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Title: Common Sense (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Paine, Isaac Kramnick, Asaac Kramnick ISBN: 0-14-039016-2 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: November, 1982 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.52 (33 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: "The birth-day of a new world is at hand. . ."
Comment: Thomas Paine's "Common Sense," first published in 1776, is one of the essential classics of United States literature. In the book, Paine lays the philosophical groundwork for American independence.
Paine's writing style is still compelling after more than two centuries: he is fiery but logical, and bitingly witty. The book is full of great quotable passages.
In the book Paine sharply criticizes the institution of monarchy, especially the hereditary kind. He argues in favor of American independence from England, and proposes some principles for the government of such an independent state. He advocates "the free exercise of religion" and discusses in some detail issues of national defense.
It is remarkable how relevant Paine's comments remain, and how engaging his writing style is. His remarkable personality animates every page. The spirit of Thomas Paine is, in my opinion, at the core of what is best about the United States, and this book is part of the heritage of every U.S. citizen.
Rating: 5
Summary: American political thought at its best
Comment: The effect of Paine's monumental work Common Sense on the spirit of the American Revolution can never be measured. This work, originally a pamphlet, inspired and gave courage to the cause of independence, and presented the case for separation from Britain in such a way that it was difficult not to see his point. Paine was a visionary because he recognized that a union between Britain and America could never continue, and that reconciliation (after the conflicts in Boston and other places) would never be possible. This book was read and admired by Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and many other founding fathers, and its precepts did not go unnoticed by these great men.
Today, Paine's thinking is still relevant. His basic thesis that there is a difference between society and government still rings true today. As Paine points out, a society enriches our virtues, but government must restrain our vices. Paine's theory (at the beginning of the work) on the necessity of government, and his idea that the government is best which protects its people at the least possible cost to personal liberty, is just as interesting and inspiring today as it was 225 years ago. This pamphlet is applicable today as well as then because Paine believed that men should be good, and that this was the ultimate principal of successful government. "Of more worth is one honest man to society," he says, "and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived." The world would be a better place if we all had a little Common Sense.
Rating: 5
Summary: Rationale for a Revolution
Comment: Writing a review for this book is a lot like writing a review for The Constitution. It seems as though there are not enough words to describe the majesty of the document.
Many of the founding fathers lacked the educational training that contemporary politicains have received. With that fact in mind, Common Sense is even more potent. Thomas Paine sought to make his fellow colonists join in rebelling against the King and the British. His argument is based in the relative absurdity of being ruled by a king whose power is gained only because of the status of his parents. Even the first king in succession probably only gained his power by being the most brutal ruffian in his gang of conquerers. For those who suggest that the relationship with Britain need not be changed because "it is not broke, so don't fix it", he uses a child that nurses too long from his mother as a metaphor. Paine continues his writing with other choice prose to rationalize independence.
Paine's words were a biting commentary against the King. Even today, these words maintain their potency. No America should live without reading this book which was the reasoning for our break from Britain.
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Title: The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History, 1775-1865 (Dover Thrift Editions) by John Grafton ISBN: 0486411249 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 20 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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Title: Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville, Richard D. Heffner ISBN: 0451528123 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 05 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Civil Disobedience and Other Essays by Henry David Thoreau ISBN: 0486275639 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 20 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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Title: Rights of Man by Thomas Paine ISBN: 0486408930 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 23 December, 1999 List Price(USD): $3.00 |
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Title: Self-Reliance and Other Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson ISBN: 0486277909 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 13 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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