Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America (LOA #147)

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 observationsAlexis 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, t