Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine was involved in the two most important revolutions in the second half of the 18th century. He was one of the great political thinkers of the Americas. He wrote for the common people (well, at least the common literate people), and thus in clear and comprehensible language. He was even elected to office in France because of his support of their revolution.You may have heard Paine called the "The Father of the American Revolution." That's mostly a result of Common Sense. It was a #2 best-seller, right after the bible in 1776. In this pamphlet he lays out his ideas about government in general, lets you know what he thinks of monarchy, and gives a good idea where the soon-to-be United States of America (a name proposed by him) stands at the time of writing. This is a great historical reference to have read, but merits another look from time to time. This is one of those times.
