From his migration to America in 1774 to his death in New York City in 1809, Thomas Paine's ideology was at the centre of American political and social debate. This six-volume facsimile edition brings together rare texts from books, periodicals and newspaper contributions to unearth the contemporary American response to Thomas Paine.

From his migration to America in 1774 to his death in New York City in 1809, Thomas Paine's ideology was at the centre of American political and social debate. This six-volume facsimile edition brings together rare texts from books, periodicals and newspaper contributions to unearth the contemporary American response to Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809) was an Englishman and American political activist. He authored pamphlets which helped motivate the American colonists to declare independence in 1776. Common Sense is his most famous of such pamphlets.

From his migration to America in 1774 to his death in New York City in 1809, Thomas Paine's ideology was at the centre of American political and social debate. This six-volume facsimile edition brings together rare texts from books, periodicals and newspaper contributions to unearth the contemporary American response to Thomas Paine.

From his migration to America in 1774 to his death in New York City in 1809, Thomas Paine's ideology was at the centre of American political and social debate. This six-volume facsimile edition brings together rare texts from books, periodicals and newspaper contributions to unearth the contemporary American response to Thomas Paine.

From his migration to America in 1774 to his death in New York City in 1809, Thomas Paine's ideology was at the centre of American political and social debate. This six-volume facsimile edition brings together rare texts from books, periodicals and newspaper contributions to unearth the contemporary American response to Thomas Paine.

From his migration to America in 1774 to his death in New York City in 1809, Thomas Paine's ideology was at the centre of American political and social debate. This six-volume facsimile edition brings together rare texts from books, periodicals and newspaper contributions to unearth the contemporary American response to Thomas Paine.

A volume of Thomas Paine's most essential works, showcasing one of American history's most eloquent proponents of democracy. Upon publication, Thomas Paine’s modest pamphlet Common Sense shocked and spurred the foundling American colonies of 1776 to action. It demanded freedom from Britain—when even the most fervent patriots were only advocating tax reform. Paine’s daring prose paved the way for the Declaration of Independence and, consequently, the Revolutionary War. For “without the pen of Paine,” as John Adams said, “the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain.” Later, his impassioned defense of the French Revolution, Rights of Man, caused a worldwide sensation. Napoleon, for one, claimed to have slept with a copy under his pillow, recommending that “a statue of gold should be erected to [Paine] in every city in the universe.” Here in one volume, these two complete works are joined with selections from Pain's other major essays, “The Crisis,” “The Age of Reason,” and “Agrarian Justice.” Includes a Foreword by Jack Fruchtman Jr. and an Introduction by Sidney Hook

From New York Times bestselling author and Founding Fathers' biographer Harlow Giles Unger comes the astonishing biography of the man whose pen set America ablaze, inspiring its revolution, and whose ideas about reason and religion continue to try men's souls. Thomas Paine's words were like no others in history: they leaped off the page, inspiring readers to change their lives, their governments, their kings, and even their gods. In an age when spoken and written words were the only forms of communication, Paine's aroused men to action like no one else. The most widely read political writer of his generation, he proved to be more than a century ahead of his time, conceiving and demanding unheard-of social reforms that are now integral elements of modern republican societies. Among them were government subsidies for the poor, universal housing and education, pre- and post-natal care for women, and universal social security. An Englishman who emigrated to the American colonies, he formed close friendships with Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, and his ideas helped shape the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. However, the world turned against Paine in his later years. While his earlier works, Common Sense and Rights of Man, attacked the political and social status quo here on earth, The Age of Reason attacked the status quo of the hereafter. Former friends shunned him, and the man America had hailed as the muse of the American Revolution died alone and forgotten. Packed with action and intrigue, soldiers and spies, politics and perfidy, Unger's Thomas Paine is a much-needed new look at a defining figure.