In 1831, at the age of twenty-five, Alexis de Tocqueville made his fateful journey to America, where he observed the thrilling reality of a functioning democracy. From that moment onward, the French aristocrat would dedicate his life as a writer and politician to ending despotism in his country and bringing it into a new age. In this authoritative and groundbreaking biography, leading Tocqueville expert Olivier Zunz tells the story of a radical thinker who, uniquely charged by the events of his time, both in America and France, used the world as a laboratory for his political ideas.
Placing Tocqueville’s dedication to achieving a new kind of democracy at the center of his life and work, Zunz traces Tocqueville’s evolution into a passionate student and practitioner of liberal politics across a trove of correspondence with intellectuals, politicians, constituents, family members, and friends. While taking seriously Tocqueville’s attempts to apply the lessons of Democracy in America to French politics, Zunz shows that the United States, and not only France, remained central to Tocqueville’s thought and actions throughout his life. In his final years, with France gripped by an authoritarian regime and America divided by slavery, Tocqueville feared that the democratic experiment might be failing. Yet his passion for democracy never weakened.
Giving equal attention to the French and American sources of Tocqueville’s unique blend of political philosophy and political action, The Man Who Understood Democracy offers the richest, most nuanced portrait yet of a man who, born between the worlds of aristocracy and democracy, fought tirelessly for the only system that he believed could provide both liberty and equality.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique
- Winner of the Prix littéraire de biographie historique Brantôme
- A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year
"A fascinating story. . . . Zunz’s account of Beaumont and Tocqueville’s journey and the subsequent writing of Democracy in America is riveting."—Lynn Hunt, New York Review of Books
"An exhaustively researched and discretely focused biography."—Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal
"[A] superbly written biography. . . . Accessible and erudite."—Stephen W. Sawyer, Times Literary Supplement
"Zunz has written what must surely be the definitive account of the public life of Alexis de Tocqueville."—Alan Ryan, Literary Review
"A masterpiece."—Peter McPhee, Australian Book Review
"This biography gives us, often with just a few telling strokes, the ambitious but depressive young aristocrat . . . the Romantic literary self-creator . . . and the liberal politician.""—Jedediah Britton-Purdy, New Republic
"Zunz, the foremost living Tocqueville expert, sensitively and masterfully examines the Frenchman’s life in full. . . . Engaging and informative."—Michael M. Rosen, Commentary
"As a narrative biography, Olivier Zunz’s The Man Who Understood Democracy succeeds tremendously. The details of Tocqueville’s life—and the events he lived through—are rendered with engaging clarity."—Paul Sagar, The Critic
"An informative biography. . . . Zunz explains what Tocqueville learned—and what he failed to notice—during his travels throughout the United States. . . . Zunz also provides a splendid account of Tocqueville’s career as a practical politician in France."—Glenn C. Altschuler, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"A major new biography . . . [Zunz] is ideally matched to his subject. . . . [Tocqueville] could not have a more deeply knowledgeable biographer."—Brooke Allen, Hudson Review
"The Man Who Understood Democracy must now stand as the authoritative biography of Alexis de Tocqueville, far surpassing the achievements of earlier biographers such as Hugh Brogan. From start to finish, it is elegantly written, judicious, erudite, and a hugely insightful and informative read."—Jeremy Jennings, Tocqueville21
"A richly detailed intellectual biography. . . . Wide-ranging and meticulously argued."—Publishers Weekly
"Magisterial. . . . [A] virtuosic account of Tocqueville’s life and work."—Tarek Masoud, Journal of Democracy
"A self-recommending biography of one of the greatest social science thinkers. Easy to read, and good for both the generalist and specialist reader."—Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
"A wide-ranging study of the life and thought of the French aristocrat. . . . [An] astute biography."—Kirkus Reviews
"An outstanding new biography of Alexis de Tocqueville that is sure to be the standard for years to come."—Choice
"Olivier Zunz’s The Man Who Understood Democracy is an excellent biography of this major figure of political philosophy. It is well-written and judicious in its use of detail."—Theodore Dalrymple, Law & Liberty
"Tocqueville has a lot to offer us. The publication of this biography is as much an occasion to engage with his ideas as it is to be inspired by his longing for truth and his commitment to creating conditions conducive to human flourishing."—Suyash Rai, Carnegie India
"Olivier Zunz’s book is an excellent narrative biography about the innovations and contradictions of the fascinating life and work of Alexis de Tocqueville."—Folha de São Paulo
"One likes to say of some biographies, perhaps a bit naively, that they are definitive. In the case of Olivier Zunz’s Tocqueville, one would not be far from the truth."—L’Histoire
"Olivier Zunz takes us into the fascinating life of the man who sought, through both study and action, to implement a liberal and socially conscious democracy."—Esprit
“One of the greatest of Tocqueville scholars has now written what is certain to become the standard biography. Authoritative, clear, and a pleasure to read, the book shows us why Tocqueville remains a vital, necessary figure for understanding our world.”—David A. Bell, author of Men on Horseback: Charisma and Power in the Age of Revolutions
“An ambitious and lucid reinterpretation of Tocqueville, the Sphinx of modern democracy, written by a distinguished historian and one of America’s best Tocqueville scholars. The book should be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how a young aristocratic Frenchman came to write the best book on democracy.”—Aurelian Craiutu, author of Faces of Moderation: The Art of Balance in an Age of Extremes
“Zunz conveys the full intensity of Tocqueville’s lifelong quest to enable France to escape cycles of revolution and despotism. Zunz also captures the poignancy of Tocqueville’s final years when, enduring another Bonaparte regime and politically isolated, he turned back toward France’s own past to envision a new future.”—Seymour Drescher, author of Abolition: A History of Slavery and Antislavery
“Olivier Zunz brings to the study of Tocqueville a deep feeling for and understanding of the political cultures of both France and the United States. This new intellectual biography shows how Tocqueville’s travels and subsequent political career shaped his understanding of democratic society. It represents a landmark in Tocqueville studies.”—Arthur Goldhammer, award-winning translator of Tocqueville’s major works
“Packed with acute observations and fascinating historical detail, this richly documented and authoritative biography brings the complexity of Tocqueville’s thought and personality to vivid life in lucid prose. Tocqueville has never before appeared in such a clear light.”—Jeremy Jennings, author of Revolution and the Republic: A History of Political Thought in France since the Eighteenth Century
“If Tocqueville understood democracy, Olivier Zunz understands Tocqueville. A longtime explorer of Tocqueville’s doubly French and American worlds, Zunz effectively places the great theorist of democracy in all the major intellectual and political currents of his era, from the aftermath of the French Revolution to the coming of the U.S. Civil War. In the process, Zunz reveals the full complexity of Tocqueville’s thinking about the promise and perils of the politics of equality. A remarkable—and timely—achievement.”—Sophia Rosenfeld, author of Democracy and Truth: A Short History
“Lively and learned, this impressive new biography puts Tocqueville’s commitment to a new form of democracy inspired by his encounter with America at the heart of his intellectual and political work. Essential reading for those who want to understand the meaning and trajectory of Tocqueville’s thought.”—Cheryl B. Welch, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Tocqueville
