again a wanderer, but now he has a reputation to uphold. The only real satisfaction he can find is as a revolutionist, on the run from the authorities. He returns to England and tries to spark an uprising there. Eventually, disillusionment sets in. Paine learns that his desire to change the world is not enough.

Paine then becomes caught up in the French Revolution and is lucky to escape with his head. Falsely accused of atheism for some of his writings in France, Paine lives out his remaining years in America, despised by the very country he helped to create.

While not a jolly tale, Citizen Tom Paine is a compelling, gripping read. Fast himself was a radical, but this novel is no propaganda piece for radical politics. Instead, Fast examines with clear eyes and a compassionate heart the tragedy that befalls a creative man who can't be content with the temporizing and sorry realities of everyday life. This is a timeless story of idealism, its triumphs, and its limitations.

Don't Know Much About History?
Let's play word association. Thomas Paine. Did you say Common Sense? So did I. In fact, that's about all I knew of Paine before picking up Howard Fast's piece of historical fiction about the revolutionary. It's not surprising that this should be what Paine is best remembered for. The "small book" appears to have been a bigger hit than the Da Vinci Code and was read by people across the intellectual spectrum. Paine became known to American soldiers and militiamen as "Common Sense". Paine was perhaps America's first motivational speaker.

There is more to Paine than Common Sense, however, and Howard Fast does a marvelous job leading us up to the point that Paine writes his masterpiece and beyond to his eventual demise and ridicule until his death. Along the way, Paine wrote a series of "Crisis" papers that picked up where Common Sense left off and re-inspired discouraged fighters. It is to Paine that we owe the line "these are the times that try men's souls." Paine later tried to become a revolution mercenary, trying his hand (unsuccessfully) in England and (arguably more successfully) in France. He was so well received in France that he became a deputy to the National Assembly.

A better historian -- or high school student -- would probably already know all of this about Paine. If you fall into that category, Citizen Tom Paine may be a waste of time. But if your knowledge of this gruff, intelligent, less-than-handsome revolutionary is as shallow as mine was, Citizen Tom Paine is a worthwhile read that has become a classic piece of historical fiction. ... Read more

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This concise, insightful study explores the sources and impact of one of the early republic's most influential minds.

An Englishman by birth, an American by choice and necessity, Thomas Paine advocated ideas about rights, equality, democracy, and liberty that were far advanced beyond those of his American compatriots. His seminal works, Common Sense and the Rights of Man, were rallying cries for the American and French Revolutions. More than any other eighteenth-century political writer and activist, Paine defies easy categorization. A man of contrasts and contradictions, Paine was as much a believer in the power of reason as he was in a benevolent deity. He was at once liberal and conservative, a Quaker who was not a pacifist, and an inherently gifted writer who was convinced he was always right.

Jack Fruchtman Jr. analyzes Paine's radical thought both in the context of his time and as a blueprint for the future development of republican government. His systematic approach identifies the themes of signal importance to Paine's political thought, demonstrating especially how crucial religion and God were to the development and expression of his political ideals.

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The Age of Reason is one of the most powerful thought provoking books ever written about God and religion. It smashes through the ancient wall of superstition and fear of the "revealed" religions with the unstoppable battering ram of our God-given reason! Thomas Paine was often attacked for having written this enlightening book, but his arguments and profound observations found within have never been defeated. This edition contains the seldom seen third part to The Age of Reason and, unlike any other editions, also includes all of Thomas Paine's known essays and correspondence regarding God, Deism, the Bible and theology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Hobo Philosopher
Tom Paine

The Age of Reason

Tom Paine:

"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life.
I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow creatures happy.

"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church. All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.
Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe."

Review:

With the current controversies with regards to religion, the Bible and Christianity, I am at a loss to understand why "The Age Of Reason" by Tom Paine is not a million seller. I have found that although many people, famous and otherwise, often quote or paraphrase Tom Paine, few have actually taken the time to read what he had to say.

Whether you are a defender of established religion or a detractor, you should read "The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine. If you are a defender of the Bible or any religion other than Deism then you are going to have a challenge defending your views against the logic contained in this book. If you think that you know the "truth" then you should not fear such a challenge.

What this book has to say is as valid and logical as the day it was written.

I do not understand why the religious apologists of today have not taken this book and debated it line for line. Instead, no one even mentions it. It is as though this book were never written. Instead they continue to promote the same old defeated arguments with a modern day spin. It does make any honest man question their sincerity.

The first section of the book challenges the Old Testament and the second part the New Testament. Since first reading this book, I have read more detailed, more philosophical and more historical criticisms of the Bible and Christianity. But in this volume Tom Paine does a very good job of stepping on the basic bases for argument with regards to the Bible and its authenticity. The book is very easy to read even though it was written in the 1790s. Tom Paine writes in much the style of today - which seems rather amazing when you look up many other of the writers of the period. In those days the established writers criticized Tom Paine's writing as being common and untrained. Well, for better or worse, it seems that the common and the untrained has become the language of today.

This book deserves to be read, of course, as a history book but it also merits a place as a philosophy book - certainly an exercise in logic and critical thinking.

Tom Paine is so sensible he is shocking. He is still shocking today. I remember as a teenager when I first read the introductory pages in chapter II discussing the Virgin Birth. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement.

But this is just vintage Tom Paine. If you sit down and start reading the "Crisis Papers" you will be equally shocked. You will wonder where this man got the audacity, the confidence; the courage; the balls! This man's whole career is one of a fearless disregard for consequences and an all out embrace of what he understood to be the truth. Tom just said it like he saw it. Most of us, even today, learn not to do that - it can be very troublesome; and so it was for Tom.

The "Crisis Papers" made Tom famous and a hero. "The Rights of Man" only served to enhance this heroic reputation. "The Age of Reason," though no different in style, character, straightforwardness, and courage, destroyed him.

He wrote this book while sitting in a prison cell in France during the French Revolution - waiting to have his head chopped off. He had no reference material and wrote the book entirely from memory. This seems impossible to me.

In the introduction he tells the reader that his intention was to publish this book posthumously, but since he was about to die - this appeared a good a time as any.

Fortunately or unfortunately, as the case may be, Tom lived - to be chided, derided and harassed for the remainder of his life. After all his great and patriotic achievements the people could not forgive him his trespasses when it came to honestly expressing his thoughts on religion. It does seem strange that everyone could respect his honesty in all else he did and said; but when it came to religion - he was suddenly a liar, a hypocrite and an infidel. You can tell the people anything that you want - but don't tell them that you don't believe in their God; whatever God that may be.

The people of the time could respect courage and truth in War, and respect truth and courage in politics but when it came to religion and the Bible - their ears were closed and their fists were clenched.

Unfortunately we seem to be returning to those days of yesteryear and today we have no Lone Ranger to protect us - we don't even have a Tonto.

I put this book on my blog several months ago as one of my favorite books and since then I have checked it for links to other blogs and individuals in the infinite blogosphere. So far there is not one other blogger who has listed "The Age of Reason" as one of their favorite books. (I just checked to be sure - there are now three others.)

Books written by Richard Noble - The Hobo Philosopher:
"Hobo-ing America: A Workingman's Tour of the U.S.A.."
"A Summer with Charlie" Salisbury Beach, Lawrence YMCA
"A Little Something: Poetry and Prose
"Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother" Novel - Lawrence, Ma.
"The Eastpointer" Selections from award winning column.
"Noble Notes on Famous Folks" Humor - satire - facts.
"America on Strike" American Labor - History
"A Baker's Dozen" Short Stories

Deism is a Beautiful Philosophy

It never ceases to amaze me how relevant Thomas Paine's theological work is
to our modern era. To me it is like he wrote the contents of this book (The Age of Reason: The Complete Edition) today.

This is a great compilation.

Mr. Paine knew God very well, as well as a man can know God on this plane.

Mr. Paine was very smart, and very courageous.

To him the American Revolution was a revolution in government and religion.

Deism is a beautiful philosophy that sees God through nature.

Our God-given reason speaks to us of this Creator.

I think a lot of people are Deists, believing in God, but not the madness of mind control "revealed" religion.

Think for yourself!

Follow the peacefulness of God, who moves through the silence, not the noise of false prophets,
who will tell you what God wants you to do ... for them. God doesn't need your tithes. God is, with or without you.
But if you feel the pull of your Creator in your spirit, this most excellent book can make the Author of the Universe clearer for you, and cost you only the price of the book.

The compilers of this book (The World Union of Deists) did a great job. Check it out.

I didn't know Tom Paine wrote so much about about religion and Deism!
Thomas Paine was a very busy man! Not only was he essential to getting the American Revolution started with Common Sense and also essential in keeping it going to a successful end when others wanted to quit by writing The Crisis, he also wrote THREE parts to The Age of Reason along with hundreds of pages of essays and letters regarding God, Deism, etc. And all of his writings on the topic of God and religion are in this one volume!

