Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful presentation + excellent selection of Paine
Review: This volume is of great value to anyone who's interested in the foundations of this country. Paine was far ahead of his time in so many areas, for example in his vocal criticism of slavery. This country owes a debt to him in the profound impact he had on those who wrote the constitution and declaration of independence. The closing work of this volume, The Age of Reason, was, for its time, a very courageous indictment of the bible. It was written toward the end of Paine's life. There have been many men of courage and conviction, but Paine also had a profound honesty and the gift of a great intellect which allowed to express his ideas clearly.
The binding, cover, and paper of this volume are of the highest quality. The volume is smaller than the typical bestseller hardback, both in length, width, and thickness. But its slenderness is due to high quality of the very thin paper--the book has over 900 pages. I liked its small size because it makes it comfortable to read.
Rating:
Summary: five stars for deism!
Review: Thomas Paine strikes a (still) powerful blow for Jeffersonian values and deism. In my mind, definitely a classic.
Rating:
Summary: five stars for deism!
Review: Thomas Paine strikes a (still) powerful blow for Jeffersonian values and deism. In my mind, definitely a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Essential
Review: Thomas Paine was more than a great propagandist (though he was one of the best). He was one of the few true patriots who cared nothing for his own legacy or even his own life at times. The church has attacked Paine cowardly since his death as they too know that Paine came very near the truth.
Rating:
Summary: Essential
Review: Thomas Paine was more than a great propagandist (though he was one of the best). He was one of the few true patriots who cared nothing for his own legacy or even his own life at times. The church has attacked Paine cowardly since his death as they too know that Paine came very near the truth.
Rating:
Summary: These are the times that try men's souls!
Review: Thomas Paine's greatness lied in his ability to take the abstract ideas of the American Revolution and make them graspable by all of his time, while infusing them with the moral passion that they truly deserved. Paine is one of the great masters of ideas taken into action. His immortal opening of the "American Crisis" was like new fuel to a dying flame. "These are the times that try men's souls," he wrote, and his arguments for continuing the revolution reminded the patriots of the meaning of their fight. And Paine could not have been timelier-his words came at a time when the success of the revolution seemed much in doubt. Perhaps more than any man, he breathed new life into the patriots though his keen analysis and moral passion. 225 years later, he still gives life to the idea of America, even as our freedoms come under increased threat. Thomas Paine is required reading for any student of America who wishes to understand the ideas from which America was made real.
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