46 Pages [Hardcover]

Scott Liell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 2003

Thomas Paine, a native of Thetford, England, arrived in America's coloines with little in the way of money, reputation, or prospects, though he did have a letter of recommendation in his pocket from Benjamin Franklin. Paine also had a passion for liberty in all its forms, and an abiding hatred of tyranny. His forceful, direct expression of those principles found voice in a pamphlet he wrote entitled Common Sense, which proved to be the most influential political work of the time. Ultimately, Paine's treatise provided inspiration to the second Continental Congress for the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. 46 Pages is a dramatic look at a pivotal moment in our country's formation, a scholar's meticulous recreation of the turbulent years leading up to the Revolutionary War, retold with excitement and new insight.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Calling Common Sense "the single most influential political work in American history," Liell, a member of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association, asks how, in a mere 46 pages, Paine persuaded American colonists that the only solution to their quarrels with Britain was independence. Liell introduces the anonymous pamphleteer, Paine, a former civil servant who witnessed the crown's abuses and, as a disaffected Englishman, knew how to speak to the colonists. While they had asserted their rights as British subjects, Liell explains, Paine called upon them to claim the natural, God-given rights of all men. Significantly, he also gave Americans both an identifiable enemy in the person of George III and a higher purpose-not merely national independence but the cause of liberty itself. Charting the pamphlet's spread throughout the colonies, from prominent statesmen to common citizens, Liell cites astounding sales and quotes contemporaries on its popularity. If the book's first two parts, a minibiography of Paine and the exegesis of Common Sense, sound like lectures, this third part, with its stacked quotations and tiresome repetition, reads like a term paper. In the epilogue, Liell simply summarizes Paine's subsequent career as a political writer. This colorless book hardly seems just recognition for one of liberty's most dedicated spokesmen and his revolutionary pamphlet.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A spritely and sympathetic introduction to Thomas Paine and his great book." -- Jonathan R. Dull, author of Diplomatic History of the American Revolution

"Anyone who hopes to understand our past and the faith of the American story should read this book [46 Pages]." -- David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Truman and John Adams

"Compelling...dramatic...a scholar's meticulous recreation...retold with excitement and new insight." -- Manchester Journal, 6/13/03

"Paine wrote the revolutionary manifesto that made Jefferson's truths self-evident. 46 Pages is an engaging rendition of that significant story." -- Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Founding Brothers

"Scott Liell delivers an immensely readable and learned study of the brief book that sold America on independence." -- Alan Axelrod, Ph. D., co-author of What Every American Should Know About American History

"The fascinating and timely 46 Pages accomplishes a succinct and erudite introduction to an infinitely important work." -- Booksense.com 3/3/03

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 174 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (March 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076241507X
• ISBN-13: 978-0762415076
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 46 pages never seemed so long, March 12, 2005

By 

John B. Maggiore (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 46 Pages (Hardcover)

"46 Pages" unfortunately refers to the length of the Revolutionary War era pamphlet, "Common Sense," rather than this book about said pamphlet. Unfortunate because Liell could have made his basic point in 46 pages, or even much less.

As it is the book is pretty short, but we get the idea of Liell's thesis quickly - "Common Sense" sparked a change in the way Americans thought about their relationship with England. Before, Americans sought rights within the British system, after they wanted a whole different system. Further, "Common Sense" helped Americans think about a republican form of government rather than an independent government based on the British model. Good point. Now, if you want to read it again stretched over about 150 pages, pick up this book.

Liell runs into trouble in part because he's not sure what he wants to do with his book. There's a little bit of Gary Wills' "Lincoln at Gettysburg," a little bit of Richard Brookhiser's short biographies of the founding fathers, and a little bit of a grade-school text book. The combination does not achieve what any of its component parts succeed at.

Wills' book on Lincoln's speech explores its historic context, analyzes its every phrase, and then describes the effect it had on American thinking during and after the Civil War. A glaring absence of Liell's book is much analysis of the language of "Common Sense." He touches on it, emphasizing that it was written to be understood not just by the framers but also by common farmers, but we don't really come away with much appreciation of the actual language of the pamphlet.

Liell probably would have been better off writing a straight biography of Thomas Paine. Again, Paine's biography is touched on, but his life is glossed over. This may be because Liell is aiming at a very general audience and is afraid of being offensive. For instance, Liell mentions in passing that after the Revolution, Paine wrote against organized religion in Europe, but doesn't really explain Paine's views. Though the brief story goes on to discuss how Paine was imprisoned in France for his views, and was almost a victim of the Reign of Terror, I almost got the sense that Liell was avoiding Paine's more controversial positions out of fear of a modern reign of terror that reacts poorly to evidence of founding fathers' anti-religiosity.

