Common Sense

“Edward Larkin’s new edition of Common Sense will be welcomed by readers. With a lively and detailed introduction, thorough scholarly notes, and a representative selection of the contemporaneous responses it provoked, this should become the definitive new edition of Paine’s classic tract.” — Richard Boyd, University of Wisconsin-Madison

“The big problem with Paine is that current readers have trouble seeing why his ideas did not seem so common-sensical to eighteenth-century people. Larkin addresses this problem with supplementary texts that focus on the debate over independence in America; along with his interesting and approachable introduction, the combination makes for the best edition of Paine’s Common Sense available.” — Daniel Vickers, University of California, San Diego

“There are many fine editions of this indispensable American text. But this one is richer and more rewarding than the others. It invites readers to encounter Common Sense in the fullness of its historical setting. And as it does, it makes plain how utterly Tom Paine towered above all other Revolutionary writers.” — Michael W. Zuckerman, University of Pennsylvania

“Edward Larkin’s new edition of Tom Paine’s Common Sense will be a boon to teachers and students. It thoughtfully contextualizes Paine’s pamphlet while highlighting the singularity of his voice. Most importantly, it will aid students in placing Common Sense in that absolutely central eighteenth-century culture war: the beginning of the unfinished argument over modern democracy.” — Michael Meranze, University of California, San Diego