The namesake of this collection of Paine's writings is a wonderful piece of persuasive writing that manages to effectively cut through the intimidating and sometimes baffling perceptions of government. In "Common Sense" Paine builds his philosophy from the ground up, explaining the differences between society and government and the uses of both. It is a wittily written and extremely educated piece that deserves its status as a classic.Mileage varies for the other pieces in the collection. "The A...

I've only read the first three papers (African Slavery in America, Common Sense and The American Crises Papers 1,10 & 13) so far and even 200+ years later it is stirring; one can only imagine how reading (or having it read to you in a public) these inflammatory writings at the time could incite the imagination of a new world and galvanize the will of our fledging patriots.Although Paine and his famous rhetoric were taught, I don't recall these as mandatory reading during my HS days (over 20 yrs

Joelle Reads Her Bookcase #12My favorite selection was Rights of Man Part I.

Highly recommended to anyone who wants a diverse view of the American Revolution and the following years. This was a fascinating follow up to McCullough's Adams biography, especially since Paine and Adams came to be enemies. This includes "Agrarian Justice" and "Age of Reason", one of which essentially proposed the Social Security system, and the other which harshly denounces organized religion. Paine's works really fly in the face of any side claiming that the Founders as a whole had a single v...

"THESE ARE THE TIMES that try men's souls." Overall 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Common Sense and Other Writings by Thomas Paine. This collection of Paine's major works includes: African Slavery in America, Common Sense, The American Crisis Papers, Rights of Man, The Age of Reason, Agrarian Justice, and Letters to the Citizens of the United States of AmericaAfrican Slavery in America was decent but it was too short and there wasn't a lot of "meat on the bones", so I'd give it 3 stars. The is

This collection of Thomas Paine writings is too complete. Some of the included texts, such as Common Sense, are good reads in that they are still relevant to the modern reader. They can tell us where we have been and can make us question our modern view of the proper role of government. If those had been the only texts included, this would have been a fine collection. Unfortunately, the texts that ramble about how much people should be taxed were dull and meaningless in the twenty-first century,...

Although Thomas Paine has a penchant for propaganda, I was still intrigued to read the major works of this man, whom John Adams considered the one who started the American Revolution. Our country's history aside, however, I found the most fascinating section of the entire book to be 'The Age of Reason', Paine's scathing attack against Christianity and other "false religions." It is amazing that a man who so sincerely wanted to honor His Creator was so sincerely wrong about His knowledge of that

The only thing I can say about this book is that at the time, it was probably quite remarkable. It's a relic of the past, I suppose. Now, it just sounds like someone railing against the necessity of slavery - that argument has long since been fought and won.

One-line synopsis from the Age of Reason: The more unnatural anything is, the more is it capable of becoming the object of dismal admiration.Paine was, of course, denouncing those savage Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Languages change and people (copyeditors, for example) are fallible; therefore, the immutable Word of God cannot be found in any book. Besides, the Torah, Bible, and Koran are tawdry books; they are a history of only the grossest vices and a collection of th...

I really enjoyed reading this book. I see why now the pamphlet was called Common Sense. The content makes so much sense; however, I do not think that is the best or most important writing in this version. That designation rests with The Rights of Man. I definitely feel that was Paine was getting across there is definitely relevant in today's political climate. I was also impressed with Agrarian Justice, for the time period, it was a revolutionary argument for modern day social security. I'm defi...

I really liked reading this book. PayneExpressed very power and wise thoughts that sparked and embraced the believes of thoseWho fought to give us the liberties that we enjoy today. This should be required reading in our High Schools today however that is very unlikely because those who run our government and make these Decisions do not possess or believe in the principles of of Common Sense.

Still relevant enough in today's time. Should be required reading for all the hacks that want to be voted into house and senate...and president for that matter. The american govt is becoming exactly what we broke away from in 1776. Common sense read in today's context illustrates that. The others are informative and enlightening. I enjoy how Paine matter of factly explains religion to us in rights of man. Paine's stance on slavery abolition nearly 100 years ahead of the civil war. Also some good...

A difficult book to read. And not all of the ideas got into my head. For example, the endnotes mentions Paine's hatred of George Washington, yet I couldn't encounter that in the book. I could only encounter his dislike of John Adams. That said, some of the ideas in the book are intriguing. For example, how a constitution was a new instrument; Kingdoms never had such a thing-all governance was hereditary. And the constitution was what limited executive power. Additionally I had never thought of t...

I picked this volume up at B&N a few years back for less than $10. It is an essential for all true patriots and students of history. The principles laid out in Paine's essays and pamphlets are unwavering and underpin the foundations of this nation. If we are to restore the power and prominence of America, here at home and abroad, we must first begin by restoring its principles in our own hearts and minds.

Most of the things in "Common Sense" are not directly related to our own lives, however the gold of Paine's writing today is how well he formulates his argument. If you want to learn how to improve your writing skills, then I highly recommend pick up Thomas Paine and thumbing through. With all that said, from a historical point of view, "Common Sense" is, understandably, very valuable. It's also pretty interesting, so check it out. It's not very long, about 52 pages, and "The Rights of Man" is s...

Thomas Paine's writings are as prevalent today as they were back in the 18th century. To understand Thomas Paine, the Civil Rights movement, and equal liberties, one understands the Articles of Confederation, Constitution, The Bill of Rights and The Declaration of Independence.Any Englishman who berates America's struggle has not had the piece of mind to understand Thomas Paine or Colonial America. An American who says "who cares about the bill of rights," has not had the piece of mind to unders...

Common Sense is an extraordinarily difficult book to read today when one cannot possibly understand what it was like to be in the middle of a state of flux between America and England 237 years ago. Hence, the statements from the readers are as follows: "Boring," "Difficult to understand," and "Dry." Understandably, it was a time of action for the citizens back then as to the future of America, but what was the right prescribed course of action? Here came Common Sense that served as the catalyst...

So they don't exactly tell you in school that Paine wrote a pamphlet denouncing Christianity and that he managed to upset a lot of people with his directness against religion (Paine was a Deist). He wrote a lot after the Revolutionary War, including some letters against the Federalist faction during John Adams presidency, but all we ever hear is that he wrote Common Sense before US history decided that he faded away.

This book was a collection of writings by Thomas Paine (an early supporter of the American quest for independence), I loved the background story to Paine's experience & writings. The portion of the book I'm choosing to focus this review on is his writing called Common Sense, a paper on why Paine thinks America should be free from the grips of England. I found his arguments both persuasive and uncomfortable at times. I can definitely see why it wasn't very well received by the Crown. There are a