Common Sense

The publication of Thomas Paine's incendiary pamphlet, Common Sense, in January of 1776, proved the tipping point for America's Revolutionary War. Its eloquent and reasoned argument about the inherent unfairness of monarchic succession, and its catalog of abuses by the English Crown against the colonies, was crucial for persuading the colonists and their leaders to take up arms against British troops. Selling as many as a half-million copies in its first year of publication, Common Sense resonated with citizens in the colonies in a way that no other tract had done before, and proved instrumental for outlining common goals and objectives for a country just coming into its sense of a national identity. This edition of Common Sense features the full text of Thomas Paine's pamphlet, a scholarly foreword, and a Chronology of Thomas Paine's Life. Common Sense is one of Barnes & Noble's Collectible Editions classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world's greatest authors in an elegantly designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging.