Alexis de Tocqueville was among the first foreigners to recognize the potential of a new land called the United States. His classic work Democracy in America, first published in 1835, was not only a vivid portrait of the new nation, but also a startlingly accurate forecast of its future. From the influence of evangelical Christianity to the advent of our "consumer society," many of de Tocqueville's predictions have come true.
Bestselling author Joseph Epstein revisits de Tocqueville's legacy, providing a fresh account of his classic travels in America. Epstein explains how de Tocqueville, introverted and prone to self-doubt, arrived at such a profoundly influential interpretation of this new country and its government. Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy's Guide is a compelling portrait of the Frenchman who would become an American icon. Joseph Epstein is the author of, among other books, Snobbery: The American Version, Fabulous Small Jews (a collection of stories), Envy, and Friendship: An Exposé. He was the editor of The American Scholar between 1974 and 1997, and for many years taught in the English Department at Northwestern University. His essays and stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Commentary, the Atlantic Monthly, and other magazines.-
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Release date
January 17, 2024 -
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Kindle Book
- ISBN: 9780061747823
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- ISBN: 9780061747823
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- ISBN: 9780061747823
- File size: 1217 KB
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- English
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Reviews
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Publisher's Weekly
October 9, 2006
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859), whose Democracy in America
is more quoted than read, is the subject of the latest installment in the excellent Eminent Lives series. Tocqueville is fortunate enough to have Epstein (Snobbery: The American Version
), another man of letters lighting the way. Epstein provides a penetrating examination of the man, his works, his influence, his times and what we can learn from Democracy in America
. Epstein performs sterling service in marshaling the vast amount of material available on this enigmatic 19th-century Frenchman, and gives readers a clear understanding of the immense complexities involved: Tocqueville is much more than a source of useful epigrams and half-remembered misquotes. Was he a conservative, a liberal, a Christian, an agnostic, a historian, a sociologist, a reactionary aristocrat or a radical bourgeois? The answer, Epstein concludes, was that he was all and none; each era has its own understanding of the man, refracted through the particular concerns of the time, lending Tocqueville an aura of timelessness. His exquisite literary sensibility also helps to keep him fresh for each new generation. As an introduction to the man and a primer for his works, Epstein's book is admirable.
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Formats
- Kindle Book
- OverDrive Read
- EPUB ebook
Languages
- English
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