It's interesting in particular to read his correspondence with Sam Adams. Adams was a devout Christian and Thomas Paine was a strong Deist. However, they exchanged ideas in a civil way. A lot can be learned from them!

This book is overflowing with a deep understanding and appreciation of God. Since Paine was a Deist, there is no confusing God with religion. This is very liberating! All of his enlightening observations are very applicable today.

Many people attacked Paine, and still do, for being too tough on Christianity, the Bible and the other revealed religions. However, it is evident from reading this book the reason he was so unrelenting with them and their claims of revelations is due to his profound love and respect of God. It angered him that the men who wrote the Bible said that God called for the mass genocide found throughout the Old Testament or that God was so stupid that he was outsmarted by a talking snake and had to become a man to be crucified to correct that error.

Paine makes the point that the only possible Word of God is the Creation itself. As he makes clear in this book, no one but the Creator could have made the Creation, whereas anybody could have written the Bible or the Koran.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of God. Paine brings about an as near perfect balance as is possible between reason and belief. This is one of those books that you will need to read with a highlighter in hand as it's loaded with enlightening and thought provoking ideas! ... Read more

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This Halcyon Classics ebook edition contains five of Thomas Paine's works, including 'Common Sense.'Includes an active table of contents.

Contents

Common Sense
The American Crisis
The Rights of Man
The Age of Reason
A Letter to Abbe Reynal
... Read more

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C&C Web Press brings you Thomas Paine's classic book The Age of Reason. The Age of Reason investigates true theology and questions aspects of the Bible. This is considered to be Paine's pinnacle book and was one of the only books like it of its time.

Selection includes an active table of contents. ... Read more

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"These are the times that try men's souls." With these words Thomas Paine begins a series of letters to unite the colonies in the war for independence. Later known as The Crisis, these letters will span six years and unite the fledgling nation around the cause of freedom. Even General Washington uses Paine's words to inspire the troops at Valley Forge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The American Crisis
These pamphlets feature Paine's account of the American Revolution.His commentary has historical importance, although he generally puts a positive spin on things (in order to sustain morale during that time).However, The Crisis is not as engaging or smooth a read as his other works.Indeed, at times this book can be downright tedious to get through.But if you're particularly interested in the American Revolution or Thomas Paine's thought, then this book can be of some value.

Unsung Hero
Thomas Paine was responsible for organizing the colonies in order to start the Revolutionary War, I highly recommend this and all books about Thomas Paine as he was one of those special people that was ahead of his time.This book was shipped quickly and packed well.I highly recommend the book and sellers. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (13)

Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself
Hitchens does a great job of highlighting the political genius of Thomas Paine.For Paine, the eighteenth century was the Age of Enlightenment because for the first time humankind was throwing off the millstones of religious dogmatism and political despotism.Paine essentially believed that the rights of man encompassed, "...all the intellectual rights, or rights of the mind, and also all those rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happiness, which are not injurious to the natural rights of others."

Paine's Rights of Man was an eloquent yet blistering rebuttal to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.Paine got right to the crux of the disagreement he had with Burke when he admonished him for his argument that governmental enactments of previous generations had the force and authority to bind citizens for all time.An example that Burke used was the English Parliament of 1688, which he praised as a model of the type of reform French citizens should emulate.Paine's answer was swift and cutting "Radical Enlightenment" reason."Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself, in all cases, as the ages and generations which preceded it.The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave, is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies."Paine also took Burke to task for his narrow understanding of French socio-political and economic problems leading up to 1789.Unlike Burke, Paine understood that the French Revolution, unlike the others that took place in Europe, was not just a revolt against the king."Between the monarchy, the parliament, and the church, there was a rivalship of despotism, besides the feudal despotism operating locally, and the ministerial despotism operating everywhere."Thus, what Paine witnessed, Alexis de Tocqueville and Georges Lefebvre observed, agreed with, and commented on, in their history's years later.The institutions that Burke defended in his Reflections, such as the nobility, Church, and monarchial rule, all became "fodder" for Paine's "grist mill" in his defense of France's new constitution.

Paine abhorred the institution of nobility and supported its dissolution for several reasons."Because the idea of hereditary legislation is as inconsistent...and absurd as an hereditary mathematician....Because it is continuing the uncivilized principle of governments founded in conquest, and the base idea of man having property over man, and governing him by personal right."No friend to tradition, Paine took Burke to task for defending the notion of, "...hereditary rights, and hereditary succession, and that a Nation has not a right to form a Government for itself."Paine defended the French constitution's eradication of tithes to the Catholic Church and it "...hath abolished or renounced Toleration, and Intolerance also, hath established UNIVERSAL RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE."Finally, Paine unleashed a most scathing attack against Burke's suggestion that France should reform its absolutist monarchy into a benign form of constitutional monarchy similar to what Britain enjoyed."All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny.""It occasionally puts children over men, and the conceits of nonage over wisdom and experience.In short, we cannot conceive a more ridiculous figure of government, than hereditary succession."

Thus, Paine's Radical Enlightenment polemic, which sold more than 200,000 copies throughout Europe, was his reasoned and articulate project towards developing a better world.Consequently, there is no doubt that Paine, whose Radical Enlightenment pen proved to be "mightier than the sword" of despotism both in the American and French Revolutions, understood the importance of the nurturing relationship that Enlightenment philosophes had on the French Revolution."But all those writings and many others had their weight; and by the different manner in which they treated the subject of government...by their moral maxims and systems of economy, readers of every class met with something to their taste."

Recommended reading for anyone interested in political philosophy, enlightenment history, and the French Revolution.

Hitchens injects too many of his own views instead of concentrating on Thomas Paine
I read the first third of the book but then grew tired of it. Its a good book when he focuses on Thomas Paine, but Hitchens can not resist injecting his own views and biases into the book.

When Christopher Hitchens agrees with Thomas Paine he calls him a "free thinker". Which unsurprisingly used today as an euphemism for atheism. The author then criticizes Paine for using the Bible as a justification for individual liberties. But in the 18th century the bible was the essentially the only book that everyone had read. So to use the bibles arguments and analogies to justify your case was not pandering. It was not pandering it was teaching the common man with examples that the he would understand.

If Christopher Hitchens is a "Thomas Paine for our times" he would be a religious, individualist, but Hitchens is neither.Mr. Hitchens disagrees with Paine stance on religion and quarantining rights that favor collective action as opposed favoring individual rights that protected and guaranteed from the collective action.

Tom Paine. . .by Hitchens
I had forgotten how much American History I have forgotten. Even that Paine was English, not to mention vital dates in and around the revolution. Christopher Hitchens is always a delight to read and makes men and events come to life.

A Revolutionary Tilt Towards Greater Aspirations
Thomas Paine began a unique tradition for American writers. His unbalanced lifestyle existed in contrast to a brilliant mind but his abilities were limited to righteous inspirations. As Christopher Hitchens so intricately penned, Paine was a revolutionary in thought and deed but tried to reach beyond the power of his influence. This book delves into the chronography of his rise and the comparison between his works and those of Burke and Jefferson. As always Hitchens writing style evokes both historical clamor and his own revolutionary tilt towards greater aspirations. It's almost too deep to absorb in one take. You might have to read it twice.

Christopher Hitchens:"a Tom Paine for our troubled times."
Christopher Hitchens is something of an Oxford-educated, free-thinking Renaissance Man: author, journalist, literary critic, columnist, polemicist, intellectual, former Trotskyist, and (as of 2007), an American citizen.Although he admires George Orwell, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, James Joyce, Richard Dawkins, and Barack Obama, he is sharply critical of Mother Teresa, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Jerry Falwell, and Michael Moore.As demonstrated in his best-selling book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Hitchens is an ardent believer in the Enlightenment values of secularism, humanism, and reason."Above all," he writes in God Is Not Great, "we are in need of a renewed Enlightenment, which will base itself on the proposition that the proper study of mankind is man, and woman . . . And all this and more is, for the first time in our history, within the reach if not the grasp of everyone" (p. 283).

Hitchens has been recognized as one of the world's "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" and "a Tom Paine for our troubled times" (The Independent, London). In his entertaining 2006 essay, Thomas Paine (Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man": A Biography), Hitchens examines the history of "The Rights of Man" and analyzes its contemporary significance.Thomas Paine (1737-1809), much like Hitchens, was a pamphleteer, radical, and intellectual revolutionary.Best known for his pamphlet Common Sense (1776), which inspired the American Revolution, he also wrote his passionate guide to human rights, Rights of Man(1791), in response to Edmund Burke's attack upon popular government in Reflections on the Revolution in France. Hitchens' basic premise is that Paine's treatise on the Enlightenment values of human rights and reason was the philosophical foundation of the United States, and that it is now essential that we revisit Paine's "paean to human liberty" in a time when both our rights and reason are under attack: "In a time when both rights and reason are under several kinds of open and covert attack," Hitchens writes, "the life and writing of Thomas Paine will always be part of the arsenal on which we shall need to depend." Highly recommended.

