Democracy In America

Recommended translation: Democracy in America, ed. and trans. Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000). Volume I originally published in 1835. Volume II originally published in 1840.

Excerpt: "Among the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of condition among the people. I readily discovered the prodigious influence that this primary fact exercises on the whole course of… More

The Old Regime and the Revolution

Recommended Translations: The Old Regime and the Revolution, Volume I, ed. Francois Furet and Francoise Melonio, trans. Alan S. Kahan. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998). The Old Regime and the Revolution, Volume II, ed. Francois Furet and Francoise Melonio, trans. Alan S. Kahan. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001).  

Excerpt: The book I now publish is not a history of the Revolution. That history has been too brilliantly written for me to think of writing it afresh. This is a mere essay on the Revolution. The French made, in 1789, the greatest effort that has ever been made by any people to sever… More

Recollections: The French Revolution of 1848

Recommended Translation: Recollections: The French Revolution of 1848, ed. J.P. Mayer and A.P. Kerr.  (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Press, 1987). Originally published in 1893.

Excerpt: Removed for a time from the scene of public life, I am constrained, in the midst of my solitude, to turn my thoughts upon myself, or rather to reflect upon contemporary events in which I have taken part or acted as a witness. And it seems to me that the best use I can make of my… More