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14th out of 660 books
—
1,842 voters
Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine
Paine's daring prose paved the way for the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. This volume also includes "The Crisis," "The Age of Reason," and "Agrarian Justice."
paper, 416 pages
Published
July 1st 2003
by Signet Classics
(first published January 10th 1776)
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Jun 25, 2011
Annemarie Donahue
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Annemarie by:
Graduate professor
Shelves:
history,
philosophy
Too bad this book isn't a major part of our current educational system. I teach English literature and am convinced that a good dose of this at least once a day will bring our country back from the reality show addicted ninnies that we are all becoming. Wonderful book about the abuses of government, the threat of ignorance and the very real danger of irresponsible leadership.
I would like to make this part of my freshmen curriculum if I didn't think I would have to scaffold it to death and have h...more
I would like to make this part of my freshmen curriculum if I didn't think I would have to scaffold it to death and have h...more
Mar 29, 2012
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
American (and French) Citizens Interested in the Roots of Their Revolutions
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
Good Reading: 100 Significant Books
Given what I've read of him in the introduction of this edition of his writings and elsewhere, Thomas Paine was every bit as important to the American Revolution as George Washington or Thomas Jefferson (and as it turns out, fascinatingly enough, an important figure in the French Revolution.) The forward by Jack Fruchtman Jr. claimed Paine was no philosopher, but rather a journalist, and the introduction by Sidney Hook that he was no deep thinker. Interestingly enough, I found Paine's writings s...more
3 likes · like · see review
SUMMARY: Thomas Paine's book "Common Sense" was the written word that inflamed and drove the people of the colonies to the cause of the American Revolution. It was a clear and passionate document for freedom from the English Crown. Over 500,000 ccopies were sold in just a few months from when it was written in January 1776. His book "The Rights of Man" is a clear document for democracy and egalitarianism. It supported all forms of a progressive society and was an inspiration for the patriots of...more
I always thought this was the original Common Sense, not the one penned by Glen Beck.
1 like · like · see review
To read Paine is to be blasted by a clarity that astounds in its dissent. Whether it is commentary on revolutions, railing against monarchies, or the slim pages about religion and farming, Paine comes through as a master popularizer and phrase-maker. He absolutely devastates the notion that top-down rule has any legitimate backing whatsoever, which must have been a wildly new opinion during his lifetime. This is a patriotic book for the most un-patriotic among us. I should not say much more, but...more
An excellent book. The foundations of the American political structure and two hundred years later a call to come back to basics. A call to expose how America is edging closer to ALL things that it set out NOT to be. More than a voice of the past but a herald, like a prophet in the desert, saying
"You have strayed away from something that was so clearly laid out for you, Come back."
Come back NOT to a system of the wealthiest man or woman dominates the poor but one where ALL MEN AND WOMEN are equ...more
"You have strayed away from something that was so clearly laid out for you, Come back."
Come back NOT to a system of the wealthiest man or woman dominates the poor but one where ALL MEN AND WOMEN are equ...more
This is one of those reads that one has to take their time on. Paine makes his arguments eloquently; however, it is couched in the language of the day making for a longer read. One also has to have some understanding of the local time period in which he wrote. If one has little knowledge of the American and French Revolutions then some of the rhetoric will be lost. That being said, the essays on the Rights of Man, as well as The Age of Reason, are timeless. Paine's approach to inalienable rights...more
As America's "first" best seller, I can see why this piece was a hit. Paine describes the political stage at the end of the 18th century and vehemently accuses the tories that were still under the British ideology. Mr. Paine had no hair on his tongue, or his pen for that matter. It is obvious why he was hated, although I give him credit for writing about what was not so clear to some and nebulous to others.
Quotes I liked:
"I have always held it an opinion (making it also my practice) that it is...more
Quotes I liked:
"I have always held it an opinion (making it also my practice) that it is...more
Aug 23, 2008
Joseph
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
True revolutionists who don't buy into others/their own bullshit.
Shelves:
works-of-great-importance
"Common Sense": A true political and philosophical masterpiece! Written in plain english and will garner a response from anyone who reads it. I asked a person if they ever read "Common Sense" and he told me that he read it in high school. When I mentioned they should read it again he dismissed it as required high school reading. Well fuck that! Paine is the only writer who is a true philosopher who offers a true pragmatic alternative (fuck the rest of them: Jean-Paul Sartre, Nietzsche, Kierkegaa...more
The political pamphlet written in 1775 Common Sense by Thomas Paine lays out in clear and precise language why the colonies were ready for independence. At the time of its publication it made a big impact on the colonists and in many cases bent them toward independence and self-government. Beginning with the faults of hereditary monarchy and ending with the geographical, financial and moral reasons for breaking colonial ties with England and explaining the pitfalls and disadvantages to a possibl...more
This man had something to say, and he did so very well, without sparing the king of England, or the monarchical institution one bit. And I couldn't agree with him more. Of course the United States were only an idealistic concept at the time, but I wonder what he'd have to say about them today. Very good book, and a surprisingly easy read.
I don't think this work is meant to stand alone. It should be read in contrast to the political and philosophical work of the time.
His ideas on human rights (male, white land owners) are born out of a space where people were being denied the ability to actively participate in governing systems. While his ideas are not original, he was the one who got people's attention, including the founders of this country.
I think it deserves to be said that he wasn't an altruist. He wasn't looking to protect...more
His ideas on human rights (male, white land owners) are born out of a space where people were being denied the ability to actively participate in governing systems. While his ideas are not original, he was the one who got people's attention, including the founders of this country.
