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Alexis de Tocqueville
A Life
by Hugh Brogan
Brogan illuminates the life of Alexis de Toqueville, the French writer whose exploration of liberty and democracy in "Democracy in America" remains the premiere analysis of the early American political system and its guiding political philosophies.
Yale University Press, 736 pages
03/28/2007
$35.00
ISBN: 0300108036
Nonfiction
Biographies & Memoirs
History
All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...
Washington Post Joseph J. Ellis
Obligatory caveats aside, Brogan's achievement here is monumental. He wears his learning lightly, the analysis conveys a distilled wisdom that is blessedly bereft of academic jargon, the prose is engaging…and the posture toward Tocqueville is appreciative but never mindlessly celebratory.
London Review Of Books Colin Kidd
It is Hugh Brogan’s achievement in this biography to present Tocqueville as a man of feelings--and not all of them fine feelings.
Publishers Weekly
All in all, this is an engrossing and erudite account. [8 Jan 2007, p.44]
Christian Science Monitor Vikram Johri
Brogan's biography is a marvelous tribute to [Tocqueville’s] life.
The Guardian Rebecca Abrams
A painstaking and scholarly work, Brogan's book stands as an invaluable contribution to our understanding of 19th-century history. To anyone with a serious interest in contemporary America and its attitude towards democracy, it is indispensable.
The Observer Hilary Spurling
Brogan has mapped the emotional landscape of his subject's mind with exemplary lucidity and logic….And a biography as humane, learned, humorous and perceptive as this extends our understanding of ourselves and where we came from, as well as painting an incomparable portrait of one of the sharpest and most sympathetic writers of all time.
The Spectator Malcolm Deas
One is bound to be curious about someone [Tocqueville] with such a good eye for grand subjects, and it is not Brogan's fault that he is a bit of a disappointment. [9 Dec 2006]
TLS: The Times Literary Supplement Ferdinand Mount
Hugh Brogan’s account of Tocqueville’s life is written with a stylish brio and command of detail and narrative worthy of his subject. It is almost as great a pleasure to read as Tocqueville himself.
Boston Globe Michael Kammen
No one is better qualified to write this first exhaustive biography in English, and Brogan does not disappoint.
The Independent Jonathan Wright
This is a splendid book, the fruits of a lifetime's engagement with Tocqueville, but perhaps Brogan's greatest achievement is to make his crotchety, snooty subject seem almost likeable.
The Independent David Coward
Tocqueville is not the most promising subject: he was a private man, diffident in public, but capable of deep friendships. Brogan's witty, affectionate but far from uncritical portrait humanises this intellectual biography.
Wall Street Journal Thomas Pavel
The biography reads like a novel, combining humor and urbanity with erudition and insight.
The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Clifford Orwin
Brogan's good biography would have been better had his appreciation of the thinker equalled his affection for the man.
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