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Democracy in America (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

~ Alexis de Tocqueville (Author), Richard C. Heffner (Editor) "AFTER the birth of a human being, his early years are obscurely spent in the toils or pleasures of childhood..." (more)
Key Phrases: dogmatical belief, amongst democratic nations, aristocratic nations, United States, New England, Middle Ages (more...)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"No better study of a nation's institutions and culture than Tocqueville's Democracy in America has ever been written by a foreign observer -- none perhaps as good". -- The New York Times


Review

"No better study of a nation's institutions and culture than Tocqueville's Democracy in America has ever been written by a foreign observer; none perhaps as good."
--The New York Times

Praise for the work of Joseph Epstein:

"Epstein is one of the premier contemporary American essayists...What is so remarkable about Epstein as an essay writer is that he'll begin a discussion at some personal place...and end up in another place relevant to us all. He enjoys making language work, not making it jump through hoops for show." --Booklist

"Joseph Epstein is an essayist in the brilliant tradition of Charles Lamb. He moves so effortlessly from the amusingly personal to the broadly philosophical that it takes a moment before you realize how far out into the intellectual cosmos you've been taken."
--Tom Wolfe

"Joseph Epstein's essays no more need his identifying byline than Van Gogh's paintings need his signature. Epstein's style--call it learned whimsy--is unmistakable; for Epstein addicts, indispensable."
--George Will

"Joseph Epstein is the liveliest, most erudite and engaging essayist we have." --James Atlas

"If Epstein's ultimate ancestor is Montaigne, his more immediate master is Mencken. Like Mencken, he has fashioned a style that successfully combines elegance and even bookishness with street-smart colloquial directness. And there is nothing remote or aloof about him."
--John Gross, Chicago Tribune --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Signet Classics (September 5, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0451528123
  • ISBN-13: 978-0451528124
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #299,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Alexis De Tocqueville
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
AFTER the birth of a human being, his early years are obscurely spent in the toils or pleasures of childhood. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dogmatical belief, amongst democratic nations, aristocratic nations, aristocratic ages, democratic times, aristocratic communities, democratic armies, aristocratic people, democratic ages
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, New England, Middle Ages, South America, North America, American Union, Atlantic Ocean, Book Three, Federal Constitution, Old World, Book Four, Book Two
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Customer Reviews

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4.8 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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90 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Every literate American should read this, June 22, 2000
By David E. Levine (Peekskill , NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Democracy in America: Abridged Edition (Mentor) (Paperback)
The specific edition I am reviewing is the Heffner addition which is a 300 page abridgement. I also own an unabridged edition but I have only read Heffner cover to cover. What is amazing about de Toqueville is how uncanny many of his observations are over a century and a half later. He accurately predicted in 1844 that the world's two great powers would be the United States and Russia. He aptly pointed out that Americans are a people who join associations and he is so right 156 years later. Although there are both religious extremists on both ends, ie fundamentalists and atheists, he was dead on that, as a whole, we are a religious society but that our religious views are moderate. De Toqueville shows how American characteristics evolved from democracy as opposed to the highly class structered societies of Europe. From de Tocqueville, it could have been predicted that pop culture, such as rock music etc, would develop in America because the lack of an aristocracy causes a less cultured taste in the arts. In a thousand and one different ways, I found myself marveling at how dead on de Toqueville was. Most controversially, those who argue that we have lost our liberties to a welfare state might well find support in de Toqueville. Here, 100 years before the New Deal, he forsaw that a strong central government would take away our liberties but in a manner much more benign than in a totalitarian government. There are certain liberties that Americans would willingly sacrifice for the common good. Critics of 20th century liberalism in the US might well point to this as an uncanny observation. By reading "Democracy in America," the reader understands what makes Americans tick. De Toquville was an astute observer of who we are as a people and should be read by all educated Americans.

I want to note that there are several editions of this great work and in deciding which to buy, be aware that each has a different translator. I feel Heffner's translation is slightly stilted but, he did such a wonderful job in editing this abridgement that it, nontheless, deserves 5 stars.

