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Democracy in America | 
 enlarge | Author: Alexis De Tocqueville
Creators: Harvey C. Mansfield, Delba Winthrop
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
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Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 11981
Media: Paperback
Pages: 722
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.9
ISBN: 0226805360
Dewey Decimal Number: 321
EAN: 9780226805368
Publication Date: April 1, 2002
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Product Description
When it was first published last year, Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop's new translation of Democracy in America was lauded in all quarters as the finest and most definitive edition of Tocqueville's classic thus far—complete with the most faithful and readable translation to date, impeccable annotations of unfamiliar references, and a masterful introduction placing the work and its author in the broader contexts of political philosophy and statesmanship. Mansfield and Winthrop's astonishing efforts have not only captured the elegance, subtlety, and profundity of Tocqueville's original, but also give us some sense of how very essential this masterpiece continues to be.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Astute observer of America December 5, 2008
Michael A Neulander (VA)
Alexis De Tocqueville was simply of one of the great social scientists writing about America and Democracy. From reading the book I deduced that 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." 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.
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 two or three countries because of regional interests and differences. This idea is the only one about America that he gets wrong. Despite some of his misgivings, Tocqueville, saw that democracy is an "inescapable development" of the modern world. The arguments in the "Federalist Papers" were greater then most people realized. He saw a social revolution coming that continues throughout the world today.
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 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.
Indispensable November 13, 2008
Enrique Ramon Escobar (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
For years, I knew "Democracy in America" as a real classic. But sometimes I omit reading classics. Fortunately, just now, after 173 years of the first french edition, I have as an argentine reader, discovered it as the most essential work about democracy and America. I think Tocqueville's masterpiece is an indispensable guide to understanding american national character. Deserves the faithful translation and the contribution of a deep introduction and comments of this fine edition.
Treatise on American Democracy February 8, 2008
M. A. Ramos (Florida USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a classic treatise by a French aristocrat who comprehensively examines the underpinnings of American democatic institutions. Including the rights and powers provided by the Consitution, forms of governments, and concepts of freedom and equality. In this book he also analyzes the influence of democratic values on intellectual movements, customs and political society. This treatise was originally written in 1835.
 Get the Library of America Edition November 27, 2007
Paul Van de Water (Virginia, USA)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
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.
150 Years after It was Written ... October 22, 2007
Thomas J. Sheridan (Toronto, Canada)
... Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America still accurately describes political and social America, and has turned out to be prophetic of modern problems. This book, along with Alexander Hamilton's Federalist Papers, remain the key to understanding American constitutional theory and political culture. Get 'em both!
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