G. Merritt ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Essential Reading for all Americans
I. INTRODUCTION. Written Feb 14, 1776, Thomas Paine identified the conflict against the Colonies as "declaring war against the natural rights of all mankind (which is) ... the concern of every man."

II. OF THE ORIGIN AND DESIGN OF GOVERNMENT IN GENERAL, WITH CONCISE REMARKS ON THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION.Paine explains the difference between society and government, wherein society is a blessing created by wants and government is created as a punisher (invariably to protect our property and rights). When society is small, the entire body can vote on matters; but as society grows, then representative government develops. And although the English Constitution is supposed to protect the people from abuses, he finds that farcical due to issues with the King (heredity and thirst for absolute power), with the House of Lords (inherited positions); and persons of the commons (are they any more virtuous or wiser than the King?) So, Paine states that inquiry is essential.

III. OF MONARCHY AND HEREDITARY SUCCESSION. Paine writes that male and female are states of nature, but kings and subjects are not. He explains that Government by King ... "was the most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of idolatry."He then explains that the Children of Israel went from a republic administered by a judge and elders of tribes to being a monarchy despite the Almighty's protest. He also explains the absurdity of hereditary rights and perpetual preference which can result in war, slavery and impoverishing the nation.

IV. THOUGHTS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF AMERICAN AFFAIRS. Paine provides facts, arguments and common sense as to why the colonies should be independent, identifying Britain as a brute who is devouring its young. He states that Europe, not England, is the parent of American immigrants, hence the argument for reconciling parent and child is just a fallacious dream, as is the idea of a continent being ruled by a small island. He considered possible reconciliation until the Massacre at Lexington (April 1775), and that colonists with nothing more to lose (lives, homes, families) disdain submission to a King.Identifying the King as our greatest enemy, he wrote that independence would provide the ability to make our own laws; and law would become America's new King.

V. OF THE PRESENT ABILITY OF AMERICA, WITH SOME MISCELLANEOUS REFLECTIONS
The British fleet and massive debt are compared to America's resources and future. Paine concludes with four key reasons why a declaration of independence is essential.

This version of Common Sense includes an Appendix written after the King's speech.

This cornerstone document should be mandatory in every social studies class so that our younger generations understand the reasons for our war for independence.

Reviewed by Dr. B L Baker, author of:
Tea Party Revival - The Conscience of a Conservative Reborn: The Tea Party Revolt Against Unconstrained Spending and Growth of the Federal Government
... Read more

Product Description
Exactly forty years have passed since Ruth Hyde Paine, a Quaker housewife in suburban Dallas, offered shelter and assistance to a young man named Lee Harvey Oswald and his Russian wife, Marina. Mrs. Paine's Garage is the tragic story of this well-intentioned woman who found Oswald the job that put him six floors above Dealey Plaza-into which, on November 22, 1963, he fired a rifle he'd kept hidden inside Mrs. Paine's house. But this is also a tale of survival and resilience: the story of a devout, open-hearted woman who weathered a whirlwind of suspicion and betrayal, and who refused to allow her connection to the calamity of that November to destroy her life. From these stories Thomas Mallon has fashioned an account of generosity and secrets, tragic might-have-beens and eerie coincidences, that unfolds with a gripping inevitability.
Amazon.com Review
Ruth Paine befriended Marina Oswald and found Marina's husband, Lee Harvey, a job in the Texas State Book Depository. Thomas Mallon's Mrs. Paine's Garagerevisits the brief intersection of these three lives--what he calls a "collision of innocent intentions and unforeseen enormities." Mallon details the nine-month Paine/Oswald friendship and its rapid post-assassination disintegration. He then sketches Paine's life since (from her testimony before various congressional committees to her current low-profile residence in Florida) and summarizes Paine's place in the churning, obsessive world of conspiracy theorists with snippets of humor. (Former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison is "Elmer Gantry with subpoena power.") This extended footnote to a footnote to a tragedy, though losing focus and energy by its end, is brisk, revelatory and even-handed. It also handily dispels several seemingly ominous coincidences about the events of November 22, 1963. --H. O'Billovitch ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Casting a Rare Light
It's interesting when reading interviews with intimate witnesses of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, there is not a shred of doubt within their minds Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman. Thomas Mallon's literate and stunningly good 2002 biography of Ruth Paine "Mrs. Paine's Garage: And the Murder of John F. Kennedy," is one of the most revealing books ever written about the tragedy. Its focus is razor sharp, detailing the idealism and struggles of the times. Most importantly, it documents commonly flawed human beings caught up in the incredible hurricane of chaos following the assassination.

Several occurrences took place on Nov. 22, 1963 defying logic having much to do with planting seeds of disbelief. Why and how did Oswald shoot Kennedy? We will never have answers to these questions (Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery, With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit). Like soldiers charging into withering fire, it comes down to blind luck, good or bad, swirling amidst confusion. The acceptance of such is mundane, and yet, is any person's life mundane?

With great earnest, Mallon has researched the life of Ruth Paine and the domestic spirit of her unique home in Irving, Texas. It was here Oswald slept the night before the assassination and where he stored the infamous rifle in the garage. It was here his wife Marina lived with their two infant children. Mallon thoughtfully documents the weeks leading up to the assassination, with specific detail of Nov. 21, when Oswald paid a surprise visit to the Irving home, and Nov. 22, when he rode with a neighbor to the Texas School Book Depository. Ultimately, the house is overrun with Dallas police, the FBI and magazine photographers.

As Mallon details, Ruth and husband Michael fatefully befriended the Oswalds after meeting them at a party. They visited the Neely Street address in Oak Cliff where they lived. Eventually Lee, struggling with unemployment, moves to New Orleans while his wife and kids stay at Ruth's home. Ruth and Michael are separated and preparing for divorce, and in Marina, Ruth finds what she believes to be a kindred spirit. She also has an interest in learning to speak Russian. If this sounds peculiar, Mallon has proven it's really not. Ruth's Quaker upbringing, combined with an inquisitive and positive spirit, is detailed by Mallon through interviews and her own writings, some of which date to high school. He brings to life this unique woman, a northern-bred liberal isolated in the conservative conclave of suburban Dallas.

Within hours of the assassination, Marina and her children are stowed away by the Secret Service and Ruth is confronted with the reality of never seeing her friend again. It's a harsh circumstance, inspired by Lee's erratic mother Marguerite, an affair Marina would have with Lee's brother Robert, and Marina's own guilt at having been secretly aware of her husband's violence (he previously tried to assassinate Dallas conservative Edwin Walker).

Mallon reveals just about everyone in the Paine household, with the exception of Ruth, was aware of Oswald's rifle in the garage. Ruth, fervently anti-gun, would not have tolerated the weapon. When police arrive, to Ruth's utter shock Marina leads them to the garage where the rifle was stored. The rifle is missing and, as Ruth says today, "That was the first moment I realized Lee shot the president."

Mallon uncovers an interesting footnote involving Ruth's husband Michael. When he visited the Neely Street home, Lee proudly presented the now-famous photograph of himself standing in the backyard holding the rifle. Such an occurrence, which he did not tell the Warren Commission (The Warren Commission Report: Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy), is proof not only the photographs are genuine, but even at this time Oswald was creating a violent image of a political soldier. Oddly Michael, who appears to be maddeningly self-centered and distant, was also aware of the rifle in the garage but chose not to tell his wife. And so, Ruth's memories of 1963, intertwined with her divorce and Marina's rejection of their friendship (Ruth would write desperate letters to her for several years offering assistance), are eventually emotional scars. Had she known about the rifle, perhaps she could have stopped the epic tragedy to come.

With observant literacy, Mallon details the rise of conspiracy theories and analyzes Oliver Stone's bombastic 1991 film JFK - Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition). Ruth herself finds the work and theories they present to be utter fantasy. When told Marina now believes Lee was involved in a conspiracy, Ruth simply says, "I thought she was smarter than that." "Mrs. Paine's Garage" is a deeply intelligent work casting rare light on one of the darkest moments in American history.

Who Did It?
Who shot Kennedy is covered in this book. Direct, well written, and factual. All the answers are in this book.

Mrs. Paine.....
Very good book taking information from the account of the landlord for Marina Oswald at the time of the shooting....I read the whole thing....Interesting addtl info re: Dallas happening.

A Small Book, Not a Slight One
Thomas Mallon has written about Ruth Paine, the woman who found she had harboured one of the most infamous criminals of all time- Lee Harvey Oswald.Whatever you believe about the Kennedy assassination, you'll appreciate Mallon's glimpse at what it was like to be standing right next to one of the most important, disruptive, and tragic events of the twentieth century. Ruth Paine is revealed to be a woman with a very sure sense of who she is and what she stands for, a woman who- almost alone among survivors truly close to the assassination- refuses to be defined by her proximity to what happened that day in Dealey Plaza.

