Tom Paine

by Keane, John

"More than any other public figure of the eighteenth century, Tom Paine (1737-1809) strikes our times like a trumpet blast from a distant world." So begins John Keane's magnificent biography of one of democracy's greatest champions, a man whose familiarity to us is partly traceable to his own stupendous achievements. Coming from humble beginnings in Thetford, England, Paine later bred intense public excitement with his every move. Among friends and enemies alike, he earned a reputation as the greatest political figure of his day and the author of the eighteenth century's three bestselling books. Variously employed in England as a corset maker, ship's hand, Methodist lay preacher, exciseman, and writer who dabbled in public affairs, he later became the key pamphleteer in the American Revolution and author of Common Sense, an intellectual cornerstone of American democracy. In Britain, his Rights of Man frightened the establishment. Paine was also twice invited to France, where he helped