Thomas Paine is rightly referred to as the "forgotten" Founder. We remember Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, but too often overlook the first person to write the momentous words: "the United States of America." With his first two books, Common Sense and The American Crisis, Paine helped a majority of American colonists to think of themselves, for the first time, as citizens of new nation-the United States of America. And it was Paine who, through the power of the pen, encouraged the colonists to declare their independence; to fight for their freedom and ultimately win the Revolutionary War. The title of this new and timely work, These Are the Times that Try Men's Souls, edited by John Armor, is arguably the most powerful single sentence Paine ever wrote. Without the first victory won by General Washington's troops at Trenton, the day after Christmas in 1776, the cause of America would have been lost. To inspire his troops, General Washington had Chapter I of Paine's latest work read to his troops just before they set out in a snow storm to cross the Delaware at night to launch their attack on Trenton-an historic victory that changed the entire outcome of America's struggle for Independence. Thomas Paine's words have not lost their power with the passage of over two centuries. Paine's writing about dictators who were called kings is just as applicable today, although his "kings" are now replaced by Presidents, Generals, and Prime Ministers. These Are the Times that Try Men's Souls eloquently connects the life and times of Thomas Paine with the modern crises facing America. We, the American people, once again face threats to our freedom and liberty; political and economic events that threaten the very existence of the United States. These are the times that try men's souls.

The American Crisis is a collection of articles by Thomas Paine, originally published from December 1776 to December 1783, that focus on rallying Americans during the worst years of the Revolutionary War. Paine used his deistic beliefs to galvanize the revolutionaries, for example by claiming that the British are trying to assume the powers of God and that God would support the American colonists. These articles were so influential that others began to adopt some of their more stirring phrases, catapulting them into the cultural consciousness; for example, the opening line of the first Crisis, which reads “These are the times that try men’s souls.” This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

After two bestselling series examining the Civil War and WWII, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen have turned their sharp eye for detail on the Revolutionary War with To Try Men's Souls. The story follows three men with three very different roles to play in history: General George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Jonathan Van Dorn, a private in Washington's army. The action focuses on one of the most iconic events in American history: Washington crossing the Delaware. Unlike the bold, courageous General in Emanuel Leutze's painting, Washington is full of doubt on the night of December 25, 1776. After five months of defeat, morale is dangerously low. Each morning muster shows that hundreds have deserted in the night. While Washington prepares his weary troops for the attack on Trenton, Thomas Paine is in Philadelphia, overseeing the printing of his newest pamphlet, The Crisis. And Jonathan Van Dorn is about to bring the war to his own doorstep. In the heat of battle, he must decide between staying loyal to the cause and sparing his brother who has joined up with the British. Through the thoughts and private fears of these three men, Gingrich and Forstchen illuminate the darkest days of the Revolution. With detailed research and an incredible depth of military insight, To Try Men's Souls is a novel that provides a rare and personal perspective of the men who fought for, and founded the United States of America.

Addressed to the Inhabitants of America, on the Following Interesting Subjects, viz.: I. Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution. II. Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession. III. Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs. IV. Of the Present Ability of America, with some Miscellaneous Reflections

Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man" has been celebrated, criticized, maligned, suppressed, and co-opted, but Hitchens marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. In this book, he demonstrates how Paine's book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the U.S.

The New York Times bestseller that’s “so glowingly human a picture of Tom Paine and America in the revolutionary days” (The New York Herald). Thomas Paine’s voice rang in the ears of eighteenth-century revolutionaries from America to France to England. He was friend to luminaries such as Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and William Wordsworth. His pamphlets extolling democracy sold in the millions. Yet he died a forgotten man, isolated by his rough manners, idealistic zeal, and unwillingness to compromise. Howard Fast’s brilliant portrait brings Paine to the fore as a legend of American history, and provides readers with a gripping narrative of modern democracy’s earliest days in America and Europe. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.

In this brilliantly illuminating group portrait of the men who came to be known as the Founding Fathers, the incomparable Gordon Wood has written a book that seriously asks, "What made these men great?" and shows us, among many other things, just how much character did in fact matter. The life of each—Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, Paine—is presented individually as well as collectively, but the thread that binds these portraits together is the idea of character as a lived reality. They were members of the first generation in history that was self-consciously self-made men who understood that the arc of lives, as of nations, is one of moral progress.

Joseph Plumb Martin (1760 – 1850) was a soldier in the Continental Army and Connecticut Militia during the American Revolutionary War, holding the rank of private for most of the war. His published narrative of his experiences has become a valuable resource for historians in understanding the conditions of a common soldier of that era, as well as the battles in which Martin participated. "My intention is to give a succinct account of some of my adventures, dangers and sufferings during my several campaigns in the revolutionary army." Contents: Campaign of 1776. Campaign of 1777. Campaign of 1778. Campaign of 1779. Campaign of 1780. Campaign of 1781. Campaign of 1782. Campaign of 1783.

America’s first year in World War II, chronicled in this “page-turner” by the Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of Forrest Gump and The Generals (Publishers Weekly). On December 7, 1941, an unexpected attack on American territory pulled an unprepared country into a terrifying new brand of warfare. To the generation of Americans who lived through it, the Second World War was the defining event of the twentieth century, and the defining moments of that war were played out in the year 1942. This account covers the Allies’ relentless defeats as the Axis overran most of Europe, North Africa, and the Far East. But by midyear the tide began to turn. The United States finally went on the offensive in the Pacific. In the West, the British defeated Rommel’s panzer divisions at El Alamein while the US Army began to push the Germans out of North Africa. By the year’s end, the smell of victory was in the air. 1942, told with Winston Groom’s accomplished storyteller’s eye, allows us into the admirals’ strategy rooms, onto the battlefronts, and into the heart of a nation at war. “When not drawing in readers with the narrative, Groom is impressing them with his masterful analyses.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Groom has done an artful job of blending the many stories of 1942.” —The Anniston Star