Common Sense

Common Sense
by Thomas Paine

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About Book

Amazon.com
"These are the times that try men's souls," begins Thomas Paine's first Crisis paper, the impassioned pamphlet that helped ignite the American Revolution. Published in Philadelphia in January of 1776, Common Sense sold 150,000 copies almost immediately. A powerful piece of propaganda, it attacked the idea of a hereditary monarchy, dismissed the chance for reconciliation with England, and outlined the economic benefits of independence while espousing equality of rights among citizens. Paine fanned a flame that was already burning, but many historians argue that his work unified dissenting voices and persuaded patriots that the American Revolution was not only necessary, but an epochal step in world history.

From AudioFile
Thomas Paine alienated his British countrymen by championing the American and French Revolutions. In fact, he ended up alienating the Americans and French, too--but not before publishing passionate and influential writings that still stir hearts and minds. His pamphlet COMMON SENSE (1776) provided a concise, plain-language rationale for America's break with the mother country. It still makes valuable reading. Narrator George Vafiadis captures the essay's passion and sincerity, but skimps on the meaning. He has so wrapped himself up in an orator's mannerisms that he leaves little room for the sense of COMMON SENSE, aside from marking the punctuation. Y.R. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

KLIATT Magazine
Well orated. The language and sentiment are not as outmoded as some listeners might expect and it definitely feels patriotic...

Michael W. Zuckerman, University of Pennsylvania
It invites readers to encounter Common Sense in the fullness of its historical setting...

Michael Meranze, University of California, San Diego
Edward Larkin's new edition of Tom Paine's Common Sense will be a boon to teachers and students...

Michael Meranze, University of California, San Diego
Edward Larkin's new edition of Tom Paine's Common Sense will be a boon to teachers and students.

Michael W. Zuckerman, University of Pennsylvania
...many fine editions of this indispensable American text. But this one is richer and more rewarding than the others.

Daniel Vickers, University of California, San Diego
...the best edition of Paine's Common Sense available.

Richard Boyd, University of Wisconsin-Madison
...this should become the definitive new edition of Paine's classic tract.

Review
?No writer has exceeded Paine in ease and familiarity of style; in perspicuity of expression, happiness of elucidation, and in simple unassuming language.? ?Thomas Jefferson

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Book Description
Besides the Declaration of Independence, Common Sense is perhaps the most important document of the American Revolutionary period. Paine's essay provides the ideologial and practical basis for America's seperation from Great Britain.

Download Description
Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.

Inside Flap Copy
In 1776, America was a hotbed of enlightenment and revolution. Thomas Paine not only spurred his fellow Americans to action but soon came to symbolize the spirit of the Revolution. His elegantly persuasive pieces spoke to the hearts and minds of those fighting for freedom. He was later outlawed in Britain, jailed in France, and finally labeled an atheist upon his return to America.

"No writer has exceeded Paine in ease and familiarity of style; in perspicuity of expression, happiness of elucidation, and in simple unassuming language."--Thomas Jefferson

About the Author
Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England, in 1737. His father was a staymaker. Thomas worked as a tax collector and was let go for petitioning for higher pay Benjamin Franklin encouraged him to emigrate to the United States in 1774. He published a series of pamphlets called the American Crisis and Common Sense. In 1787 he went back to Europe and published political books that were publically burned. He went to France and helped draft the French constitution. He was imprisoned for a year before coming back to the United States. He died in 1809.

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