Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life Book

Alexis de Tocqueville is a 19th century French writer, intellectual, politician and statesman. He is relatively well-known, even today, because he wrote a famous, insightful book about early America from an enthusiastic European perspective. In particular, he compares and analyses the sequence of unsuccessful upheavals in France (the ongoing French Revolutions) with the fundamental strength of the American system.

The challenge for Tocqueville's biographer is to balance the narrative. Tocqueville's American visit and writings are only a medium sized part of a much larger (but less impactful) life. He wrote another influential work (revisiting his themes in the context of France). He also played a minor role in French politics and government. Focusing on what makes the subject famous would in this case make for a rather inconsistent biography. The chosen alternative, unfortunately, is a highly detailed biography with a lot of material in the second half that is not that enlightening.

This is a well-written book with a clear style, good structure, chronological organization and great analysis that connects together the themes of Tocqueville's life into a cohesive whole. While the book is dense and quite slow reading, the text is not obscure or pretentious. And even the passages on subjects of peripheral interest (to me) are satisfying and thoughtful.

Occasionally Brogan goes a bit further in judgment or commentary than I find comfortable in a Biography, but aside from length this is the only substantive flaw I can find. I suspect Brogan and I don't agree on a bunch of political philosophy, which is probably why this occasionally sticks out. But overall the book seems admirably balanced and neutral.

Reading this book definitely made me want to read the actual Tocqueville volumes, and actually to read more about the history of the French revolution, which is a lot more complex than I knew. And it's fascinating how much of this resonates with today's European situation.

If you are fascinated by American or French history, this book will repay reading.