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Rating: 
Summary: Tocqueville in flowing English
Review: Arthur Goldhammer's translation of Alexis de Tocqueville's classic study of the young United States is - if you'll forgive the word - gorgeous. To read this is to feel that Tocqueville sits in the room with you. The language is modern and vibrant. More importantly, the depth of his perception, his understanding of the changes wrought upon his world have never been rendered so clearly. There is no feeling of antiquity to these words: you sense the author's awe and admiration for the American experiment. It would be a better nation if more thinking people read Tocqueville and I can think of no better translation than this one. Jerry
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Summary: Captures the sheen of Tocqueville's literary style
Review: Deftly edited by Olivier Zunz (Commonwealth Professor of History, University of Virginia), Democracy In America 1835-40 presents the classic text written by Alexis de Tocqueville in a new English translation by Arthur Goldhammer that smoothly captures the sheen of Tocqueville's literary style while faithfully rendering the depth and scope of his ideas. Tocqueville was a Frenchman who visited the United States in 1831 for nine months, conducting interviews with more than 200 people on American politics, law, and social practices. His reflections on the "great democratic revolution" transforming the Western world are insightful, inspirational, and continue to offer a timeless depth from a seasoned perspective which has been appreciated by generations of historians, academics and scholars for almost 175 years now.
Rating:
Summary: Best Translation Available
Review: This Library of America edition (Goldhammer, trans.) is the best available English version of Tocqueville's masterpiece. Goldhammer has elsewhere pointed out the many subtle but often crucial errors in earlier versions.
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