Alexis de Tocqueville: Prophet of Democracy in the Age of Revolution
£18.24
A comprehensive and insightful biography - Many experts consider Alexis de Tocqueville s Democracy in America the best book ever written on democracy and on the United States. Published in two series of separate volumes, in 1835 and 1840, Tocqueville s political classic is filled with an astonishing number of penetrating insights and acute observations on the nature of democracy, the character of Americans and the exceptional nation they were carving out of the wilderness in the 1800s. Many of Tocqueville s remarkably prescient judgments remain as valid today as they were when he wrote them more than 160 years ago. Hugh Brogan, political scientist and professor, provides an informative account of the life and times of this brilliant French intellectual who expertly captured the essence of America and Americans. Brogan s heavily annotated, exhaustively referenced book is both exceedingly comprehensive and highly nuanced. Many say that to understand America, you should read Tocqueville s classic book. getAbstract says that to understand its renowned author, you should read this commanding biography.
First biography for one of our age s great thinkers - Alexis de Tocqueville was an incredibly important figure. His major works, Ancien Regime and Democracy in America, were influential at the time and are still widely read. He is the best-known chronicler of early democracy in both France and America, and is hugely important to anyone with an interest in revolutionary France or America. But why go for this book? It s the first of its kind, a full-scale biography of the man and his ideas, and it s written by a true history heavyweight. Hugh Brogan is a distinguished British historian who has edited Penguin s History of the United States for years, and tells De Tocqueville s life with fluency and accessibility, though he never sacrifices the depth of detail.This is highly recommended. An important figure chronicled by an important historian, and the text itself doesn t disappoint. An event in history books is a rare thing these days - this is certainly one of them.