Mallon's skill at conveying a sense of what the world was like in 1963 is remarkable, and very welcome. In several paragraphs, he details just how un-sophisticated a planet we lived on then; it was a day of hand-typed copies instead of Xeroxes and the 8-cent stamp instead of e-mail. As someone who was around at that time, I've often wished that more authors dealing with this topic would take more care to remind readers that the world was a very different place then.Forgetting that has led many assassination researchers and theorists down many a specious and unproductive pathway. One example (which is not to be found in Mallon's work) is Michael Paine's ownership of a Minox camera.Today's researchers have made the most prodigious hay out of that, never suspecting the truth- the Minox was heavily promoted and sold in the early Sixties as a toy for the well-off (which Mr. Paine was, despite his unassuming lifestyle), advertised in 'National Geographic'. The camera- in the context of its time- was no more meaningful than possession of a laptop is today.Yes, both COULD be used for nefarious purposes, but most owners use their laptops for peaceful, private purposes, and so did most Minox buffs.Mallon's work is always scrupulous in remembering the difference between Now and Then, and it is most refreshing.

Ruth Paine seems to have given much of herself to Mallon, and therefore to us.She is revealed to have been very pained at several questions and revelations that came up both before and during the interviews for the book, but she seems never to have cut off the author's lines of inquiry, nor even to have directed them, answering frankly.Touchingly, Mallon's research revealed things to Ruth Paine even she had not known about the central event of her life, and her reactions to them are interesting indeed.

Mallon has not produced a perfect book- there does not seem to have been much direct questioning of Mrs. Paine on some of the topics that assassination researchers raise the most questions about (that Minox, for one), and so the book will give a great deal of unnecessary ammunition to those who feel that Mrs. Paine has something to hide, rather than clearing matters once and for all. And there are a few places where Mallon does not make clear that he's quoting from previously published material, giving rise to the impression that he interviewed people he did not.While a reader familiar with the subject will be able to discern immediately that, say, Robert Oswald did not grant Mallon an interview, the author waits a bit to let the average reader in on that.

Still, it's a remarkable look at a remarkable witness to history, a woman who has had staggering events roll over her, and like the slender reed she resembles, has sprung back, ready for new life, ready to bend in new directions, respecting the force of the storm, but quietly, serenely confident in her ability to survive it.

PAINE-FUL RECOLLECTIONS OF JFK MURDER
Thomas Mallon's most recent foray into "non-fiction," is not only a disappointment. It's a disgrace. The book's a bust not so much for what it is but for what it fails to be.
Mallon's subjects, Ruth and her ex-husband, Michael Paine, were the young couple who befriended Lee and Marina Oswald
in early 1963. When President John F. Kennedy's long-awaited visit to Dallas rolled around on Nov. 22, 1963, Marina was living at Ruth's house in Irving, Texas. Lee Oswald, who would eventually be charged with the president's gunshot slaying, spent the night before the assassination there at Ruth's home. When Dallas police appeared at the Irving address on that fateful Friday afternoon, Marina told them Lee's rifle was in the garage. When they searched, the gun was missing.

Mallon could've delved deeply into the Paines' background, revealing their family's relationship, for instance, to former CIA Director Allen Dulles, who became one of the primary investigators into the Kennedy assassination. When the Paines each testified before the Warren Commission in 1964, Dulles oversaw their questioning. For many years, Michael's New England-based mother and stepfather, Ruth and Arthur Young, had been close friends of Mary Bancroft, Dulles' mistress dating back to his days as an undercover operative in Switzerland during World War II.If the public had known in 1964 about the Paine family's ties to Dulles, the Warren Commission may have been exposed for the sham that it was, a tool of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Hoover and Johnson both desperately wanted the JFK hit to dissolve swiftly into history, attributed to a "lone nut," Oswald, who in turn was assassinated by another "lone nut," Big D nightclub operator Jack Ruby. Mallon is apparently among the shrinking number of Americans who swallow that unlikely scenario, the double-lone nut theory.
Instead of exploring the Paines' unholy alliance with Dulles in this book, Mallon wallows in Ruth's Quakerism and her worries over her lost friendship with Marina. Instead of examining Michael's classified work at Bell Helicopter or his father's interest in the assassination of Leon Trotsky, he describes the husband's fascination with cabinetry and contradancing. In doing so, Mallon effectively trivializes the JFK murder and expressly taunts conspiracy theorists who insist that the Paines deserve more serious probing. Mallon actually mocks longtime assassination researchers by comparing them to "Trekkies," the cult-like followers of a long-ago canceled TV science fiction show. Having endeared himself to Ruth, courting her carefully over years via mail and telephone in order secure her permission to interview her at length about the murder of the president, Mallon literally sold out. The Westport, Conn. writer boasts a lengthy and impressive resume, having cranked out well-received novels such as "Dewey Defeats Truman." His years of experience fail him here, however, as he relies on his literary talents to dance around issues he should have more fully embraced.
Specifically, he simply labels such facts as the Dulles connection as mere "coincidence." In making this point, Mallon quotes two people: Ruth's mother, who blames "fate" for her daughter's unusual notoriety, and Norman Mailer, author of "Oswald's Tale," a mid-90s biography of the alleged assassin.In "Oswald's Tale," Mallon neglects to inform readers of "Mrs. Paine's Garage," Mailer actually asserted that -- given the unlikelihood of the Warren Report's single-bullet theory -- a second gunman may well have stood, completely by chance, firing at JFK from behind the stockade fence on the grassy knoll in front of the presidential limousine while Oswald fired from behind, totally oblivious to the other shooter!After reading illogical deductions such as that, you can see why writers such as Mailer and Mallon remain more highly admired for their fiction than for their non-fiction.
To illustrate his insistence that coincidence ruled the Paines' fate, Mallon concludes his book by relating a story about Mr. and Mrs., Raymond Entenmann, former Paine pals who happened to help stock JFK's Fort Worth Hotel room with artwork on the night of Nov. 21-22, 1963.The Entenmanns have nothing to do with the killing of the president, of course, but Mallon seems to be saying that since the Paines knew the Entenmanns, it's also logical that they may have known Dulles as well or Dallas FBI agent James Hosty, or that we shouldn't be surprised that Ruth's father worked for a CIA-related development agency in South America or that Michael's father-in-law was an inventor for Bell Helicopter and his father, Lyman Paine, had been a prominent follower of Soviet expatriate Leon Trotsky.
Although they both gave lengthy testimony before the Warren Commission in 1964, neither of the Paines were called before the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1979 nor before the Assassination Records Review Board in the mid-1990s.
Now THERE's a coincidence that bears explaining, because both Ruth and Michael, now in their early-70s, still have plenty to answer for. They sure didn't tell Mallon anything other than what they WANT people to hear, and he was oh-so-agreeable to participate in that subtle subterfuge. ... Read more

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Leatherbound with gold gilt page edges. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nice cover.Original print hard to read.
It is a beautiful edition with the original print.The font does make it harder to read as "f" and "s" are very similar. ... Read more

Product Description
Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Common Sense, signed "Written by an Englishman", became an immediate success. In relation to the population of the Colonies at that time, it had the largest sale and circulation of any book in American history.Common Sense presented the American colonists with a powerful argument for independence from British rule at a time when the question of independence was still undecided. ... Read more

Product Description
"If you believe it's time to put principles above parties, character above campaign promises, and Common Sense above all -- then I ask you to read this book...."

In any era, great Americans inspire us to reach our full potential. They know with conviction what they believe within themselves. They understand that all actions have consequences. And they find commonsense solutions to the nation's problems.

One such American, Thomas Paine, was an ordinary man who changed the course of history by penning Common Sense, the concise 1776 masterpiece in which, through extraordinarily straightforward and indisputable arguments, he encouraged his fellow citizens to take control of America's future -- and, ultimately, her freedom.

Nearly two and a half centuries later, those very freedoms once again hang in the balance. And now, Glenn Beck revisits Paine's powerful treatise with one purpose: to galvanize Americans to see past government's easy solutions, two-part monopoly, and illogical methods and take back our great country. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1143)

Common Sense, and the Lack Thereof
This volume consists of:
....Glenn Beck's COMMON SENSE on pp. 3-110 (108 pp) and
.Thomas Paine's COMMON SENSE on pp. 115-167 (53 pp)

GLENN BECK'S COMMON SENSE consists of:

Introduction (5 pp) addressed explicitly to the reader; nearly every paragraph begins with "You".
Much of this I can agree with, but his mind-reading of me clearly isn't perfect, witness the second paragraph on page 5:
"You don't hate people who are different from you," [so far, so good; I don't hate] "but you stopped expressing opinions on sensitive issues a long time ago" [see my oh-so-bland??? reviews on Amazon] "because you don't want to be called a racist, bigot, or homophobe if you stand by your values and principles." [ok, I really don't want to be called racist, bigot, or homophobe, but it never before occurred to me to fear being so called for my firm support of equal rights for everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.]

