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Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
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Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations Paperback - 2007

by Craig Nelson

Nelson presents a fresh look at the least well known of Americas founding fathers. This edifying biography traces Paines path from his years as a London mechanic to his emergence as the voice of revolution to his final days in the throes of dementia.


Summary

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.

From the publisher

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.

First line

JUST BEFORE DAYBREAK on or about September 25 in the year 1819, a fifty-six-year-old Englishman by the name of William Cobbett found himself twenty-two miles due north of New York City, stumbling pink-faced and ardent through the wild blackness of Westche

Details

  • Title Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
  • Author Craig Nelson
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 432
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, New York, NY
  • Date September 4, 2007
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780143112389 / 0143112384
  • Weight 0.95 lbs (0.43 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 in (21.08 x 13.97 x 2.79 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 18th Century
    • Chronological Period: 1800-1850
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

Media reviews

"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 the author

Craig Nelson is the author of four previous books, including The First Heroes and Let's Get Lost. His writings have appeared in Salon, The New England Review, Blender, Genre, and a host of other publications. He was an editor at HarperCollins, Hyperion, and Random House for almost twenty years and has been profiled by Variety, Interview, Manhattan, Inc., and Time Out.
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Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
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Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations

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Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
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Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations

by Nelson, Craig

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Thomas Paine : Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations

Thomas Paine : Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations

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Thomas Paine : Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations

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