Known as the Father of the American Revolution, English-American author Thomas Paine became famous for two pamphlets that inspired the colonists to fight for their independence. Common Sense, published in 1776, fostered the idea that the colonists could separate from the tyrannical rule of the British monarchy, and The American Crisis, published that same year, encouraged soldiers to fight against the British Army. Paine's later writings included The Rights of Man (1791), a series of articles defending the French Revolution and asserting that people should rise up if governments failed to protect their natural rights. His final text, The Age of Reason (1794–1796), challenged institutionalized religion and critiqued Christian theology, advocating instead for reason and scientific inquiry. This collection features unabridged editions of all four of the American revolutionary's main pamphlets and writings.

The acknowledged masterpiece of one of Spain's most influential thinkers. Between despair and the desire for something better, Unamuno finds that "saving incertitude" that alone can console us.