Overview

Alexis de Tocqueville, a young aristocrat of twenty-five, worried deeply about the future of France as well as his own fate in his native country, which had just experienced its second revolution in less than fifty years. Along with Gustave de Beaumont, a fellow magistrate, Tocqueville conceived the idea that by traveling to America he could penetrate the secret of the modern world, in which democracy and equality were destined to rule. Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont in America reproduces the journey of these two friends in an authoritative and elegant volume. Zunz and Goldhammer present most of the surviving letters, notebooks, and other texts that Tocqueville and Beaumont wrote during their decisive American journey of 1831-32, as well as their reflections and correspondence on America following their return to France. Also reproduced here are most of the sketches from the two sketchbooks Beaumont filled during their travels. The two young men relied on these documents in writing their individual works on America, Tocqueville's seminal Democracy in America (1835-40) and Beaumont's novel Marie or, Slavery in the United States (1835). Focusing on American equality, Tocqueville made a lasting contribution to Western political thought by framing modern history as a continuous struggle between political liberty and social equality, and presented the United States as having struck a proper balance between the two ideals. Beaumont concentrated instead on the brutality of racial prejudice. These extraordinarily rich and often profound texts constitute the indispensable record of their intertwined engagement with the United States, which we see here through the unfailingly intelligent gaze of two young Frenchmen with a unique appreciation of what was novel in the American experiment.

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<p>Here, for the first time in English, are the primary documents for understanding Alexis de Tocqueville's famous commentary on Democracy in America. Olivier Zunz's learned, judicious, and fluent introduction identifies Tocqueville's sources of information and compares his impressions with those of his companion Beaumont. An essential book for the history, political science, and sociology of America.--Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848

<p>Here, for the first time in English, are the primary documentsfor understanding Alexis de Tocqueville's famous commentary on Democracy in America.Olivier Zunz's learned, judicious, and fluent introduction identifies Tocqueville'ssources of information and compares his impressions with those of his companionBeaumont. An essential book for the history, political science, and sociology ofAmerica.--Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: TheTransformation of America, 1815-1848

Especially considering the dispersion of the original letters and the travel notebooks over several different volumes of Gallimard's Oeuvres completes and of the Pleiade edition, it is useful to have all the materials related to the American journey together in one handy volume. In addition, the fact that we have here not just Tocqueville's voice but also that of his travel companion Beaumont is more than an added bonus. The comparison with Beaumont, as this volume makes clear, is crucial for understanding how the actual journey impacted the two friends in very different ways. In addition, the letters and other writings are beautifully translated by the unparalleled Arthur Goldhammer, and the footnotes and scholarly apparatus are meticulously researched as well as user-friendly. All in all, Tocqueville and Beaumont in America is a worthy and important addition to the ever-increasing volume of Tocqueville's translated oeuvre.--Annelien de Dijn H-France Review (01/01/0001) Here, for the first time in English, are the primary documents for understanding Alexis de Tocqueville's famous commentary on Democracy in America. Olivier Zunz's learned, judicious, and fluent introduction identifies Tocqueville's sources of information and compares his impressions with those of his companion Beaumont. An essential book for the history, political science, and sociology of America.--Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 Especially considering the dispersion of the original letters and the travel notebooks over several different volumes of Gallimard's Oeuvres completes and of the Pleiade edition, it is useful to have all the materials related to the American journey together in one handy volume. In addition, the fact that we have here not just Tocqueville's voice but also that of his travel companion Beaumont is more than an added bonus. The comparison with Beaumont, as this volume makes clear, is crucial for understanding how the actual journey impacted the two friends in very different ways. In addition, the letters and other writings are beautifully translated by the unparalleled Arthur Goldhammer, and the footnotes and scholarly apparatus are meticulously researched as well as user-friendly. All in all, Tocqueville and Beaumont in America is a worthy and important addition to the ever-increasing volume of Tocqueville's translated oeuvre.--Annelien de Dijn H-France Review (01/01/0001) Here, for the first time in English, are the primary documents for understanding Alexis de Tocqueville's famous commentary on Democracy in America. Olivier Zunz's learned, judicious, and fluent introduction identifies Tocqueville's sources of information and compares his impressions with those of his companion Beaumont. An essential book for the history, political science, and sociology of America.--Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848

Especially considering the dispersion of the original letters and the travel notebooks over several different volumes of Gallimard's Oeuvres completes and of the Pleiade edition, it is useful to have all the materials related to the American journey together in one handy volume. In addition, the fact that we have here not just Tocqueville's voice but also that of his travel companion Beaumont is more than an added bonus. The comparison with Beaumont, as this volume makes clear, is crucial for understanding how the actual journey impacted the two friends in very different ways. In addition, the letters and other writings are beautifully translated by the unparalleled Arthur Goldhammer, and the footnotes and scholarly apparatus are meticulously researched as well as user-friendly. All in all, Tocqueville and Beaumont in America is a worthy and important addition to the ever-increasing volume of Tocqueville's translated oeuvre.--Annelien de Dijn H-France Review (01/01/0001)

Author Information

Arthur Goldhammer has translated more than one hundred works from the French, including Tocqueville's Democracy in America and The Ancien Régime and the French Revolution. He is an affiliate of the Center for European Studies at Harvard University and a member of the editorial board of French Politics, Culture, and Society. Olivier Zunz is Commonwealth Professor of History at the University of Virginia. He edited (with Alan S. Kahan) The Tocqueville Reader: A Life in Letters and Politics, authored Why the American Century?, and served as president of The Tocqueville Society/La Société Tocqueville.

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