Chapters 1 thru 4 contain many true observations, and many that are false.It is a well-known propaganda technique to make several statements that are obviously true and then, while the reader or listener is used to thinking 'yes' slip in a false claim and then several more truths, and many will just continue to agree without realizing that a joker slipped past.I will limit myself to one truth and one joker from each chapter.

Chapter I:
Truth:"I sincerely believe that no discussion or debate is un-American,I agree with the Founding Fathers that it is only on the battlefield of ideas that the best ones can be recognized and ultimately prevail."

Joker:"Compassion, we are told, was a victim of capitalism.We should now see that for the lie it is.Compassion and capitalism go hand in hand . . . ." [like when Henry Ford raised the pay of his workers and the Dodge Brothers, as stockholders, successfully sued him for paying his workers money that could have gone to the stockholders.Capitalism, the court found, made compassion illegal, a violation of Ford's fiduciary obligation to the stockholders to pay his workers as little as possible.]

Chapter II:
Truth:"There was a time when our political leaders inspired America to greatness and motivated us to face daunting challenges with Courage and resolve."

Joker:"Social Security is a great example of a 'legal Ponzi scheme' . . . Since we now have a [SS] trust fund stuffed with nearly worthless IOUs . . . ."[The SS Trust Fund consists of bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the USA, just about the furthest thing imaginable from "nearly worthless IOUs." Mr. Ponzi did not make any investments; he paid the early investors with money newly received for investment, and madoff with the later investors' savings.]

Chapter III:
Truth:"An income tax that was promised to only apply [sic] to the wealthiest 1 percent in 1913 quickly grew to 5 percent in 1939 and then, following World War II, to almost 75 [percent of all Americans.]"

Joker:" The Progressive movement . . . saw America as a democracy rather than what it really is: a Republic."As you can see from the relevant definitions of both from Dictionary.com, Mr. Beck is making a distinction that is virtually without a difference.America fits either definition; it is a democracy and it is a republic:
de·moc·ra·cy
-noun, plural -cies.
1.government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2.a state having such a form of government: The United States and Canada are democracies.
re·pub·lic
-noun
1.a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

Chapter IV:
Truth:"You never waste your vote if you vote your conscience."Supporters of the candidate who is leading in the polls will say "Don't waste your vote! Vote for Joe!"But the purpose of voting is to express your CONSCIENCE, not your PREDICTION.Thomas E. Dewey was considered such a sure winner in 1948 that the Chicago Tribune beat everyone else to the street with the headline DEWEY WINS! But too many Americans voted their conscience.Does anyone remember President Dewey?
Ivoted for the losers who ran against one Democrat who wonand one Republican who won for the very same reason: I believe that anyone for whom ambition trumps honor should not hold public office.

Joker:"look at this [map of a monstrously gerrymandered congressional district] and tell me if common sense is still alive in Washington."But congressional districts are drawn by state legislatures, not by congress.

Chapter V:
Truth:"Many people will hear the word Progressive and immediately think of liberals or Democrats-but they're not synonymous."

Joker: "Politicians lecture us that jobs must be sacrificed and factories closed for the sake of 'the greater good.'We are told that we can't drill for oil, develop nuclear power, or burn clean coal because of the environmental impacts."But Beck doesn't cite even one politician who has so lectured.And he surely can't cite one who has been reelected after giving such a lecture.Drill for oil?As in the Gulf of Mexico?Develop nuclear power?In whose back yard?Burn clean coal?There's no such thing as clean-burning coal.Coal comes in dirty, very dirty, and extremely dirty. And almost in the same breath Beck excoriates Nancy Pelosi, who, he claims, "controls the house," for allowing the Government-owned Capitol Power Plant to burn seventeen thousand tons of coal each year.Just Nancy Pelosi?The last I knew there were 434 other members of the House.As Speaker, Ms. Pelosi has some control over if and when they vote on a particular issue, but no control over how they vote.Also, there are 100 senators, over whom she has virtually no control.

Chapter V is entitled 'The Cancer of Progressivism,' clearly a very biased title, and much of the chapter is devoted to misdefining and railing against progressivism, but Beck obviously doesn't know what progressivism is.It is very definitely not what Beck says it is.What, then, is it?it is the willingness to try something new.It is the opposite of conservatism, which is the (at least relative) unwillingness to try anything new.Either conservatism or progressivism can be carried to ridiculous extremes:"Stick with the 'tried and true' even when it doesn't work." or "Always try something new, even if the old way is working fine."

As is so often the case, the best position is somewhere between those two extremes.

Chapter VI is a call to action, but it is not very clear what action.Do what's right, but what does that consist of?For some guidance based on cognitive science, one should readMoral Politics : How Liberals and Conservatives Think by George Lakoff.

THOMAS PAINE'S COMMON SENSE consists of:
INTRODUCTION (2 pages)
OF THE ORIGIN AND DESIGN OF GOVERNMENT IN GENERAL, WITH CONCISE REMARKS ON THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION (8 pages)
OF MONARCHY AND HEREDITARY SUCCESSION (11 pages)
THOUGHTS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF AMERICAN AFFAIRS (19 pages)
OF THE PRESENT ABILITY OF AMERICA, WITH SOME MISCELLANEOUS REFLECTIONS (13 pages)

Paine's pamphlets played an important part in uniting the American colonists (to the extent they were united) in determination to secede from the British Empire.They present some slight difficulty to the modern reader because of their now old-fashioned turn of phrase: they seem slightly off from the NS* dialect of English, as if they were written late in the eighteenth century instead of early in the twenty-first, but that is not too surprising, because late in the eighteenth is when they WERE written.Really, what I find surprising is how much less (aside from increased vocabulary) English has changed in the 235 years since Paine than it did in the 160 years between the KJV Bible and Paine.Paine is MUCH easier to read today than the KJV, and is well worth reading.Thank you, Glenn Beck, for reprinting him.

In summary:
Beck, 108 pages @ ½ star: 54
Paine,53 pages @ 5 stars: 265
Total, 161 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 319
319 / 161 = 1.98:2 stars

watziznaym@gmail.com

*NS = Network Standard, the current prestige American dialect.Paine was writing more than 150 years before NS existed.

A clarion call which must not go unheeded
This is actually two books in one, or, rather, one small book and a pamphlet - a reprint of Thomas Paine's classic, "Common Sense," first published in 1776.The addition of the pamphlet was a pleasant surprise and also a wonderful addition to the book.In fact, after reading the book and the classic, I found it difficult to decide which of the two was more profound and meaningful in today's America.

At first blush, one would think that Beck's more recent work would easily carry the day, since the original is dated by almost forty-seven lustrums and, by any reasonable measure, could be considered just a dry and dusty relic of the past.But, if you read Beck's assessment and then immediately launch into Paine's "Common Sense" --- thinking "Washington" when you read "England," "Liberals (Progressives or Elitists)" when you read "King or King George," "Senate" when you read "House of Lords," and "House of Representatives" when you read "House of Commons" --- you'll likely find that the American people are in very much the same sad state today that the colonists were in in 1776.The only differences seem to be that this time the threat is more oppressive and more immediate, and this time the American citizenry must resort to a more peaceful means --- the ballot --- to rid themselves of their would-be masters, viz. the career politicians and bureaucrats in Washington DC.

In his segment of the book, Mr. Beck does an excellent job of identifying and stating the problems confronting America and the American people today and more than makes the case for immediate action.He also offers some specific suggestions as to what can and must be done to stem the tide of socialism/communism/fascism that is sweeping over America.Of these, two stand out: 1) stop supporting the two major political parties until they come to their senses, since the founding fathers clearly warned us that the creation of political parties would eventually destroy the republic; and 2) vote out ALL incumbents, both the good and the bad, until we finally rid ourselves of "career politicians" and return to a country in which our representatives once again recognize the Constitution and identify with the people whom they were elected to represent.

This is all well and good, of course, but one thing worries me.As Thomas Paine so eloquently stated in his "Common Sense" (pages 115-116): "The wise andthe worthy need not the triumph of a pamphlet; and those whose sentiments are injudicious or unfriendly, will cease of themselves, unless too much pains are bestowed upon their conversion.Translation: Those who don't need to read this book will likely read it, while those who are most desperately in need of reading it won't.Let us hope that this prophesy doesn't prove true lest Glenn Beck's clarion call goes unheard and unheeded.

Excellent Read
This is an excellent read and a great tribute to Thomas Paine who defines common sense thinking.Because unfortunately, common sense has become extremely uncommon, this book gives you a good dose of our grandfathers and founding fathers common sense.

Glenn Beck's Common Sense
The book was in great shape. The price of the book was fantastic and I got the book in a timely manner. The book packaging was very good. I would buy again from this seller if the opportunity arises.