Another glaring absence is "Common Sense" itself. The book's very title tips us off that the pamphlet is a short work; it could easily have been included as an appendix. Instead, the book reviews much of what anyone who knows what "Common Sense" is probably already knows. With our curiosity piqued, the end of the book would have been an opportune time to read the work, probably for the first time.

Devoid of in-depth biographical information, textual analysis and "Common Sense" itself, "46 Pages" is left with the same basic point repeated over and over again. Despite its brevity, the book therefore moves slowly to a scattered conclusion about "other founding fathers" (all of whom had already been discussed), and an epilogue about Paine's later life that hints at, but does not explore, what seems like a truly interesting story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insights on an important chapter of our history., May 19, 2008

By 

No one of consequence (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 46 Pages (Hardcover)

I think the reviewers who berate this book as being too long have too short an attention span. Neither does the author unduly glorify Thomas Paine. He simply takes a sequence of pivotal events and examines them with a depth that most history books do not provide. Most of us learned in school that Thomas Paine wrote "Common Sense," and that it was an important pamphlet in the revolutionary era, but that's about all we know from most sources. Liell sets about to remedy that deficiency, and does so ably, in my opinion.

"46 Pages" rejects the typical superficial treatment of Paine and his primary work. He spends a suitable amount of ink developing the context of the intellectual foment into which "Common Sense" made its entree. This is a critical point to understand just how momentous this document was during its time. Liell also provides an admirable biographical sketch of Paine and traces his development as a writer, a political activist and ultimately an ardent patriot and pamphleteer. The author further examines how "Common Sense" was received by various elements of early American society, such as common citizens, Virginia aristocrats, Congressmen, and the Continental Army. Liell also examines the efforts of opponents to counter its doctrines.

Only a shallow reading of "46 Pages" could lead one to describe it as redundant or tiresome. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially reading the text of the fateful pamphlet itself. Very well done.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable addition to the history of the Revolution, August 15, 2005

By 

Andrew J. Graff (Vermont, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 46 Pages (Hardcover)

In the year 1763, at the height of the First British Empire, an American colonist's greatest pride was to be the subject of an English king. For fifteen years thereafter, the ill-conceived policies of imperial ministers strained the bonds linking colonies and parent country to breaking point. Yet, even after the bloodshed at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill, those bonds stubbornly refused to break.

By 1775, Americans were prepared to fight for their rights, and did so. But the great majority could not bring themselves to throw off the glittering mantle of the British Empire. King George III embodied the venerable heritage that was part of their identity, and few dared speak against their monarch in public--even the leaders of the Continental Congress. The enemies of America were "ministerial" enemies: a group of corrupt men in Whitehall had misled the king and stifled the complaints of his loyal American subjects. The king himself could not be a party to such injustice; if he could, everything they'd been taught to believe would be wrong. Willing satellites of the British sun for a century and a half, Americans now began to fear they were in captive orbit around a black hole. For most, it was simply too much to accept.

In the early days of 1776, Thomas Paine published "Common Sense," severing the colonists' nostalgic ties to their ancestral nation with sudden finality. That a political pamphlet, in a matter of months, could profoundly change the course of history was stunning to those who witnessed its impact at first hand. It is no less so today. In "46 Pages," Scott Liell explains how and why an Englishman accomplished what no American of the time could. He explores the critical events in Paine's background and the evolution of his radical beliefs. He isolates the compelling lines of thought radiating from the groundbreaking pamphlet, and demonstrates how they utterly effaced colonists' lingering notions of their system of government. Countless Americans picked up "Common Sense" believing themselves the dutiful children of an enlightened and glorious monarch. They put it down again seething with anger and contempt. Paine showed the colonists that what they had taken as day was in fact night; but after reading his words, they did not lament the realization. Their former beliefs exposed as idolatry, they were willing to part with them at last.

The author goes on to trace the powerful effects of "Common Sense" on its diverse audience: the Founding Fathers in Congress, the generals and common soldiers of the Continental Army, the average farmer in his field and tradesman in his shop. With force and clarity, he illustrates its decisive importance in convincing the colonists that their true interest, and best chance of securing their rights, lay in independence from Great Britain. Before "Common Sense," America had been fighting with one hand tied behind her back. From now on, her course would be clear, her energies focused.

Mr. Liell's account is engaging, scholarly and thoroughly illuminating. On the road to a true understanding of the American Revolution, "46 Pages" is an essential part of the journey.