num_pages: 392
description: Democracy in America has had the singular honor of being even to this day the work that political commentators of every stripe refer to when they seek to draw large conclusions about the society of the USA. Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, came to the young nation to investigate the functioning of American democracy &amp; the social, political &amp; economic life of its citizens, publishing his observations in 1835 &amp; 1840. Brilliantly written, vividly illustrated with vignettes &amp; portraits, Democracy in America is far more than a trenchant analysis of one society at a particular point in time. What will most intrigue modern readers is how many of the observations still hold true: on the mixed advantages of a free press, the strained relations among the races &amp; the threats posed to democracies by consumerism &amp; corruption. So uncanny is Tocqueville’s insight &amp; so accurate are his predictions, that it seems as tho he were not merely describing the American identity but actually helping to create it.
language: English
title: De Tocqueville: Selections from Democracy in America
titlecomplete: De Tocqueville: Selections from Democracy in America
genres: Political Science, Politics, History, Sociology, American, Philosophy, Nonfiction, American History, Classics, France
ratings_count: 25231
awards: awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: French-American Foundation Translation Prize
category: Non-fiction, awardedAt: -4260182400000
name: Prix Montyon
publisher: Barnes & Noble