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2 free classicsTimeless works from the public domain, beautifully formatted for the BoingyBooks reader.
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Democracy in America
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville (1835/1840)
A young French aristocrat visits the United States in 1831 and writes the most penetrating analysis of American democracy ever produced — identifying both its strengths and its dangers with prophetic accuracy.
Historical Significance:
Alexis de Tocqueville, just 25 years old, traveled through America for nine months in 1831-32, ostensibly to study the prison system. Instead, he produced a two-volume masterwork (1835 and 1840) that remains the most quoted analysis of American society. Tocqueville predicted the tyranny of the majority, the isolating effects of individualism, the tension between liberty and equality, and the dangers of materialism — diagnoses that are more relevant today than when he made them. He also predicted that America and Russia would one day divide the world between them — 110 years before the Cold War. Presidents, Supreme Court justices, and political theorists of every persuasion cite Tocqueville as essential reading.
This public domain classic was originally published in 1835. Free to read and share.
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The Histories
The Histories by Herodotus (c. 430 BC)
"The Father of History" tells the story of the Greco-Persian Wars — Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis — along with astonishing digressions about Egyptian pyramids, Scythian customs, Indian gold-digging ants, and flying snakes.
Historical Significance:
Herodotus of Halicarnassus wrote the first sustained narrative history in Western civilization around 430 BC. His purpose: "so that human achievements may not become forgotten in time, and great and marvelous deeds — some displayed by Greeks, some by barbarians — may not be without their glory." Unlike previous chroniclers who simply listed kings and battles, Herodotus investigated causes, interviewed witnesses, and told stories. He traveled throughout the Mediterranean and Near East gathering material. His account of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae shaped Western civilization's ideal of heroic sacrifice. Cicero called him "the Father of History" — though some have called him "the Father of Lies" for his more fantastical claims.
This public domain classic was originally composed c. 430 BC. Free to read and share.
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