Thomas Paine would weep.
Thomas Paine and our nations founders would weep knowing that so many Americans are now devoted listeners and followers of a shock jock, a man who is little more than a puppet of a ruthless tyrant.Glenn Beck carefully bends and twists the truth to convince free Americans to surrender their liberties to the will of corporations. ... Read more

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Great Condition
I recieved the order much sooner than expected and it was in great condition as described. Would definitely order again from this seller.

Every generation and age must be as free to act for itself
This was a required reading for a graduate humanities class.John Keane's biography succinctly showed that Tom Paine (1737-1809) was the consummate revolutionary and a daring adventurer.Not only was he an important figure in the American Revolution, but he also traveled to France in 1791 to give that revolution a push.Paine traveled from England, just in time to stoke the flames of the revolution with his pamphlet Common Sense, in January 1776.To call Common Sense a sensation in the colonies is actually a bit of an understatement.It was an unparallel sensation and monumental work of Enlightenment rhetoric that quickly fanned the flames of rebellion throughout the colonies.In four months, over 120,000 copies were printed in the colonies--over 500,000 copies by years end.No other pamphlet printed in seventeenth century America came close to its success.Most importantly, Common Sense served to get the colonial patriots to drop their fear of open rebellion, and also emboldened those delegates who favored declaring independence from Britain.The delegates now had the confidence that a large segment of the colonists would support rebellion.Similar to the Declaration of Independence, the philosophical ideas in Common Sense are primarily from the English philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704).The most moving quote from the pamphlet became quite prophetic, when one considers the impact it ultimately had on the delegates in the congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and on the world."We have it in our power to begin the world over again."

This was required reading for a graduate course in the history of the French Revolution.For Thomas Paine, the eighteenth century was the Age of Enlightenment because for the first time humankind was throwing off the millstones of religious dogmatism and political despotism.Paine essentially believed that the rights of man encompassed, "...all the intellectual rights, or rights of the mind, and also all those rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happiness, which are not injurious to the natural rights of others" (Paine, 68).

Paine's Rights of Man was an eloquent yet blistering rebuttal to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.Paine got right to the crux of the disagreement he had with Burke when he admonished him for his argument that governmental enactments of previous generations had the force and authority to bind citizens for all time.An example that Burke used was the English Parliament of 1688, which he praised as a model of the type of reform French citizens should emulate.Paine's answer was swift and cutting "Radical Enlightenment" reason."Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself, in all cases, as the ages and generations which preceded it.The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave, is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies" (41-42).Paine also took Burke to task for his narrow understanding of French socio-political and economic problems leading up to 1789.Unlike Burke, Paine understood that the French Revolution, unlike the others that took place in Europe, was not just a revolt against the king."Between the monarchy, the parliament, and the church, there was a rivalship of despotism, besides the feudal despotism operating locally, and the ministerial despotism operating everywhere" (48).Thus, what Paine witnessed, Alexis de Tocqueville and Georges Lefebvre observed, agreed with, and commented on, in their history's years later.The institutions that Burke defended in his Reflections, such as the nobility, Church, and monarchial rule, all became "fodder" for Paine's "grist mill" in his defense of France's new constitution.

Paine abhorred the institution of nobility and supported its dissolution for several reasons.
"Because the idea of hereditary legislation is as inconsistent...and absurd as an hereditary mathematician....Because it is continuing the uncivilized principle of governments founded in conquest, and the base idea of man having property over man, and governing him by personal right" (83).No friend to tradition, Paine took Burke to task for defending the notion of, "...hereditary rights, and hereditary succession, and that a Nation has not a right to form a Government for itself" (Paine, 116).Paine defended the French constitution's eradication of tithes to the Catholic Church and it "...hath abolished or renounced Toleration, and Intolerance also, hath established UNIVERSAL RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE" (85).Finally, Paine unleashed a most scathing attack against Burke's suggestion that France should reform its absolutist monarchy into a benign form of constitutional monarchy similar to what Britain enjoyed."All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny" (172)."It occasionally puts children over men, and the conceits of nonage over wisdom and experience.In short, we cannot conceive a more ridiculous figure of government, than hereditary succession" (173).

Thus, Paine's Radical Enlightenment polemic, which sold more than 200,000 copies throughout Europe, was his reasoned and articulate project towards developing a better world.Consequently, there is no doubt that Paine, whose Radical Enlightenment pen proved to be "mightier than the sword" of despotism both in the American and French Revolutions, understood the importance of the nurturing relationship that Enlightenment philosophes had on the French Revolution."But all those writings and many others had their weight; and by the different manner in which they treated the subject of government...by their moral maxims and systems of economy, readers of every class met with something to their taste" (Paine, 94).

Recommended reading for anyone interested in political philosophy, enlightenment history, and the French Revolution.
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Product Description

“In Common Sense a writer found his moment to change the world,” Alan Taylor writes in his introduction. When Paine’s attack on the British mixed constitution of kings, lords, and commons was published in January 1776, fighting had already erupted between British troops and American Patriots, but many Patriots still balked at seeking independence. “By discrediting the sovereign king,” Taylor argues, “Paine made independence thinkable—as he relocated sovereignty from a royal family to the collective people of a republic.” Paine’s American readers could conclude that they stood at “the center of a new and coming world of utopian potential.” The John Harvard Library edition follows the text of the expanded edition printed by the shop of Benjamin Towne for W. and T. Bradford of Philadelphia.

Product Description
"More than any other public figure of the eighteenth century,Tom Paine strikes our times like a trumpet blast from a distantworld." So begins John Keane's magnificent and award-winning (theFraunces Tavern Book Award) biography of one of democracy's greatestchampions. Among friends and enemies alike, Paine earned a reputationas a notorious pamphleteer, one of the greatest political figures ofhis day, and the author of three best-selling books, Common Sense, TheRights of Man, and The Age of Reason. Setting his compelling narrativeagainst a vivid social backdrop of prerevolutionary America and theFrench Revolution, John Keane melds together the public and theshadowy private sides of Paine's life in a remarkable piece ofscholarship. This is the definitive biography of a man whose life andwork profoundly shaped the modern age. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A rollercoaster of a life
The greatest contribution of Thomas Paine, who certainly makes for a compelling biography, was his ability to distill pro-American Revolution sentiments to the middle and lower classes of the Colonies.Indeed, his book "Common Sense" and the follow-up, "The Rights of Man," were runaway best-sellers in there time.But, unfortunately for Paine, who came from humble beginnings, he would often find himself poverty stricken as well as the target of a merciless and unfair press.He became a downright pariah after his third great work: "the Age of Reason," in which he basically argued that organized religion was a perversion of a more rational belief in a benign creator, otherwise known as "Deism."

Paine, whose intellect often went in very different directions, found himself in the middle of two revolutions: the American and the French.Paine was late in realizing that the French revolution was aptly described as a "Reign of Terror," and was lucky to return to America with his head intact.To the very end, Paine had his great admirers and his bitter detractors (especially after he attacked George Washingtion in a nasty editorial, written only because Washington seemed to abandon Paine when the latter was imprisoned in France and awaited execution).

Overall, John Keane does a rather nice job detailing the life of this controversial man.My problem with the book is that I believe Keane too frequently injects his personal opinion into the narrative.Also, like many (if not most) biographers, I think Keane overexagerates the importance of his subject.True, Paine's "Common Sense" and "The Rights of Man," were the most accessible and popular books written on that subject, but virtually all of the so-called "Founding Fathers" were writing similar things.Paine's thoughts were hardly original.Even in his radical "Age of Reason," he wasn't "ahead of his time" as Keane repeats, but rather his accomplishment was to crystallize sentiments about religion that many others had already expressed.That being said, "Tom Paine" is certainly a worthwhile read if you're interested in biographies of important historical figures during this time period.

Solid overview of an important figure
This is an enjoyable read.Excellent detail, especially about Paine's religious views and his time in France during the Revolution there.Paine nearly lost his head in France, and there were many who would have gladly done the same after he returned to the United States in the early 19th Century.But his impact on his times was quite profound.It is necessary to understand Tom Paine if one wishes to get at the origins and course of the American and French Revolutions.This book is a good means to that important end.

One of the great visionaries of civic democratic society, and quite a character at that
This is the kind of biography that makes reading history worthwhile. The writing style is intelligent and clear, marshalling innumerable facts and interesting anecdotes.It gives us the full scope of Paine's remarkable life - a man who was one of the intellectual midwives at the birth of the era of democratic revolution.

He fought for free political expression as a citizen of three countries in the throes of revolutionary change: born in England where he fought against monarchy, moved to America where he became a writer of inspirational tracts for independence, and finally, made citizen of France during the violence of the Revolution where he argued, at great risk to himself, to spare the life of King Louis XVI.If his positions seem contradictory they actually reflect a philosophy of consistant political moderation.

Secondly, this biography is a story about the struggle to realize ideas against great odds.Everywhere he went he was fortunate to escape death at the hands of his murderous foes.In spite of these threats, Paine fought tirelessly for his ideals.

