Democracy in America. Part the Second
by de Tocqueville, Alexis
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- first
- Condition
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Pasadena, California, United States
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About This Item
London: Saunders and Otley, 1840. First English language edition. Two octavo volumes collating: xvi, 333, [2 ads]; viii, 365, [2 ads]. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, marbled end papers, black morocco spine labels, rebacked but retaining original spines. An excellent copy internally in a handsome contemporary binding.
The first English language edition of de Tocqueville's seminal work on American government, first printed the same year in Paris. De Tocqueville, a French aristocrat, visited America between 1831 and 1832, ostensibly to study the penal system, although his interest was considerably broader. It seems logical that France would look to America as a beacon of hope for a successful democracy. After France embraced the goals of equality and democracy in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution, it found itself first in a dictatorship under Napoleon and then in one constitutional monarchy after another during the years following. De Tocqueville's astute observation of several aspects of American society and culture provides an invaluable lens of foreign perspective on our young nation's political growth.
Democracy in America was an immediate and sustained success. Almost from the beginning it enjoyed the reputation of being the most acute and perceptive discussion of the political and social life of the United States ever published. Whether perceived as a textbook of American political institutions, an investigation of society and culture, a probing of the psyche of the United States, or a study of the actions of modern democratic society, the book has maintained its place high within the pantheon of political writing. "No better study of a nation's institutions and culture than Tocqueville's Democracy in America has ever been written by a foreign observer; none perhaps as good" (The New York Times).
HOWES T-278, 279. Sabin 96062, 96063. Clark III:111. Library of Congress: A Passion for Liberty, Alexis de Tocqueville on Democracy & Revolution (Washington, 1989).
The first English language edition of de Tocqueville's seminal work on American government, first printed the same year in Paris. De Tocqueville, a French aristocrat, visited America between 1831 and 1832, ostensibly to study the penal system, although his interest was considerably broader. It seems logical that France would look to America as a beacon of hope for a successful democracy. After France embraced the goals of equality and democracy in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution, it found itself first in a dictatorship under Napoleon and then in one constitutional monarchy after another during the years following. De Tocqueville's astute observation of several aspects of American society and culture provides an invaluable lens of foreign perspective on our young nation's political growth.
Democracy in America was an immediate and sustained success. Almost from the beginning it enjoyed the reputation of being the most acute and perceptive discussion of the political and social life of the United States ever published. Whether perceived as a textbook of American political institutions, an investigation of society and culture, a probing of the psyche of the United States, or a study of the actions of modern democratic society, the book has maintained its place high within the pantheon of political writing. "No better study of a nation's institutions and culture than Tocqueville's Democracy in America has ever been written by a foreign observer; none perhaps as good" (The New York Times).
HOWES T-278, 279. Sabin 96062, 96063. Clark III:111. Library of Congress: A Passion for Liberty, Alexis de Tocqueville on Democracy & Revolution (Washington, 1989).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Whitmore Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5307
- Title
- Democracy in America. Part the Second
- Author
- de Tocqueville, Alexis
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First English language edition
- Publisher
- Saunders and Otley
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1840
- Keywords
- There is no country in the world in which everything can be provided for by laws, or in which political institutions can prove a substitute for common sense.
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Pasadena, California
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Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Marbled boards
- ...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Rebacked
- having had the material covering the spine replaced. ...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...