Democracy in America

Democracy in America remains the work political commentators of every stripe cite when drawing broad conclusions about the United States.

Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, traveled to the young nation to investigate the functioning of American democracy and the social, political, and economic life of its citizens. He published his observations in 1835 and 1840.

Brilliantly written and vividly illustrated with vignettes and portraits, Democracy in America is far more than a trenchant analysis of one society at a particular point in time.

Modern readers will be most struck by how many of his observations still hold true: the mixed advantages of a free press, strained racial relations, and the threats consumerism and corruption pose to democracies.

So uncanny is Tocqueville's insight and so accurate are his predictions that it seems as though he was not merely describing the American identity but actually helping to create it.