Thirdly, the author gives contempory meaning to Paine's goals.Paine was against religious literalism because he saw the adherence to strict doctrine as an obstacle to extablishing a civic society in which people could live together harmoniously.
This position was a cause of much suffering for Paine at the end of his life as his anti-traditional ideas incited deep personal hatred.Without needing to conclude whether he was misguided or not, suffice to say, the difficulty he tried to tackle remains with us today...in the headlines.And I don't think we've come all that far in solving the problem he recognized.That he saw its importance at the inception of modern civic society makes him a visionary of the highest importance worthy of our respect whether we agree with the totality of his ideas or not.

Keane's Good Friend Tom Paine
An interesting biography, heavily- if not well- researched.Partisan, but Keane does manage a bit of perspective. The main problems come with the background.There is both too much - I for one could do without the often inaccurate disquisitions on eighteenth-century England - and too much WRONG. Keane seems to think that Britain and America were at war in 1787, and that Adam Smith visited Paris at that time (p.284-5).Hobbes is both more and less than a 'philosopher of counterrrevolution.'
Furthermore, it seems a man only had to bump into Paine for Keane to count him a 'close friend'.What was the extent of Paine's friendship with Goldsmith (this is interesting) and with Burke (very important)?
I get the impression that Keane did all his research for the book and had no grounding in the subject before.But it's an engrossing read for all that.

A book for all times
As I read this book, I couldn't help but think, where is the Tom Paine of our time?The insights that Tom Paine had are needed today more than ever. ... Read more

Product Description
One of Paine’s greatest and most widely read works, considered a classic statement of faith in democracy and egalitarianism, defends the early events of the French Revolution, supports social security for workers, public employment for those in need of work, abolition of laws limiting wages, and other social reforms. An inspiring book that paved the way for the growth and development of democratic traditions in American and British society.
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Customer Reviews (12)

K. Dekle
On time, and as promised.It's an excellent perspective on our ancestors point of view.

Does it still have meaning today?
Paine wrote RoM while in France, during the early years of the revolution, in response to an antirevolutionary pamphlet from his previous friend Burke. There is lots of polemics going on, and the crux of the matter is that Burke makes light of The Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was adopted by the French National Assembly in August 1789, after the storm of the Bastille. The Declaration, written by Lafayette with some input by Jefferson, is a brief and concise document. It became the preamble of the constitution of 1791.
Here a shortened version.
1.Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.
2.The aim of all political association is the preservation of the ... rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
3.The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. ...
4.Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; ... These limits can only be determined by law.
5.Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.
6.Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. ...
7.No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. ...
8.The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense.
9....all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty ...
10.No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.
11.The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.
12.The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be intrusted.
13.A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means.
14.All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.
15.Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.
16.A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all.
17. ... property is an inviolable and sacred right ...

Paine contrasts this brilliantly utopian text with England's lack of a constitution.
But there is not just the matter of principle, there is also disagreement over matters of fact.
Burke had denied not only the French right to revolt, but also the reason to revolt, as the current holder of the throne was not known to be a despot. Paine's point is that the revolution was not against the king as a person, but against a despotic system, which divided and sub-divided in 1000 steps and acted by deputation. Popper's concept of the `open society' comes to mind. The `declaration' quoted above aims at an open society. That is not a question of the personal quality of an individual ruler.

(I can't help thinking laterally, about a special country, which right now also has a reasonably mild and rational government, within the limits of the system... What is the leader of the revolution over here quoted as having said when asked about the French Revolution? It is too early to tell. Well, that seems to be apocryphal.)

Government, wrote Paine, arises out of 3 sources:
a)superstition (priest craft, think of Islamic or other religious states),
b)power (dictatorships, one party rules), or
c)reason (which i.m.o. is synonym with secular).
Unfortunately we know from history that many cases which started out from reason went into some kind of hybrid state, down the road. Or worse, we see the effect of the `dialectics of enlightenment': reason itself becomes embodied in power and perverts itself.
The order of the day for us, today, is to struggle for the survival of reason in existing governments, or for the growth of reason where it is lacking.

Every generation and age must be as free to act for itself
This was required reading for a graduate course in the history of the French Revolution.For Thomas Paine, the eighteenth century was the Age of Enlightenment because for the first time humankind was throwing off the millstones of religious dogmatism and political despotism.Paine essentially believed that the rights of man encompassed, "...all the intellectual rights, or rights of the mind, and also all those rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happiness, which are not injurious to the natural rights of others" (Paine, 68).

Paine's Rights of Man was an eloquent yet blistering rebuttal to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.Paine got right to the crux of the disagreement he had with Burke when he admonished him for his argument that governmental enactments of previous generations had the force and authority to bind citizens for all time.An example that Burke used was the English Parliament of 1688, which he praised as a model of the type of reform French citizens should emulate.Paine's answer was swift and cutting "Radical Enlightenment" reason."Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself, in all cases, as the ages and generations which preceded it.The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave, is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies" (41-42).Paine also took Burke to task for his narrow understanding of French socio-political and economic problems leading up to 1789.Unlike Burke, Paine understood that the French Revolution, unlike the others that took place in Europe, was not just a revolt against the king."Between the monarchy, the parliament, and the church, there was a rivalship of despotism, besides the feudal despotism operating locally, and the ministerial despotism operating everywhere" (48).Thus, what Paine witnessed, Alexis de Tocqueville and Georges Lefebvre observed, agreed with, and commented on, in their history's years later.The institutions that Burke defended in his Reflections, such as the nobility, Church, and monarchial rule, all became "fodder" for Paine's "grist mill" in his defense of France's new constitution.

Paine abhorred the institution of nobility and supported its dissolution for several reasons.
"Because the idea of hereditary legislation is as inconsistent...and absurd as an hereditary mathematician....Because it is continuing the uncivilized principle of governments founded in conquest, and the base idea of man having property over man, and governing him by personal right" (83).No friend to tradition, Paine took Burke to task for defending the notion of, "...hereditary rights, and hereditary succession, and that a Nation has not a right to form a Government for itself" (Paine, 116).Paine defended the French constitution's eradication of tithes to the Catholic Church and it "...hath abolished or renounced Toleration, and Intolerance also, hath established UNIVERSAL RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE" (85).Finally, Paine unleashed a most scathing attack against Burke's suggestion that France should reform its absolutist monarchy into a benign form of constitutional monarchy similar to what Britain enjoyed."All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny" (172)."It occasionally puts children over men, and the conceits of nonage over wisdom and experience.In short, we cannot conceive a more ridiculous figure of government, than hereditary succession" (173).

Thus, Paine's Radical Enlightenment polemic, which sold more than 200,000 copies throughout Europe, was his reasoned and articulate project towards developing a better world.Consequently, there is no doubt that Paine, whose Radical Enlightenment pen proved to be "mightier than the sword" of despotism both in the American and French Revolutions, understood the importance of the nurturing relationship that Enlightenment philosophes had on the French Revolution."But all those writings and many others had their weight; and by the different manner in which they treated the subject of government...by their moral maxims and systems of economy, readers of every class met with something to their taste" (Paine, 94).

Recommended reading for anyone interested in political philosophy, enlightenment history, and the French Revolution.

fair
well, i finally got around to reading thomas paine's "rights of man".his sentences, like in "common sense" are run on in nature.but, to be fair, many writers of that period wrote quite lengthy compound - complex sentences.i found a number of errors, no, not the changes in language over 200 years.basically, i found nearly all of his ideas to be reflections or regurgitations of rousseau or hobbes or any of the other great political philosophers of the era and that which preceded it.the feature, perhaps unique and thus most worthy of reading paine's work, is the combination of logic with his flair for passion and motivation of the people to unite and insist on government's respecting their rights.written after the united states bill of rights had been penned, it clearly wasn't an effort aimed at the people of the united states.by the time this book was written, the people of france were beginning to get restless and beg for democracy and civil rights.paine, having moved to france, might have had some contribution in implanting the seeds of democracy in france.the conversation of the book wanders.it is composed of numerous documents and writings.overall, in order for the reader to capture the flavor of the unrest of the day, this is a well worthwhile book.

The Hobo Philosopher
In reading Tom Payne it is best to go right to the horse's mouth. Don't buy a volume with a modern day author's interpretation. Tom expresses himself clearly, logically and in up to date readable language. He needs no interpreter. Read what he has to say for yourself and make your own judgements.
This work is rather amazing when you consider the date that he penned these masterpieces. Don't pay any attention to the right-wing attempts at slurring Tom even today. He made sense in 1776 and his arguments makes sense today. If there were no Tom Paine I doubt if their would be an independent United States today - even George Washington admitted that fact. Tom Paine was simply too outspoken and too honest (and too courageous) for his time - or for today's times for that matter.
If you love history, philosophy, or politics as an American this is a man that you must read.
Tom Paine writing style and ability is "inspirational" to say the least.

