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
Présentation de l'éditeur
Thomas Paine was born on 29 January 1737, at Thetford, Great Britain and died at the age of 72 in Greenwich Village, New York City on 8 June 1809. An English-American pamphleteer, revolutionary, radical, inventor, and intellectual, Paine was one of the founders of the United States.
After immigrating to the British American colonies in 1774, he actively participated in the American Revolution against Great Britain. His principal contributions were the widely-read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), which advocated independence, and The American Crisis (1776-1783), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series.
Greatly influenced by the French Revolution, Paine later wrote the Rights of Man (1791) and The Age of Reason (1793-1794), for which he became notorious by advocating deism and arguing against institutionalized religion. While in France, he also wrote the pamphlet Agrarian Justice (1795), where he introduced the concept of a guaranteed minimum income. He remained in France and condemned Napoleon’s dictatorship, calling him “the completest charlatan that ever existed.” At the invitation of President Thomas Jefferson, Paine returned to the United States in 1802 and lived in New Rochelle, New York, where he was buried. His remains were later disinterred by an admirer who wanted to return them to Great Britain so they could be given a heroic reburial on Paine’s native soil; however, Paine’s remains were lost.
After immigrating to the British American colonies in 1774, he actively participated in the American Revolution against Great Britain. His principal contributions were the widely-read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), which advocated independence, and The American Crisis (1776-1783), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series.
Greatly influenced by the French Revolution, Paine later wrote the Rights of Man (1791) and The Age of Reason (1793-1794), for which he became notorious by advocating deism and arguing against institutionalized religion. While in France, he also wrote the pamphlet Agrarian Justice (1795), where he introduced the concept of a guaranteed minimum income. He remained in France and condemned Napoleon’s dictatorship, calling him “the completest charlatan that ever existed.” At the invitation of President Thomas Jefferson, Paine returned to the United States in 1802 and lived in New Rochelle, New York, where he was buried. His remains were later disinterred by an admirer who wanted to return them to Great Britain so they could be given a heroic reburial on Paine’s native soil; however, Paine’s remains were lost.
