Eric Clifford Graf at Quillette.
"Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (1835–39) remains the most important book that Americans, immigrant or native-born, should read before adopting a political posture. There’s no more enduring or insightful assessment of the peculiarities of American society, history, and government. .... Don’t ask Americans about democracy, it beguiles us; read Tocqueville. Even in the rare moments he gets off track, Tocqueville forces us to learn by grappling with why he’s wrong."
See Tocqueville, "Observations on American Life and Government" from Democracy in America, in Gateway to the Great Books (10 Vol., 1963) volume 6, and Democracy in America, in Great Books of the Western World (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 44.
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