Synopses & Reviews
Arthur Kaledin's groundbreaking book on Alexis de Tocqueville offers an original combination of biography, character study, and wide-ranging analysis of Tocqueville's Democracy in America, bringing new light to that classic work. The author examines the relation between Tocqueville's complicated inner life, his self-imagination, and his moral thought, and the meaning of his enduring writings, leading to a new understanding of Tocqueville's view of democratic culture and democratic politics. With particular emphasis on Tocqueville's prescient anticipation of various threats to liberty, social unity, and truly democratic politics in America posed by aspects of democratic culture, Kaledin underscores the continuing pertinence of Tocqueville's thought in our own changing world of the twenty-first century.
Review
"This is a book that must be read in its entirety in order to appreciate its richness, but it will repay the efforts of the patient reader. It is a strikingly original contribution to our understanding of one of the most important European writers of the nineteenth century.”Stanley Katz, Princeton University -- Jason Kelly - Economic History Review
Review
"In the course of Kaledins book it seems that every possible topic ever addressed in the secondary Tocqueville literature is at least touched upon once again; I suspect that this book is the result of long years of rumination. Kaledin also writes extremely well; he carries the reader forward with energy and clarity; his language is jargon-free.”James T. Schleifer, author of The Making of Tocquevilles "Democracy in America" -- Stanley Katz
Review
“Kaledin teases out the ambiguities and complexities of Tocquevilles life with astonishing perspicuity, offering a subtle and complex analysis of the aristocrat turned explorer turned writer turned politician.
Tocqueville and His America is a strikingly original contribution to our understanding of one of the most important European thinkers of the nineteenth century.”—Stanley Katz, Princeton University
Review
“
Tocqueville and His America is a very subtle, complex work, and its scope is enormous. Kaledin carries the reader forward with energy and clarity… A remarkable, fascinating, and original book.”—James T. Schleifer, author of
The Making of Tocqueville's Democracy in AmericaReview
“Nuanced . . . exceptional . . . will be read with great interest by all students of Tocqueville and by many who can learn from him if they care about Americas future.”—David Keymer, Library Journal
About the Author
Arthur Kaledin is professor of history emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives in Cambridge, MA.