Alexis de Tocqueville

Description

Alexis de Tocqueville was the author of two masterpieces, Democracry in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution. In this volume, Alan S. Kahan, one of the world's leading authorities on Tocqueville's work, presents an accessible and rigorous account of the French author's ideas set in the context of his life and times. It sets out the essential tensions and ambiguities in Tocqueville's thought and analyzes the idea that made him such a compelling and insightful thinker.

Dr Kahan is the author of Aristocratic Liberalism (Oxford, 1992) and Liberalism in Nineteenth Century Europe (Palgrave, 2003). He was also co-editor of The Tocqueville Reader (Wiley, 2002).

"This volume presents the ideas of conservative French political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) within the context of his life and times. It recounts his biography and influences, then discusses the intricacies of his thought and ideas about democracy and freedom (and the tension between them) in America, France, and other countries; his ideas about poverty; responses to his work by contemporaries; and the impact of his contributions, including his works Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution." -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc. Kahan (Florida International Univ.), a well-regarded author, editor, and translator of Alexis de Tocqueville's works, offers an important introduction to Tocqueville's major works and ideas...[This] book stands as an important effort to provide an introduction to Tocqueville that unifies his many writings. The book also contains a useful bibliography of Tocqueville's works and important secondary sources covering Tocqueville's life and ideas. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above." -E.C. Sands, CHOICE, September 2010 Kahan's book is thus doubly meritorious, as it makes available to students and beginning readers of Tocqueville a succinct and well-written presentation of one of the most important political thinkers since the Enlightenment period. -- French Studies, vol 65, no 4 Alan Kahan has produced one of the best [of the Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers series], combining concision and clarity without sacrificing intellectual depth. As is called for in this type of publication, Kahan has a pithy way of summarizing complex issues. -- French Studies "The volumes in this timely series comprise the most comprehensive body of material on conservative and libertarian thought yet published in a single project devoted to the subject. The series will prove an indispensable tool not only for those concerned with the history of political thought but also for those who confront the challenging task of constructing a viable contemporary conservative identity. Professor Meadowcroft had a difficult editorial task, to which he has responded with a judicious choice of thinkers and topics." Noel O'Sullivan, Professor of Political Philosophy, the University of Hull, UK. "Kahan's ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE is a small gem of a book written by one of the acknowledged masters of Tocqueville scholarship. The volume, organized in an original and elegant way around the themes of democracy and freedom, is remarkably clear and concise; yet it manages, in a brief format, to treat with insight Tocqueville's major sources, concepts and works. It is one of the best short introductions to Tocqueville's thinking and writing that we now have." James Schleifer, Emeritus Dean of the Library and Professor of History at the College of New Rochelle and has been a Visiting Lecturer at Yale University. "No other short volume so artfully renders Tocqueville's passion for freedom, and his lifelong effort to formulate a theory of democracy where freedom and equality can coexist. A must read." Olivier Zunz, Commonwealth Professor of History, University of Virginia This is an excellent little book by one of the world's leading authorities in Tocqueville. It packs a great deal of information, a myriad of penetrating insights, and a considerable amount of wisdom into its brief 131 pages of written text. Alan Kahan does a marvelous job of introducing Tocqueville to the general reader in a way that is sophisticated and nuanced enough to retain the attention of the more advance reader as well. It is a balanced and learned treatment that does not shy away from pointing out some of the more troubling aspects of Tocqueville's thought. And to those of us who know and admire Kahan's previous work, his new "take" on Tocqueville is rather intriguing. -- Helena Rosenblatt * H-France *