Democracy in America (Hardcover)

~ Alexis de Tocqueville (Author), (Translator, Editor), Delba Winthrop (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[T]he best edition of the best book on America. . . far superior to the old editions." -- The Weekly Standard, 23 October 2000

Product Description

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) came to America in 1831 to see what a great republic was like. What struck him most was the country's equality of conditions, its democracy. The book he wrote on his return to France, Democracy in America, is both the best ever written on democracy and the best ever written on America. It remains the most often quoted book about the United States, not only because it has something to interest and please everyone, but also because it has something to teach everyone.

 

When it was published in 2000, Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop's new translation of Democracy in America—only the third since the original two-volume work was published in 1835 and 1840—was lauded in all quarters as the finest and most definitive edition of Tocqueville's classic thus far. Mansfield and Winthrop have restored the nuances of Tocqueville's language, with the expressed goal "to convey Tocqueville's thought as he held it rather than to restate it in comparable terms of today." The result is a translation with minimal interpretation, but with impeccable annotations of unfamiliar references and a masterful introduction placing the work and its author in the broader contexts of political philosophy and statesmanship.

 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 722 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226805328
• ISBN-13: 978-0226805320
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #479,943 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A whole course on political science, November 11, 2003

By	Guillermo Maynez (Mexico, Distrito Federal Mexico) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It has been said that this is the best book about the US and the best book about democracy. Having just read it, I can say it is even more. Tocqueville reflects not only on the US or on democracy, but his comparative approach sheds light on the Europe of his times and before, on the nature of aristocracy and the inevitable democratic revolution which was on its way across the civilized world. Tocqueville was a realistic aristocrat, sometimes nostalgic for the "greatness" of yesterday, but bearing no illusions whatsoever about the feasibility of stopping democratic change. So, he sets to find out what is it about democracy that can work, and what its inherent risks are. And he decides to tour the grandest democratic experiment ever attempted by Man: the United States.

What Tocqueville finds is a unique nation. Unlike most other nascent states in history, the English who moved to America found a huge land, practically devoid of people (and in those cases where it was inhabited, they were easily killed), where everybody could be a landowner. This, plus the particular ethics of the Puritans, the glorifiaction of hard work, thrift and virtuosity, provided for a prosperous, practical people (not necessarily tolerant, especially in religious affairs). Far away from kings and emperors, Americans developed a communal democracy. So far so good, Tocquevill really admires the basic qualities of the US.

But this book is not a long eulogy of democracy. Tocqueville admits democracy is the best way to govern a modern society, but that does not mean he thinks it's perfect or endlessly beneficial. Democracy DOES poses risks: among others, the tyranny of the majority, the mediocrity towards which it impels mores; the loneliness of the individual, lost amidst an endless, faceless crowd.

Even for some minor mistaken attempts at prophecy, Tocqueville's prescience adn long-term vision is simply astonishing. He was right about the merits of democracy; he was right about its shortcomings. If he would come to the present-day US, he would probably find much to celebrate (prosperity, technological progress, widespread access to education, health, etc), and much to deplore, precisely the mediocrity of democratic tastes (think music, literature, cinema, art. etc).

Tocqueville's culture and knowledge are impressive, even more so considering how young he was when he travelled in the US. His style is conversational and straightforward, assertive but modest. The reader will find here a whole lot of wisdom and subjects to think about and it is simply one of the best books on politics and society ever written, one that is relevant todat as it was many years ago.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Get the Library of America Edition, November 27, 2007

By	Paul Van de Water (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Democracy in America (Paperback)

This 170-year-old book by a young French aristocrat remains one of the most frequently quoted analyses of what Toqueville famously calls America's "habits of the heart."

If you're interested in reading Toqueville for yourself and not through the eyes of some commentator, what version should you get?

Instead of this one, I recommend the Library of America edition Tocqueville: Democracy in America (Library of America). First, the translation by Arthur Goldhammer is smoother and more comprehensible, without informality or paraphrase. Second, the Goldhammer translation is not burdened by political leanings or excessively scholarly apparatus. Third--and not unimportant--the Library of America volume is smaller and easier to hold and provides a more pleasant reading experience.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One those books that must be read.............., February 22, 2001

By	nto62 (Corona, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Push yourself through the first couple of chapters where de Tocqueville discusses the formation of townships and counties and then find yourself in the lap of an oracle as he confidently and correctly identifies the stengths and weaknesses of America's democratic future. This book, written in 1832, resulted from de Tocqueville's tour of America and his wizardry of forecasting America's political milieu for generations to come is astonishing. Observing our fledgling political process, he extrapolates in detail what you and I live today as he extrapolated what our ancestors have lived before us. One cannot consider themselves an informed observer of American politics without recourse to this masterpiece. A must read for everyone in search of socio-political erudition.