Overview

Thomas Paine is one of the greatest political advocates in history. Declaration of the Rights of Man, first published in 1791, is the key to his reputation. Inspired by his outrage at Edmund Burke's attack on the uprising of the French people, Paine's text is a passionate defence of man's inalienable rights. In Rights of Man Paine argues against monarchy and outlines the elements of a successful republic, including public education, pensions and relief of the poor and unemployed, all financed by income tax. Since its publication, Rights of Man has been celebrated, criticized, maligned and suppressed but here the polemicist and commentator Christopher Hitchens marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. Above all, Hitchens demonstrates how Thomas Paine's book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the first democratic republic, whose revolution is the only example that still speaks to us: the United States of America.

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9781838952259

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Whatever you might think, or have thought, of his politics, he has never been less than a pleasure to read * Guardian * Compendious, clear and engaged accounts... this series is a big success. * A. C. Grayling, The Times * Christopher Hitchens... at his characteristically incisive best. * The Times * A timely book. * Billy Bragg, Books of the Year, Guardian * Hitchens makes [his case for Thomas Paine's Rights of Man] with characteristic verve and style... engaging and well worth reading. * John Gray, New Statesman *

Compendious, clear and engaged accounts... this series is a big success. * A. C. Grayling, The Times * Christopher Hitchens... at his characteristically incisive best. * The Times * A timely book. * Billy Bragg, Books of the Year, Guardian * Hitchens makes [his case for Thomas Paine's Rights of Man] with characteristic verve and style... engaging and well worth reading. * John Gray, New Statesman *

Author Information

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a columnist for Slate. He was the author of numerous books, including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, George Orwell, Mother Teresa, Henry Kissinger and Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as his international bestseller and National Book Award nominee, god Is Not Great. His memoir, Hitch-22, which was a Sunday Times bestseller, was nominated for the Orwell Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His last book, Mortality, was published in 2012 by Atlantic Books.

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