This new abridged translation of Democracy in America reflects the rich Tocqueville scholarship of the past forty years, and restores chapters central to Tocqueville's analysis absent from previous abridgments--including his discussions of enlightened self-interest and the public’s influence on ethical standards. Judicious notes and a thoughtful Introduction offer aids to the understanding of a masterpiece of nineteenth-century social thought that continues in our own day to illuminate debates about the roles of liberty and equality in American life.

Democracy in America is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville. Its title translates as On Democracy in America, but English translations are usually simply entitled Democracy in America. In the book, Tocqueville examines the democratic revolution that he believed had been occurring over the previous seven hundred years.

Alexis de Tocqueville is best known as the author of Democracy in America and The Ancien Régime and the Revolution . Yet among his contemporaries he was also esteemed for his brilliant investigations on social issues such as prison reform, pauperism and the plight of abandoned children. This study explores the intellectual and social context of these neglected yet startlingly innovative writings and it reveals how they proved central to the composition of those works for which Tocqueville is best known.

Revised translation of the work of Tocqueville analyzing the system of democracy in America. Tocqueville's first work first came out some fifteen years prior to this revised translation, he touched upon nearly all of America's institutions including industrialism and stretching to manners.

An exclusive new translation of the most perceptive and influential book ever written about American politics and society—“the bible on democracy” (The Texas Observer) This Library of America volume presents de Tocqueville’s masterpiece in an entirely new translation—the first to fully capture his style and provide a rigorous, faithful rendering of his profound ideas and observations Alexis de Tocqueville, a young aristocratic French lawyer, came to the United States in 1831 to study its penitentiary systems. His nine-month visit and subsequent reading and reflection resulted in this landmark masterpiece of political observation and analysis. In Democracy in America, Tocqueville vividly describes the unprecedented social equality he found in America and explores its implications for European society in the emerging modern era. His book provides enduring insight into the political consequences of widespread property ownership, the potential dangers to liberty inherent in majority rule, the vital role of religion in American life, and the importance of civil institutions in an individualistic culture dominated by the pursuit of material self-interest. He also probes the deep differences between the free and slave states, writing prophetically of racism, bigotry, and prejudice in the United States. Brought to life by Arthur Goldhammer’s clear, fluid, and vigorous translation, this volume of Democracy in America is the first to fully capture Tocqueville’s achievements both as an accomplished literary stylist and as a profound political thinker.

Alexis de Tocqueville possessed one of the most fertile sociological imaginations of the nineteenth century. For more than 120 years, his uncanny predictive insight has continued to fascinate thinkers, and his writings have continued to influence our interpretations of history and society. His analyses of many issues remain relevant to current social and political problems. In this volume John Stone and Stephen Mennell bring together for the first time selections from the full range of Tocqueville's writings, selections that illustrate the depth of his insight and analysis.