Gateway Editions – serie

This classic analysis of America’s unique political character is quoted heavily by politicians and perennially pops up on history professors’ reading lists.The enduring appeal of Democracy in America lies in the eloquent, prophetic voice of Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859), a French aristocrat who visited the United States in 1831. A thoughtful young man in a still-young country, he succeeded in penning this penetrating study of America’s people, culture, history, geography, politics, legal system, and economy.Tocqueville asserts, “I confess that in America I saw more than America; I sought the image of democracy itself, with its inclinations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have to fear or hope from its progress.”As Bruce Frohnen notes in his introduction to this edition, this republication of Henry Reeve’s “important translation” beautifully showcases “one of the world’s greatest achievements in political philosophy.”

Finally back in print, the celebrated journals of the "de Tocqueville of Russia" Marquis de Custine, providing an intriguing look at the Russian politics and culture of the 19th Century that continued to drive Soviet behavior during the Cold War and still casts a shadow on the resurgant imperialism of Putin's Russia today.No one "has yet improved on de Custine's insights into the Russian character and the Byzantine nature of the Russian political system. Indeed, to understand the contemporary [American-Russian] relationship, in all its complex historical and cultural nuance, one needs to read only two books, de Tocqueville's Democracy in America and de Custine's Journey for Our Time." - Zbigniew Brzezinski"The rediscovery of Custine is an outstanding event both in the world of letters and of politics. His book, which I have no hesitation calling a classic, combines the grace and sensitivity of Sterne's Sentimental Journey with Orwell's prophetic insight." - Arthur Koestler