Recollections: The French Revolution of 1848 and Its Aftermath

Alexis de Tocqueville’s Souvenirs was his
extraordinarily lucid and trenchant analysis of the 1848 revolution in France. Despite its
bravura passages and stylistic flourishes, however, it was not intended for publication. Written
just before Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte’s 1851 coup prompted the great theorist of
democracy to retire from political life, it was initially conceived simply as an exercise in
candid personal reflection. In Recollections: The French Revolution of 1848 and Its
Aftermath, renowned historian Olivier Zunz and award-winning translator Arthur
Goldhammer offer an entirely new translation of Tocqueville’s compelling
book.

The book has an interesting publishing history. Yielding to pressure
from friends, Tocqueville finally approved its publication, although only after those portrayed
in the work—most, unflatteringly—had died. After Tocqueville’s death, his grandnephew
published a redacted version, but it was not until 1942 that French editors restored the
potentially offensive passages.

Goldhammer’s is the first English
translation to do justice to Tocqueville’s original uncensored masterpiece of analytical
description, stylistic subtlety, vivid social panorama, and incisive critique of political
blundering and cowardice. Zunz’s introduction—and his addition of several of
Tocqueville’s ancillary speeches, occasional texts, and letters—round out a unique volume
that significantly enhances our understanding of the revolutionary period and
Tocqueville’s role in it. In this new edition, Zunz highlights the persistent influence of
the United States on the life and work of a man who tirelessly, albeit futilely, promoted the
American model of government for the New French Republic.