Tom Paine

Can anyone recommend a good biography of Thomas Paine? Thanks.

Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations

Thomas Paine: Apostle of Freedom

Life and Major Writings of Thomas Paine by Philip S. Foner

Bad touchstone on the last, sorry.

David Freeman Hawke's Paine is pretty good.

Thanks to you both. The library surprisingly has all three of your recommendations Sarge so I'll probably give one of them a go.

Happy to be of assistance.

I would highly recommend Eric Foner's "Tom Paine and Revolutionary America" or "Thomas Paine and the Promise of America" by Harvey J. Kaye. Foner's is a classic and Kaye's is a more contemporary treatment.

I second Michael's Foner, nice call.

While not a biography, the Library of America does publish a nice volume of his collected writings.

Paine is a childhood hero of Harvey J. Kaye's, he mentions Paine in many of his essays. I think his book would be interesting.

Hitchens' Thomas Paine's Rights of Man is a good short account.

Hitchens' NPR interview

While I think that Old Sarge's list contains more than what you'd ever want, I would also add the fictionalized biography by Howard Fast entitled Citizen Tom Paine