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Cover of Democracy in America

Democracy in America

  • History & Biography
  • Ethics, Culture & Social Issues
  • Publisher: Lexham Press
  • Published: 2016

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Publisher's Description

A New Abridgement of a Classic on the American Experiment. As debates rage over the future of America and the country's relationship to its past, there is no better time to examine the American culture from the perspective of a nineteenth century French thinker and student of democracy. Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, written in French in the early 19th century, is seen as a classic of American political and cultural studies. However, the expansive two-volume original has never seen an accessible version that remains true to the original text. This abridgement of Francis Bowen's 1864 translation keeps Tocqueville's thought intact. All chapters have been retained and no sentences have been divided. This volume offers a clear window into American political history and a concise approach to this classic outsider's perspective on the United States. An added introduction by editor John D. Wilsey further interprets and applies Tocqueville's thought for the modern student of American institutions, politics, religion, and society.


Endorsements (4)

“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

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