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julieacf's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
Formatting of the free editions makes reading this extra challenging.
lordcheez's review against another edition
5.0
Important and insightful. Required reading for all Americanists.
eb00kie's review against another edition
4.0
With keen insight, the author describes the US as seen during his 1830 trip, 50 years after the War of Independence and 30 years before the Civil War.
Many thanks to the librivox volunteers.
The second volume of this edition is linked here [b:Democracy in America - Volume 2|18872239|Democracy in America - Volume 2|Alexis de Tocqueville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1430853314l/18872239._SY75_.jpg|8963501].
Many thanks to the librivox volunteers.
The second volume of this edition is linked here [b:Democracy in America - Volume 2|18872239|Democracy in America - Volume 2|Alexis de Tocqueville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1430853314l/18872239._SY75_.jpg|8963501].
basically_npr_trash's review against another edition
2.0
Some good insights on the birth of US democracy. Runs into issues when dealing with poverty and race, but overall interesting.
skacey's review against another edition
4.0
Incredible Book.
I'm not sure if this is the most misquoted book, but I can say that while reading it and discussing it with others, many seem to have opinions about it that turned out not to be supported by the writing. I was told that this is a book about the American prison system, race relations in America, slavery in America, and many more single sentence summaries.
That was not what I found. For this reason, I will not attempt to summarize what I have learned. I do not think a few words would do justice to the depth and breadth of this work.
First, this is a very long book, and the writing style is best described as opulent. The meanings of many sections are nuanced and layered and may require more than one listen or a re-read to understand Tocqueville's perspective. Further, this is a period specific writing that reflects a snapshot in American history. As with any history, one must be cautious when drawing conclusions without consideration for the progress since this writing.
This being said, I found that the information and insights emparted changed my view on many topics about our country, its people, and our shared origin. I could not recommend that everyone should read it as it is quite daunting, but I can say with some certainty that the journey is worth the effort.
I'm not sure if this is the most misquoted book, but I can say that while reading it and discussing it with others, many seem to have opinions about it that turned out not to be supported by the writing. I was told that this is a book about the American prison system, race relations in America, slavery in America, and many more single sentence summaries.
That was not what I found. For this reason, I will not attempt to summarize what I have learned. I do not think a few words would do justice to the depth and breadth of this work.
First, this is a very long book, and the writing style is best described as opulent. The meanings of many sections are nuanced and layered and may require more than one listen or a re-read to understand Tocqueville's perspective. Further, this is a period specific writing that reflects a snapshot in American history. As with any history, one must be cautious when drawing conclusions without consideration for the progress since this writing.
This being said, I found that the information and insights emparted changed my view on many topics about our country, its people, and our shared origin. I could not recommend that everyone should read it as it is quite daunting, but I can say with some certainty that the journey is worth the effort.
xerxes314's review against another edition
3.0
de Tocqueville definitely has a lot of insightful things to say about America and democracy, but it's hard to see where his biases end and the facts begin. He has a very odd (to a modern reader) pro-aristocracy pro-religion France-slanted point of view. This means that much of the time, he tries to cherry-pick examples from America to make points relevant to his domestic politics. If you've read his other works, you know he's an ardent monarchist, and this often colors his perception of the presidency. It can be hard to tell whether the portrait he paints is accurate or just what he wants to see.
Consider this quote (pulled from another review): "Providence has given to every human being the degree of reason necessary to direct himself in the affairs that interest him exclusively... The father of a family applies it to his children, the master to his servants" That reviewer seems to think this says something about individual liberty, but it really just describes localized tyranny! The mothers and the servants are denied agency, and de Tocqueville focuses so entirely on the masters of America that he does not see this. He often repeats that America has "universal" suffrage; universal except for women, slaves, natives and the poor.
And although he does have a funny anecdote about confronting a Northerner about why free blacks are prevented from voting, he later concludes that the reason democracy works in America is due to (a little) our good Constitutional framework, (a little) our favorable location away from hostile European monarchies, and (mostly) because white English people are intrinsically awesome.
So one major problem with the book is that it has a fair amount of 19th Century racism and sexism in it. My version of the translation had "translator notes" from some pretty vile US Southerners that exacerbated that problem. I wonder if some of the worst stuff originates with that translation rather than de Tocqeville's original. However, substantial space is given to the argument that a race war in the South is inevitable and will result in the genocide of blacks in America. Ultimately, these problems made me wonder whether there are really any greater lessons that can be gleaned from the work or if it must be regarded as just the opinions of a particular person at a particular place and time.
Consider this quote (pulled from another review): "Providence has given to every human being the degree of reason necessary to direct himself in the affairs that interest him exclusively... The father of a family applies it to his children, the master to his servants" That reviewer seems to think this says something about individual liberty, but it really just describes localized tyranny! The mothers and the servants are denied agency, and de Tocqueville focuses so entirely on the masters of America that he does not see this. He often repeats that America has "universal" suffrage; universal except for women, slaves, natives and the poor.
And although he does have a funny anecdote about confronting a Northerner about why free blacks are prevented from voting, he later concludes that the reason democracy works in America is due to (a little) our good Constitutional framework, (a little) our favorable location away from hostile European monarchies, and (mostly) because white English people are intrinsically awesome.
So one major problem with the book is that it has a fair amount of 19th Century racism and sexism in it. My version of the translation had "translator notes" from some pretty vile US Southerners that exacerbated that problem. I wonder if some of the worst stuff originates with that translation rather than de Tocqeville's original. However, substantial space is given to the argument that a race war in the South is inevitable and will result in the genocide of blacks in America. Ultimately, these problems made me wonder whether there are really any greater lessons that can be gleaned from the work or if it must be regarded as just the opinions of a particular person at a particular place and time.
johnaggreyodera's review against another edition
2.0
One of those "classics" I read and thought, "why does anyone think this is good?" Sometimes Tocqueville's observations, like when he reflects on the individualist culture of America, are interesting, but they seem to be stumbled upon tidbits, and I don't know if he himself thinks these parts are interesting. The rest of the book is hogwash
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