Thomas Paine was one of the greatest advocates of freedom in history, and his Declaration of the Rights of Man, first published in 1791, is the key to his reputation. Inspired by his outrage at Edmund Burke's attack on the French Revolution, Paine's text is a passionate defense of man's inalienable rights. Since its publication, Rights of Man has been celebrated, criticized, maligned, suppressed, and co-opted. But here, polemicist and commentator Christopher Hitchens marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. Hitchens, a political descendant of the great pamphleteer, demonstrates how Paine's book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the United States, and how, "in a time when both rights and reason are under attack," Thomas Paine's life and writing "will always be part of the arsenal on which we shall need to depend." (New Statesman)--From publisher description.

Originally published: London : Atlantic Books, 2006.

Paine in America -- Paine in Europe -- Rights of man, part one -- Rights of man, part two -- The age of reason -- Conclusion : Paine's legacy.