Thomas Paine

http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=95&section=toc

I have only read Common Sense by Paine and therefore upfront express only a little knowledge of his writings.

Obviously influential in America, but which interest groups claim him?

He was of course pro French Revolution and I would think he was more Socialist in leaning. I could be wrong but Socialist is a 'bad' word in America?

Anyone like to comment?

Yes, Socialist is widely considered a bad word in America (not by me). I think though that far more people are sympathetic with socialist ideas than realize it, because there has been a long and very effective campaign by the right to demonize the word and to sow deliberate confusion about what it means (just as they did earlier with communism). Though polls repeatedly show that the general population in the US has a strong and widespread progressive tendency (such polls are rarely reported -- or at least not accurately -- in the mainstream press), despite the insistence of the media and the powers that be that this is primarily a center-right country. This is tied in with another misconception --deliberately put forth -- that the American media is liberal. That is by no means true, and the mainstream media, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, in fact demonstrate a decided right-wing (or at least center-right) bias.

As for Tom Paine, although socialism was really developed after his time, your surmise is largely on track. It's probably more accurate to call him a radical believer in democracy, a progressive (another word that didn't exist then), and a strong proponent of human rights. In other words, he supported the interests of the masses over those of the wealthy elite. You might enjoy reading an excellent account of Paine by Eric Foner -- Tom Paine and Revolutionary America.

Speaking of Eric Foner, I am reminded of his uncle Philip whose The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass Philip S. Foner I consider the gem of my library.

David since these volumes are out of print and my personal collection falling apart, perhaps they too could be considered for future publication.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Foner

Texaco, I'm glad you reminded us of Philip Foner, an important and vastly underrated writer and historian. I don't have his Frederick Douglass, but I do have his books on the radical writings of Jack London and Mark Twain, one of the volumes of his History of Black Americans (I've looked for the others, but haven't found them yet), his history of the fur and leather worker's union, and his annotated collection of writings by and about the Black Panthers, entitled The Black Panthers Speak, the latter an important corrective to the prevailing negative view of this movement.

Yeah, I pretty much grew up on those writings and keep them hidden so as not to have to loan them out...or chance someone "borrowing" them.

Another vastly underrated, writer historian is Herbert Aptheker...David I sure hope you're reading this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Aptheker

You guys are a gold mine of information, thanks.

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Over here in Australia, we are just out of a General Election and the Australian Green Party polled around 12% of the vote yet they were largely ignored by the Australia media throughout the election, so I know what you mean about the media. Not surprisingly the National Party (Right Wing Nationalists) polled around the same as the greens at 13%, but they were given a massive amount of media time during the election

The Greens are left of centre politically which probably accounts for their poor coverage by the right wing fetishism of the Australian media.

Thanks, everyone, for the prods and suggestions (and sorry for my away time from LibraryThing--we're pretty swamped here lately).

The LOA is in fact looking to add more scientists, historians, etc.; we have often been criticized for neglecting to included more writers outside the realm of fiction/drama/poetry. The Galbraith volume was a first step--and only a first--in that direction; we have several others lined up (or being lined up) for the coming years.

David

>8 DCloyceSmith:
For us consumers, you being swamped is a very good sign!

>8 DCloyceSmith:
David, your comment on more scientists, historians, etc., is very welcome. I'm not sure what is included in "etc.", but there is a wide open field for inclusion of scientists and historians.

Just as a somewhat random list, I would like to suggest:

History:

Bruce Catton (Civil War)
Paul Horgan (many fine histories of the Southwest)
Bernard de Voto (the West)
Lewis & Clark Journals (not "history" as such. but nevertheless very important historical documents)
C. Vann Woodward (the South)
Garry Wills (interpretations of many points of our political history)
W.E.B. DuBois (a second volume including at least his Black Reconstruction)
William Prescott (I understand he is already in the works)
Edmund Morgan (colonial history, slavery)
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (Jacksonian Era; New Deal), and his father, AS, Sr. (colonial history)
Van Wyck Brooks (literary history)
Bernard Bailyn (colonial and revolutionary history)
Samuel Eliot Morison (colonial history, maritime history, exploration)
Oscar Handlin (immigration)

There are many more worthy of mention, and I'm looking forward to hearing from others in this group.

Science:

It's harder to think of actual original works of science that could be included, since they would likely be too technical for a series like LOA. But many secondary works (many by scientists themselves) that are accurate, don't write down to the reader, and are characterized by fine writing, should be worthy of inclusion. Just a few of these would include:

Stephen Jay Gould (evolutionary biology; history of science, especially biology)
Albert Einstein (he became an American citizen 15 years before his death -- so that should make him eligible for inclusion -- he wrote many works accessible to the layman, both on scientific topics as well as on social and philosophical issues that are well worth inclusion).
Rachel Carson (Silent Spring and several wonderful books on marine biology)
E.O. Wilson (biological diversity; conservation; evolutionary biology; human biology)
John McPhee (many books on the geological history of our continent)
Marston Bates (biology and natural history)
Roger Tory Peterson (many writings on natural history -- much more than his popular field guides)

. . . many more.

How about an edition dedicated to celebrated architects of their generation (U.S. only) like Frederick Law Olmstead who was incredibly prolific:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Law_Olmstead

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Johnson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gehry

>11 Texaco:
In addition to being one of the great American landscae architects, Frederick Law Olmsted was also the author of books based on his travels in the South just prior to the Civil War (Travels in Texas and The Cotton Kingdom) in which he examines the sociology, economics, and life in these areas. As a result, he was a staunch opponent of slavery, and wrote very illuminatingly of the pernicious effects of slavery on both blacks and whites. These are well worth inclusion in LOA.

Another very important landscape architect (as well as regular architect) -- the principal designer of Chicago -- that I would add to your list is Daniel Burnham.

An Olmsted volume is in the works and nearly done. In fact, we had originally scheduled it for this year, but we had to postpone it because the textual research required for the volume turned out to be unexpectedly daunting. I'm at home, but off the top of my head, I believe it is now scheduled for late 2011 or early 2012.

Otherwise, virtually every writer on euphorb's list is under consideration. (By "etc." I was thinking of philosophers, literary historians, cultural critics, and writers in the "soft"/social sciences..)

12/13: Praises all around, this is wonderful news!!

I have mentioned it elsewhere, but the John Marshall volume made me want more legal volumes. The judicial branch is so important, but the changes it makes can lend itself well to capture in text. The collection of court opinions/letters/journals offers a great context to view the law and is well appreciated by some of us (or maybe just me?).

Common Sense published today Jan. 10th 1776.

No better time than to acquaint or reacquaint oneself.

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And I have just done so. It only took me a few hours. I read it before but this is the first time I have read it LOA style: my first was a cheap Dover thrift edition which cost me a pound sterling :-)