Sunday Driver Book

It astonishes me that we have all heard of De Tocqueville, Alexis yet Lincoln Steffens remains in comparative obscurity. I would never have read this book were it not some off hand recommendation I read somewhere that I don't even remember.

What you can say of both de Tocqueville and Steffens is this: there is nothing a person can say about American politics which each of them did not already say in his own way.

Steffens obscurity is probably related to the fact that his observations do not fit anyone's agenda. When it is time to blame the left Steffens finds a way to blame the right and vice versa. When it is time to blame big business Steffens notes that corruption requires the collusion of the voters, and when it is time to blame petty criminality Steffens notes the necessity of the collusion of big business.

The sweep of history is extraordinary. This is a man who knew Teddy Roosevelt and the industrialists, but also Trotsky and Lenin. To a lover of biography and California history the first 200 pages about a boy roaming early statehood Sacramento are not to be missed- it is worth getting into this book even if your intention is to set it aside when he leaves town for college.

The book is ginormous, but Steffens is a newspaper writer: each chapter forms a readable enclosed unit. Thought it is easy to read, it is difficult to determine what to do next. There is no agenda, there is no movement to join. There is just understanding the complexities of democracy.

I have added this book to my Essentials for Citizens Goodreads shelf. I can hardly think of a book more important to American citizens in the present day, and most people should find it readable (unlike de Tocqueville, no particular historical or political background is necessary- the information is provided in the chapters).