Download or read book The Thomas Paine Reader written by Thomas Paine and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1987-12-01 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This major collection demonstrates the extent to which Thomas Paine was an inspiration to the Americans in their struggle for independence, a passionate supporter of the French Revolution and perhaps the outstanding English radical writer of his age. It contains all of Paine's major works including Rights of Man, his groundbreaking defence of the revolutionary cause in France; Common Sense, which won thousands over to the side of the American rebels; and the first part of The Age of Reason, a ferocious attack on Christianity. The shorter pieces—on capital punishment, social reform and the abolition of slavery—also confirm the great versatility and power of this master of democratic prose. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.