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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Find another edition., January 12, 2007
By Kirk R. Anderson (Norton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have three complaints about this edition of Tocqueville:
1) Nowhere in the book is the translator credited. This violates basic principles of publication and scholarship.
2) This is in fact an abridged version of the original English-language translation by Henry Reeve, dating from sometime before 1862. Unless you want to re-create the experience of a modern Frenchman confronted with de Tocqueville's somewhat archaic French by reading the text in somewhat archaic English, I would seek out any of the more recent translations: there are at least three.
3) The ellipses, that is, the abridgements, have sometimes been made to conceal some of the author's less flattering views America. In fact I suspect this is a "patriotic" abridgement. For example, in the second chapter of part one, Heffner has omitted references to some of the excesses of Puritan law in New England which the notoriously even-handed Tocqueville had cited.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly accurate picture of past, present and future USA, December 24, 1999
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This review is from: Democracy in America: Abridged Edition (Mentor) (Paperback)
One of the most stricking and accurate evaluations of the American physical, mental and emotional existence then, now and in the future. De tocquevile, before our time, predicted most if not all of our successes and failures. And both congratulated and warned us of the paths we would wind up on if we chose to go left or right along the way. A compliment to the wisdom of men of his time and an insult to the pettyness of those of ours. Reading this book along with others like the Federalist Papers makes one wonder if we are progressing or regressing in our mental abilities and reasoning powers. I tend to think, the more I study the philosophies of his time and the ones presented today that we are moving backwards in knowledge, wisdom and common sense. The more technologically advanced we seem to become the more spoiled arrogant and naieve we seem to be in our social, economic and judicial practices. De Tocqueville and the men and women of his time were the true pioneers in mankinds attempt to be more than the sum of his parts. We have lost our way in regards to logic heading into the 21st century and the new millinium. And it will take men like our founders and De Tocqueville to lead the way back.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Treatise on America
Alexis de Tocqueville came to America for nine months in 1831-32 to conduct a study of the American penal system. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Eric Mayforth

5.0 out of 5 stars Prophetic Reflections on the Affects of Democracy and Equality
Before approaching the text of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, I had little realization as to the proper content of his prophetic work. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Matthew K. Minerd

2.0 out of 5 stars abridgement should not equate inquisition
As a former reviewer has stated this edition takes quite a bit of liberty in excising the less flattering aspects of Tocqueville's views of America. Read more
Published on February 5, 2007 by historybuff

5.0 out of 5 stars Preaching to the Choir
Praising this book is a bit like saying Huckleberry Finn was one of the great American novels - it's a profound statement of the obvious. Read more
Published on December 11, 2006 by Matthew Rozsa

5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant

As an American living in Europe, I read with great interest Alexis de Tocqueville's book about a European experiencing America.

Like most people, Mr. Read more
Published on May 17, 2006 by Eric J. Lyman

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous
This edition should be a must read for all.
This edited version seems to contain all the salient thoughts of de Tocqueville for those of us who don't want to get bogged... Read more
Published on December 27, 2005 by Reader from Irvine

5.0 out of 5 stars Democracy in America
In truth I haven't read the book as of yet, however, it was purchased to read De Torqueville thoughts of democracy and how both countries could profess democracy and uphold... Read more
Published on September 5, 2005 by F. I. Khattab

5.0 out of 5 stars What America is really about
De Tocqueville's observations of America in the early 19th century remain surprisingly relevant to America in the 21st century. Read more
Published on January 10, 2005 by doc peterson

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what we need in the Arab world
One question seemed to have dominated American policy-makers and elites in the wake of september 11: How can we make people in the Arab world (and to a lesser extent Europe and... Read more
Published on November 23, 2004 by M. Hamoui

5.0 out of 5 stars The pioneer and still greatest American social observer
How did an outsider, a foreign nobleman understand more about American democracy than so many learned observers from within? Read more
Published on November 22, 2004 by Shalom Freedman

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