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    Thomas Paine

    Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations

    Author Craig Nelson
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    Paperback
    $24.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Books
    On sale Sep 04, 2007 | 432 Pages | 9780143112389
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    A fresh new look at the Enlightenment intellectual who became the most controversial of America's founding fathers

    Despite his being a founder of both the United States and the French Republic, the creator of the phrase "United States of America," and the author of Common Sense, Thomas Paine is the least well known of America's founding fathers. This edifying biography by Craig Nelson traces Paine's path from his years as a London mechanic, through his emergence as the voice of revolutionary fervor on two continents, to his final days in the throes of dementia. By acquainting us as never before with this complex and combative genius, Nelson rescues a giant from obscurity-and gives us a fascinating work of history.
    Thomas PaineA Note
    Acknowledgments

    1. The Mission of Atonement
    2. Begotten by a Wild Boar of a Bitch Wolf
    3. Pragmatic Utopians
    4. Hell Is Not Easily Conquered
    5. The Silas Deane Affair
    6. The Missionary Bereft of His Mission
    7. Droits de l'Homme, ou Droits du Seigneur?
    8. The Sovereigns Among Us
    9. The Religion of Science
    10. The Perfidious Mr. Morris
    11. Utopian Dissolves
    12. Provenance

    Notes
    Sources
    Index

    Craig Nelson has been a vice president and executive editor of Harper & Row, Hyperion, Random House, and Villard, and a literary agent. He is the author of several books, including Thomas Paine, winner of the 2007 Henry Adams Prize. He has been profiled in Variety, Interview, Publishers Weekly, and Time Out. View titles by Craig Nelson
    "Craig Nelson's lovely new biography provides cogent reasons why the man who wrote Common Sense has often been neglected by the cheerleaders for the American Revolution."
    -Los Angeles Times Book Review

    "A rewarding new biography . . . as much a primer on the Enlightenment as it is the story of the stay-maker from Thetford-and all the better for it."
    -The New Yorker

    About

    A fresh new look at the Enlightenment intellectual who became the most controversial of America's founding fathers

    Despite his being a founder of both the United States and the French Republic, the creator of the phrase "United States of America," and the author of Common Sense, Thomas Paine is the least well known of America's founding fathers. This edifying biography by Craig Nelson traces Paine's path from his years as a London mechanic, through his emergence as the voice of revolutionary fervor on two continents, to his final days in the throes of dementia. By acquainting us as never before with this complex and combative genius, Nelson rescues a giant from obscurity-and gives us a fascinating work of history.

    Table of Contents

    Thomas PaineA Note
    Acknowledgments

    1. The Mission of Atonement
    2. Begotten by a Wild Boar of a Bitch Wolf
    3. Pragmatic Utopians
    4. Hell Is Not Easily Conquered
    5. The Silas Deane Affair
    6. The Missionary Bereft of His Mission
    7. Droits de l'Homme, ou Droits du Seigneur?
    8. The Sovereigns Among Us
    9. The Religion of Science
    10. The Perfidious Mr. Morris
    11. Utopian Dissolves
    12. Provenance

    Notes
    Sources
    Index

    Author

    Craig Nelson has been a vice president and executive editor of Harper & Row, Hyperion, Random House, and Villard, and a literary agent. He is the author of several books, including Thomas Paine, winner of the 2007 Henry Adams Prize. He has been profiled in Variety, Interview, Publishers Weekly, and Time Out. View titles by Craig Nelson

    Praise

    "Craig Nelson's lovely new biography provides cogent reasons why the man who wrote Common Sense has often been neglected by the cheerleaders for the American Revolution."
    -Los Angeles Times Book Review

    "A rewarding new biography . . . as much a primer on the Enlightenment as it is the story of the stay-maker from Thetford-and all the better for it."
    -The New Yorker

    Additional formats

    • Thomas Paine
      Thomas Paine
      Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
      Craig Nelson
      9781101201787
      Ebook
      Penguin Books
      Sep 04, 2007
    • Thomas Paine
      Thomas Paine
      Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
      Craig Nelson
      9781101201787
      Ebook
      Penguin Books
      Sep 04, 2007

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