Alexis de Tocqueville was among the first foreigners to recognize and trumpet the grandness of the American project. His two-volume classic, Democracy in America, published in 1835, not only offered a vivid account of what was then a new nation but famously predicted what that nation would become. His startling prescience, as well as the endurance of his political ideas, has firmly established Tocqueville's place in American history; his chronicle of our infancy is a fixture on every American history syllabus. Nearly all of his clairvoyant predictions about American political life, from the influence of Evangelical Christianity to the advent of our "consumer society," have come true—and on the schedule he set.Yet in his own time, Tocqueville had little evidence for the truth of his ideas. Introspective, sickly, prone to self-doubt, he was an unlikely visionary. Joseph Epstein, America's most versatile essayist, proves an ideal guide to his predecessor. In wry, elegant prose, he engages Tocqueville's intellectual contributions, illuminates the development of his thought, and provides a referendum on his various prophecies. (His record was far from perfect—he thought the federal government would wither away as the states rose in power.) Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy's Guide is an altogether human portrait of the Frenchman who would become an American icon.

A collection of essays on the most poignant and humorous issues of today features the writing of Ada Louise Huxtable, Ward Just, Oliver Sacks, Cynthia Ozick, Alex Haley, and Barbara Grizzuti Harrison. Simultaneous. 35,000 first printing.

Product Description: This compilation of thousands of overused words and phrases, and alternatives to them, is the ultimate tool for the writer who seeks to weed out common, tired, language and replace it with crisp, concise writing. Humorous examples of bad language make for great browsing, while readers can also look up specific clichés and find fresh options...read more

Product Description: Una malevolencia silenciosa, una hostilidad fría y secreta, un deseo impotente, un rencor oculto y mortificante... Todos estos elementos componen el núcleo de la envidia. Según Joseph Epstein, la envidia nubla el pensamiento, quebranta la generosidad, rompe cualquier vestigio de paz y acaba marchitando el corazón...read more

Product Description: Malice that cannot speak its name, cold-blooded but secret hostility, impotent desire, hidden rancor and spite--all cluster at the center of envy. Envy clouds thought, writes Joseph Epstein, clobbers generosity, precludes any hope of serenity, and ends in shriveling the heart...read more

A collection of eighteen stories by the author of Snobbery: The American Version features a host of characters at various crossroads and turning points in their lives, in a volume that considers such themes as identity, family love, and repressed impulses. Reprint.

Selections from Epstein's column in The American Scholar reveal his perceptions and anecdotal views of the interests, activities, and philosophies of contemporary Americans

An analysis of the changing face of modern-day friendship examines the forces and factors that have shaped friendship, the differences between male and female friendships, and the duties and requirements of friendship.

Nine Chicago-based short stories combine wit and precision to probe the meaning of ambition by creating insightful characters with realistic struggles

Nine Chicago-based short stories combine wit and precision to probe the meaning of ambition by creating insightful characters with realistic struggles

Product Description: To his successful examinations of some of the most powerful forces in modern life—envy, ambition, snobbery, friendship—the keen observer and critic Joseph Epstein now adds Gossip. No trivial matter, despite its reputation, gossip, he argues, is an eternal and necessary human enterprise...read more

A dishy, incisive exploration of gossip—from celebrity rumors to literary romans à clef, from personal sniping to political slander—by one of our “great essayists” (David Brooks) To his successful examinations of some of the most powerful forces in modern life—envy, ambition, snobbery, friendship—the keen observer and critic Joseph Epstein now adds Gossip. No trivial matter, despite its reputation, gossip is eternal and necessary. Himself a master of the art, Epstein serves up delightful mini-biographies of the Great Gossips of the Western World along with many choice bits from his own experience. He also makes a powerful case that gossip has morphed from its old-fashioned best—clever, mocking, a great private pleasure—to a corrosive new-school version, thanks to the reach of the mass media and the Internet. Gossip has even invaded politics and journalism, causing unsubstantiated information to be presented as fact. Contemporary gossip claims to reveal truth, but as Epstein shows, it’s our belief in truth itself that may be destroyed by gossip. Written in his trademark erudite and witty style, Gossip captures the complexity of this immensely entertaining subject.

The American author presents a collection of essays on such topics as his father, his years as a teacher, analysis of the work of writers from Paul Valâery to Truman Capote, and observations on such cultural critics as Harold Bloom and George Steiner.

Essays representing a lifetime's reading discuss Montaigne, Cavafy, Fitzgerald, Solzhenitsyn, and fifteen other authors (view table of contents)

Essays deal with fame, insults, boredom, teaching, quotations, gamblers, scouting, height, smoking, fate, hats, envy, reading, gossip, money, and illness (view table of contents)