 |
| /Alexis de Tocqueville |
Yesterday's presentation at the Monday Afternoon Club was on the journey of Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont around what there was of America in 1831-32.
The journey took nine months and the two young men, they were both in their twenties, traveled thousands of miles by horseback, steamboat, stagecoach, and on foot. They visited 17 out of the 24 states in the Union, including a brief stop here in Louisville.
Unfortunately, the two men were traveling down the Ohio River from Cincinnati on a steamboat in December and the river soon was blocked by ice. The passengers were cast off onto shore and the two fellows had to walk the final 22 miles to get here.
The upshot of the journey - at once one both physical and intellectual - was Tocqueville's Democracy in America.
This 1000-page book is not one that I have read, but it has intrigued me as it is often quoted (and most likely misquoted). The presenter of the paper said her father first read it at the age of 80 and thereafter read it multiple times. So it is never too late.
If you are interested, there is an abridged version (208 pages) and a couple of different Kindle versions which would be easier to lug around than that unabridged paperback edition.
Is Democracy in America on anyone's TBR list? Or has anyone read it? Chime in...
I actually read Democracy in America last year. It was my big year-long project: I read two pages a day (because my copy of the book had 703 pages, not counting the appendices) and managed to finish it by December. If you do read it, Volume I is much better than Volume II. But I really admire de Tocqueville for his astuteness, intelligence, and for his ability as a writer. (Still, I'm glad I'm done and don't have to read it again this year.)
ReplyDeleteI am duly impressed, Lark. So clever to break it down to 'pages a day'. I already have two looonnnngggg books on my agenda this year so I would most likely try the abridged version first.
DeleteCongratulations on your accomplishment!
It has long been on my TBR list, Belle, but never quite makes it anywhere near the top. Still, you've given me incentive by mentioning the presenter's father's read at 80 and beyond.
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to have an update on your Monday Afternoon Club. Thank you.
I think the abridged edition might do the trick. Or maybe I will just wait until I am 80 and give the long version a try.
DeleteThere are lots and lots of quotes from the book online if one wants to start there to get a sense of style and content.
It is on my TBR list. I started it once several years ago and got sidetracked. When I was culling my library of paperbacks that were available for Kindle, I ditched my 2-volume paperback for the Kindle version.
ReplyDeleteYes, Joan, when the presenter held up her big, floppy copy of the unabridged paperback, I thought, 'This is a job for the Kindle'. And there are so many versions available from Free to just a couple of dollars. Clever choice.
DeleteTraveling to America in those years was a popular activity, especially as you could go home and write a book about it. Fanny Trollope (mother of Anthony) spent 4 years here, 1827-31, most of them in Cincinnati. I have a slide show about it: http://silverseason.wordpress.com/courses-and-presentations/domestic-manners-of-the-americans/.
ReplyDeleteTen years later Charles Dickens came and also wrote a book about his impressions, American Notes.
Nancy, your slide show was fascinating! I didn't know about Mrs. Trollope and her travels. Interested to see she sent her boys to the Utopian community of New Harmony, Indiana. I love that place and have visited it often. I really must read her book even though she didn't particularly approve of Americans.
DeleteAlso, I spent a quiet hour or two sketching in the Piazza dell' Indipendence in Florence. I am sure I must have see her villa there although I wouldn't have known it at the time.
Mr. Dickens stayed in Louisville and seemed to have enjoyed his visit although he did object to pigs in the streets. Who wouldn't!
Thanks so much for the information.