Tocqueville: Democracy in America (Library of America)

To read this is to feel that Tocqueville sits in the room with you. The language is modern and vibrant.

More importantly, the depth of his perception, his understanding of the changes wrought upon his world have never been rendered so clearly. There is no feeling of antiquity to these words: you sense the author's awe and admiration for the American experiment.

It would be a better nation if more thinking people read Tocqueville and I can think of no better translation than this one.

Jerry


Astute Observer of America   September 17, 2005
Michael A Neulander (VA)
38 out of 38 found this review helpful

De Tocqueville was simply of one of the great social scientists writing about America and Democracy. From reading the book I deduced that De Tocqueville was a social scientist before Marx! He compares European culture and government with the fledgling culture and democracy he observes in America. He is very much impressed with what he sees taking place in America in the 1830's and hopes it will spread to Europe. He at first believed that America's prosperity was simply due to geography and their distance from powerful neighbors, he abandons this idea after his visit to America. He comes to realize that the West is not being peopled "by new European immigrants to America, but by Americans who he believes have no adversity to taking risks". De Tocqueville comes to see that Americans are the most broadly educated and politically advanced people in the world and one of the reasons for the success of our form of government. He also foretells America's industrial preeminence and strength through the unfettered spread of ideas and human industry.

De Tocqueville also saw the insidious damage that the institution of slavery was causing the country and predicted some 30 years before the Civil War that slavery would probable cause the states to fragment from the union. He also the emergence of stronger states rights over the power of the federal government. He held fast to his belief that the greatest danger to democracy was the trend toward the concentration of power by the federal government. He predicted wrongly that the union would probably break up into 2 or 3 countries because of regional interests and differences. This idea is the only one about America that he gets wrong. Despite some of his misgivings, De Tocqueville, saw that democracy is an "inescapable development" of the modern world. The arguments in the "Federalist Papers" were greater than most people realized. He saw a social revolution coming that continues throughout the world today.

De Tocqueville realizes at the very beginning of the "industrial revolution" how industry, centralization and democracy strengthened each other and moved forward together. I am convinced that De Tocqueville is still the preeminent observer of America but is also the father of social science. A must read for anyone interested in American history, political philosophy or the social sciences.



Captures the sheen of Tocqueville's literary style   April 4, 2004
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful

Deftly edited by Olivier Zunz (Commonwealth Professor of History, University of Virginia), Democracy In America 1835-40 presents the classic text written by Alexis de Tocqueville in a new English translation by Arthur Goldhammer that smoothly captures the sheen of Tocqueville's literary style while faithfully rendering the depth and scope of his ideas. Tocqueville was a Frenchman who visited the United States in 1831 for nine months, conducting interviews with more than 200 people on American politics, law, and social practices. His reflections on the "great democratic revolution" transforming the Western world are insightful, inspirational, and continue to offer a timeless depth from a seasoned perspective which has been appreciated by generations of historians, academics and scholars for almost 175 years now.


An excellent translation of a seminal work.   August 4, 2004
Nathan G. (Texas)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful

Tocqueville needs no introduction. Democracy in America is simply the best work American polity ever. Goldhammer's translation makes it better that it ever has been. The translation is eloquent and flowing, as Tocqueville's original French was.

This version is worth the extra money.


Best Translation Available   June 17, 2004
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

This Library of America edition (Goldhammer, trans.) is the best available English translation. Goldhammer has elsewhere pointed out the many subtle but often crucial errors in earlier versions.