The American Crisis aka 'The Crisis': Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The American Crisis aka 'The Crisis', credited to Thomas Paine, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The American Crisis aka "The Crisis" by Thomas Paine. Read in English by Michele Fry; TRUEBRIT; Max Wainer; KirksVoice; Ernst Schnell; Greg Giordano; Bruce Kachuk; JGHenry. A 13 pamphlet series by 18th century Enlightenment philosopher/author Thomas Paine, published between 1776 to 1783 during and immediately following the American Revolution, gathered into one volume in 1882 by Moncure D. Conway. Each essay, plus 2 inserts, bolstered the morale of the American colonists to fight hard for their independence, appealed to the English to support the colonist's cause, clarified the issues at stake, and denounced any type of negotiated peace. Replete with quotable quotes, the first pamphlet, Crisis I, begins with the now-familiar words "THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Paine, an Englishman living in the colonies, signed his pamphlets anonymously as "Common Sense." (Michele Fry)

Recording facts

• Recording title: The American Crisis aka 'The Crisis'
• Author credits: Thomas Paine
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 19
• Listed recording duration: 8:19:14

Catalogue topics

• american revolution
• American history
• thomas paine
• the crisis

Track guide

1. 00 - Editor's Preface — 1:54
2. 01 - Crisis I, These Are The Times That Try Men's Souls — 23:11
3. 02 - Crisis II, To Lord Howe — 41:14
4. 03 - Crisis III, Part I, In The Progress Of Politics — 42:54
5. 04 - Crisis III, Part II, In The Progress Of Politics — 35:09
6. 05 - Crisis IV, Those Who Expect To Reap The Blessings Of Freedom — 8:36
7. 06 - Crisis V, Part I, To Gen. Sir William Howe — 45:41
8. 07 - Crisis V, Part II, To The Inhabitants Of America — 19:40
9. 08 - Crisis VI, To The Earl Of Carlisle and Gen. Clinton — 23:08
10. 09 - Crisis VII, To The People Of England — 50:12
11. 10 - Crisis VIII, Address To The People Of England — 20:26
12. 11 - Crisis IX, Had America Pursued Her Advantages — 13:01
13. 12 - The Crisis Extraordinary On The Subject Of Taxation — 38:04
14. 13 - Crisis X, On The King Of England's Speech — 49:04
15. 14 - Crisis XI, On The Present State Of News — 26:39
16. 15 - A Supernumerary Crisis, To Guy Carlton — 11:30
17. 16 - Crisis XII, To The Earl Of Shelburne — 23:46
18. 17 - Crisis XIII, Thoughts On The Peace, And Probable Advantages Thereof — 16:46
19. 18 - A Supernumerary Crisis: To The People Of America — 8:31

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.