Thomas Paine - Craig Nelson

Thomas Paine was one of the key political thinkers, writers and conversationalists of the Enlightenment. Credited with either formulating or certainly popularising the notion that the source of power lies in The People and that the government - any government - is only legitimate by the mandate of the population. Born in England a commoner, not very academically successful, trained as a staymaker and worked as excise officer (so did Rabbie Burns, what is it with the 18th century democrats and tax collection?); he soaked in the cafe culture of Enlightenment London but came to prominence after his arrival in America with nothing but a recommendation letter from Benjamin ...