I think it deserves to be said that he wasn't an altruist. He wasn't looking to protect...more
Sep 05, 2008
Ash
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
students, historians, patriots
Recommended to Ash by:
professor
Shelves:
history,
what-i-study
I don't know how to review books like this one. On a personal level I liked it but did struggle with some parts of it-- more because I find that 18th century language is a little off-putting for me. However, I am so glad that I was forced to read this book for class.
It is almost a cliche to say that this book is incredibly important to American history. It is also a book that is easy to read in excerpts in other sources, so reading the whole thing was helpful and something I've been putting off...more
It is almost a cliche to say that this book is incredibly important to American history. It is also a book that is easy to read in excerpts in other sources, so reading the whole thing was helpful and something I've been putting off...more
While objections can be raised to the "Natural Rights" conception of civil liberties, Paine was an early thinker who departed from previous authorities (like Hobbes or Montesquieu) on the subject of social contracts, and his more-or-less original contribution to Western thought is that people don't need kings watching over them to ensure they function together without society degenerating into cannibalism. People are individually capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong, and can...more
Required reading - well worth the time - and quite entertaining.
Favorite quote:
"One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion."
Another quote, which I find very applicable to current politics:
"Immediate necessity makes many things convenient, which if continued would grow into oppressions. Expedience and right are different things."
It's s...more
Favorite quote:
"One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion."
Another quote, which I find very applicable to current politics:
"Immediate necessity makes many things convenient, which if continued would grow into oppressions. Expedience and right are different things."
It's s...more
Very Good, makes me think.
Oct 16, 2008
Christiangal
is currently reading it
I'm seeking knowledge from the men and women who came before me. That's why I read so many different views of the same subject. I rarely read only one biography, etc., of a person or a subject. I really enjoy learning about the law, especially civil rights, and Constitutional law. I know the Bible leads us to obey the laws of our lands, so I try to understand why we have the laws that we have, I guess. It's deeper than that, but I don't want to write a book here! :-)
Helps define ones politics.
Written in old English style, may take some a time or two to understand his thoughts. Nevertheless, a necessary book for all to read who cherish American liberties.
Overall I love the writings of Thomas Paine. My one complaint is the sections where he just goes nuts arguing against Mr. Burke. We get it, you don't agree with him about the French Revolution, move on! He just droned on and on. When he is simply outlining arguments for concepts vs. arguing against a person about a particular set of events or tract, his writing and voice become much stronger.
A book every American should have to read.
A book every American should have to read.
Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, a classic statement of faith in democracy, speaks on behalf of equality and supports social security for workers, public employment for those in need of work, and other social reforms.
Listen to Rights of Man on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
Listen to Rights of Man on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
Apr 07, 2009
Erik Graff
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Erik by:
Mr. Ellenberger
Shelves:
political-social-science
I read these Thomas Paine pamphlets in high school. It was as if I had found an almost perfect reflection of my own values, articulated clearly and stirringly.
In those days, unsurprisingly, my intellectual home was with the Enlightenment and the values of the American and French revolutions. College studies were to expand and challenge these views.
In those days, unsurprisingly, my intellectual home was with the Enlightenment and the values of the American and French revolutions. College studies were to expand and challenge these views.
Common Sense was one of the most important documents EVER written! Every American needs to read Common Sense and The Rights of Man. It's important to those that love true liberty. Paine would still be seen as too much of a radical even by today's standards. It's a shame he's never gotten his due here in the country he helped to found.
A great, but biased collection of his works. I say biased, cause the person in the intro says we shouldn't takes Thomas Paine's limited government ideals seriously. The same is done in signets anti-federalist papers book. That disclaimer aside this is a great collection of works from the only "forefather" I still respect at all.
Good Ideas, but man is not how he describes him. Man is flawed, people do what they are incentivized to do. It is not good national policy to trust other countries to do what is best for you. Even the revolution he was defending eventually cost more than what he would even put up with, especially considering he was thrown in prison.
Paine was one of the intellectual founders of American Political Thought. A man way ahead of his time, in the 18th century speaking for equal rights for people of all color, gender, and religious affiliation. This is a must read for anyone that wants to understand the intellectual foundations of our nation.
I only read Common Sense, but it is simple and decently easy to understand (given the time period). Even today, over two hundred years later, it still had me convinced. At the end of the book, 73 words highlighted to look up, but I was happy to find out in class I actually understood the main themes and messages.
This book was written by the original authors of the Constitution. While I believe it is an important book for Americans to read, especially now, I must say it is a very slow and difficult read. The book is a collection of 84 essays on the merits and meaning of the Constitution. I wish Obama had read it even once!
The passion of Thomas Paine has often been credited as the fuel that kept the flame of liberty burining during the dark days of the American Revolution. Tragically it was his later writings against religion that receive the most press today. An excellent compilation of his work.
Although Thomas Paine was a bit of a firebrand, he was certainly eloquent and able. His ideas presage the New Deal, United Nations, and the welfare state. Not sure if these are good things or not, but he definitely has the good of mankind at heart.
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Thomas Paine was an author, pamphleteer, revolutionary, radical, inventor, intellectual and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was born in England and lived and worked there until age 37, when he emigrated to the British American colonies, in time to participate in the American Revolution. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely-read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), ad...more
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Jul 25, 2012 04:35am