[bksvol-discuss] Submitted Book
- From: Barbara B <scootergirlred@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Book Share Volunteer Group <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 19:39:38 -0800 (PST)
I just submitted the following book:
Book Information
ISBN: None because it is an older book
Title:
Selected Writings of Thomas Paine--Volunteer
Author(s):
Thomas Paine, Author, Richard E. Roberts, Editor
Publisher:
Everybody's Vacation Publishing Company
Copyright Date:
1945
Copyrighted By:
Richard E. Roberts
Brief Synopsis:
This book, compiled by Richard E. Roberts, consists, of selections from Thomas
Paine’s voluminous writing: Women's Rights, Independence-1775, African Slavery
in America, Common Sense, Retreat, War Correspondent, The American Crisis,
Government, Banks, Money, Death and Taxes, First Principles of Government,
Rights of Man, A New Invention, The Age of Reason, An Explanation, Liberty of
the Press, The Will of Thomas Paine, and After this Life.
Long Synopsis:
Richard E. Roberts, in the Introduction of this book, explains that Thomas
Paine “. . . is the first Revolutionary of them all. Before Washington
whispered of independence, Thomas Paine shouted for it. . . in his pamphlet
Common Sense. . . . In it, Paine demanded a declaration of independence from
England; six months later, our Declaration of Independence was written and
signed. Paine had a hand in its writing. Paine could fight as well as write. He
joined Washington's army and on a bitter night of retreat, he wrote Crisis 1 on
a drumhead by a campfire. . . . Washington had it read to his pitiful army and
they turned to whip the British at Trenton. . . . He wrote another Crisis
whenever he thought it necessary. He wrote letters to every important man in
the country, he reported the progress of the war, he rejoiced at victory. He
was the one-man propaganda bureau of the American Revolution . . . he fought
battles and wrote what he saw and thought and
what his comrades saw and felt. He put into printed words the things they
wanted known, he was their voice and their guide. He nourished Liberty with his
breath and sweat. In peace, he went to England. There he worked on his iron
bridge, his most important invention. He received a patent on it from the
government of George III. But Liberty was being born in France, and Paine had
to go there. He defended the French Revolution as he had defended the American.
He wrote The Rights of Man, an answer to Burke's verbal attacks on the idea of
freedom. Paine's logic levelled, if it did not convince, the believers in the
divine right of kings. Though Paine hated kings, he loved men, and when a man
was no longer a king, Paine could find no enthusiasm for his decapitation. So
the French terrorists imprisoned him. Paine wrote The Age of Reason, trying to
free men from theocracy and superstition as he had freed them from monarchy and
slavishness. . . . Paine returned
to the United States on a government ship sent by his friend Jefferson. . . .
He had already said that negro slavery was vicious. He wrote of systems of
government, the conduct of banks, free men's ways of laying and collecting
taxes. He cried for old-age benefits, he pleaded for free education for the
poor, he wanted pensions for ex-soldiers. He speculated on the causes of yellow
fever, he defended the freedom of the press, he poured a flood of political
articles into magazines and newspapers. He died in 1809, not greatly regarded
by the new generation who did not know or had forgotten that he helped forge
the liberty they enjoyed. Politicians since Paine have charmed their
constituents with his words and phrases, they have borrowed his ideas and used
them for their own. You will find here words which are the germ of the Monroe
Doctrine and others which are the seed, first of the League of Nations, and now
the United Nations. Maybe in another two
hundred years, we will use the rest of the ideas Paine left us. If we do, he
will be happy, he was all his life a lover of Liberty.”
Comments:
I added a line as the header to ensure that the stripper would not strip away
the page numbers of the book. I also added section breaks in the text and
indicated them by three asterics. I formatted the few footnotes and increased
the font sizes of the chapter titles and the title of the book in accordance
with Bookshare’s policies. Note that the author and copyright holder are
different and that there is no ISBN. Finally, some of the spelling is unlike
modern English spelling. I have the ink-print copy of the book so if the
proofreader finds problems, he or she can e-mail the texts with the problems
and I will e-mail him or her the corrections. scootergirlred@xxxxxxxxx
Adult content:
No
Language:
English US
Book Quality:
EXCELLENT
Categories:
History, Nonfiction
B4E Significant:
No
SFWA Challenged:
No
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