First published in 1995 to outstanding critical acclaim, which hailed this book as the most definitive biography of Tom Paine. Reissued to coincide with the 200th anniversary of his death. Tom Paine is still very much in the public consciousness, and was quoted by Barack Obama in his inauguration speech Winner of the Fraunces Tavern Book Award Between August and October 2009 Shakespeare's Globe will be showing a play about Tom Paine, entitled A New World: The Life of Thomas Paine Updated with a new foreword by the author

'It is hard to imagine this magnificent biography ever being superceded . It is a stylish, splendidly erudite work The only book so far to do full justice to this near-nigh mythical figure' Terry Eagleton, Guardian 'A superb biography of an extraordinary man in extraordinary times' Daily Telegraph 'Not only a book of the year but a book of the decade - should finally consolidate Thomas Paine's reputation' Michael Foot, Evening Standard 'The most impressive and well-documented account ever written of this extraordinary man' Observer

Born in Australia, John Keane is Professor of Politics at the University of Westminster and the WZB (Berlin) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Founder of the Centre for the Study of Democracy, a consultant to the United Nations and a recent member of the American-based Institutions of Democracy Commission, his books include Global Civil Society? (2004), Vaclav Havel: A Political Tragedy in Six Acts (1999) and The Life and Death of Democracy.