Books written by Richard Noble - The Hobo Philosopher:
"Hobo-ing America: A Workingman's Tour of the U.S.A.."
"A Summer with Charlie"
"A Little Something: Poetry and Prose"
"Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother"
"The Eastpointer" Selections from award winning column. ... Read more

Product Description
Since its publication in 1976, Tom Paine and Revolutionary America has been recognized as a classic study of the career of the foremost political pamphleteer of the Age of Revolution, and a model of how to integrate the political, intellectual, and social history of the struggle for American independence.Foner skillfully brings together an account of Paine's remarkable career with a careful examination of the social worlds within which he operated, in Great Britain, France, and especially the United States. He explores Paine's political and social ideas and the way he popularized them by pioneering a new form of political writing, using simple, direct language and addressing himself to a reading public far broader than previous writers had commanded. He shows which of Paine's views remained essentially fixed throughout his career, while directing attention to the ways his stance on social questions evolved under the pressure of events. This enduring work makes clear the tremendous impact Paine's writing exerted on the American Revolution, and suggests why he failed to have a similar impact during his career in revolutionary France. It also offers new insights into the nature and internal tensions of the republican outlook that helped to shape the Revolution.In a new preface, Foner discusses the origins of this book and the influences of the 1960s and 1970s on its writing. He also looks at how Paine has been adopted by scholars and politicians of many stripes, and has even been called the patron saint of the Internet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Tom Paine and Revolutionary America
Foner, Eric. Tom Paine and Revolutionary America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. Pp. xx, 326

While Foner's book, Tom Paine and Revolutionary America, came out in 1976, it remains as relevant and widely used today as it was when it was first published.Clearly, Foner's depiction of Paine strikes a chord with several other historians since many undergraduate text books and other scholarly texts have the book listed in there works citied.Acclaimed books such as Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States (1980) as well as A Leap in the Dark (2003) by John Ferling have both turned to Foner's book in reference to Thomas Paine and radical ideologies during the American Revolution.Furthermore, in Eric Foner's newer college level text, Give Me Liberty!, (2006)his use of and importance placed on Paine has remained unchanged as a key and leading figure in the development of radical American ideologies.The book is an excellent source for any student of Thomas Paine or radical participation during the Revolution, while it remains slightly out of reach of the average Sunday reader.Foner's forth book clearly demonstrates his talent as a historian and sheds new light into the American Revolution.

In depth study of Tom Paine
Tom Paine's Common Sense was one of the most influential writings of the American Revolution.Eric Foner covers this period of Paine's career in 30 pages.The rest of this tome is dedicated to the founding of new political systems in Pennsylvania and controversies surrounding the establishment of the Bank of North America.Although these topics are of interest to scholars, they were of limited interest to this more casual reader.I found much of the book tedious and difficult to wade through.It would probably be great for those with a thirst for rarely documented parts of early American history.Probably this would not be a good choice for those with a more casual interest in this period.

Tom Paine Who?
While the book provided considerable insite into other Radical revolutionary leaders it provided little, other than the writings of Paine, on Paine himeself. I was hoping for some insite into his reasons and thought process which developed into the concepts he outlined in his writings. In this I was disapointed. However I would recommend this book for the missing history it provided, history missing from school curricuium. An omission I feel is damaging to educating in this country

TOM PAINE-INTERNATIONALIST REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRAT
If Leon Trotskywas considered by many, like George Bernard Shaw, to be the "prince of pamphleteers" for his efforts on behalf of the Russian Revolution and socialism then Tom Paine can rightly be regarded as the "prince of pamphleteers"for his efforts on behalf ofthe American and French Revolutions (and its offshoot- the pro-revolutionary English radical movement of the 1790's) and plebian democracy.Mr. Foner centers his biography of Tom Paine on the meaning of his key works Common Sense, The Rights of Man and the Age of Reason and the influence they had on the plebian masses in the Age of Revolution. These are Paine's classic arguments for plebian democracy the expansion of the capitalist market and popular deism. . This, in itself, makes the book worthwhile reading. Make no mistake, Paine is no socialist but as an agent of the plebian democratic movement- when and where it counted- we can claim him for our own.

Mr. Foner also gives a rather detailedpicture of Pennsylvania prior to and during Tom Paine's entrance on the political scene there to help set framework for the impact of his propaganda, especially Common Sense, on the developing American national liberation struggle against England. Tom Paine, like many important revolutionaries in their time, had an impact on more than one revolutionary movement and therefore justly earned for himself an honored place in plebian democratic history much to the chagrin of some later historians of these movements. In an age when sales of printed matter were small his tracts sold in the hundreds of thousands and those purchases were not merely for the coffee table at a time when money was dear. That alone helps defines the impact of his work.

Tom Paine, like other revolutionary leaders, has suffered through the ups and downs of reputation depending on the times. His Age of Reason, a consummate tract in defense of popular deism, led to a steep decline in his reputation for most of the 19th century, an age in America of religious piety. Even the revolutionary abolitionist John Brown was driven by a relgious fervor. He has fared better lately, in an age that is much more secular and which is not shocked by deist conclusions. Paine also comes in handy as an ally when democratic rights are, like now, under full-scale attack in the name ofthe `war on terrorism'. Let me say this-if a closet-Tory likeFounding Father John Adams can look pretty damn good in comparison to today's bourgeois politicians then Tom Paine can rightly take his place as a Founder in our pantheon of revolutionary heroes.

Paine: One of America's first Public Intellectuals
Paine was a latecomer to pre-revolutionary America, arriving in November, 1774. But he had already been somewhat involved in struggles against oppressive conditions in Great Britain, where he had become acquainted with Benjamin Franklin. Having paid his way to America (not arriving as an indentured servant), Paine quickly became a key figure in revolutionary Philadelphia through his writings for a newspaper, his position being secured by a letter from Franklin, and through the publication of "Common Sense," perhaps the most influential and widely read pamphlet of the times. The author makes clear that Paine did not accept the commonly held view that the balanced government of Great Britain involving monarchy, nobility, and commoners was the ideal form. In "Common Sense," he denounced the entire idea of hereditary monarchy and advocated for republican government with near universal voting rights, of course, only among free, white men. In his scheme, the main element of government should be a unicameral legislature, eschewing the notion of conflicting class interests. He made clear that there were no valid reasons to not seek independence.


Philadelphia had been dominated by the merchant elite in the time before Paine's arrival, but the impending conflict with Great Britain began to unleash new social forces. A considerable portion of the book is devoted to exploring the conflicting interests of merchants, farmers, artisans, and laborers in Philadelphia and the colonies. The formation of a local militia was especially upsetting to the status quo, as the militiamen, originating from the lower orders of society, demanded recognition for their sacrifice. The issuance of paper money by colonial governments to finance the war resulted in rampant inflation. Inflated, free-market pricing versus traditional "just" prices became a controversial issue, which was intertwined with claims of producers withholding or monopolizing products. Attempts to control prices met with little success.Debtors were less concerned with that inflation (except for higher prices) than were merchants and master craftsmen who advocated for private banking based on tight credit. The author notes that Paine, while a republican, was an advocate for free commerce. He backed the Philadelphia merchant, Robert Morris, in establishing a bank in Philadelphia in the early 1780s. That controversy foretold the many banking controversies that have occurred throughout American history.


The author follows Paine as he returned to Great Britain and revolutionary France in 1787. The "Rights of Man" and a sequel became as influential in Great Britain among artisans in the early 1790s as had his earlier pamphlet in America. He had to escape to France to avoid prosecution for denouncing the crown and advocating taxing the nobility and ending their state pensions. Paine was celebrated by one faction in revolutionary France and was elected to the new National Convention, even though he spoke little French. His failure to support the execution of Louis XVI landed him in prison for a year when the Jacobins seized power from more moderate forces. Paine's tract on deism "The Age of Reason," begun while incarcerated, was, in part, an attack on Christianity and its reliance on "revelations and miracles." But as the author says, "In America, far more critics of society spoke the language of revivalist Protestantism and Christian perfectionism than of deist rationalism." Paine's arguments were far better received in France with a secular, anti-clerical tradition.


Paine returned to American in 1802, but his anti-religious views did not sit well with clergy and devout followers. Many of his former friends, including Jefferson, would have nothing to do with him. He died nearly alone in 1809. This book is hardly a conventional biography of Paine. Its intent is to understand the social and political environment in which Paine was able to exert influence. Much of what Paine had to say was not necessarily original, but he had a direct manner of writing that made his views accessible to all social layers. The author also notes that Paine's radicalism did not have the class element that was a part of the radical critique of the industrial revolution in later years. In Paine's view commerce was a unifying social force, not one that created capitalists and a working class at profound odds. Paine is a somewhat obscure and forgotten man. His peripatetic nature, his limited years in the colonies, and his not holding any significant political office - all serve to relegate Paine to a secondary role, at least in perception. But the author contends that Paine had substantial influence in American thought, even if subtle and not well recognized.
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