Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont's travels in America in 1831-32 have recently become the subject of renewed interest, as a C-SPAN special program has retraced the Frenchmen's journey by broadcasting each week from a different city along the route. Now the Tocqueville rediscovery continues with the publication of this unique guidebook. Comprised of fifty-five brief chapters covering each of the places Tocqueville visited, the book allows the reader to hear Tocqueville's words while following in his footsteps.
Each chapter includes a brief description of the city or town, an excerpt from what Tocqueville wrote about it, what he and Beaumont did there, and what sights can still be seen today. Also included are information on population and major industries, telephone numbers and web addresses for local historical societies and visitors' bureaus, and comparisons of the town as it is today with the way it was in Tocqueville's time. Replete with colorful anecdotes and fascinating detail and supplemented by one hundred illustrations--many of them Beaumont's original sketches--the book offers a unique blend of past and present, of practical tourist tips and thought-provoking historical insights.
The chapter on Newport, Rhode Island, for example, begins with the story of Tocqueville and Beaumont's arrival from Europe, half-starved and thirsty after a thirty-seven-day ocean voyage on which the ship's captain had badly mismanaged rations. (The inn where the apologetic captain treated them to dinner is still standing.) Among the Frenchmen's first impressions: Americans were "entirely commercial"--a conclusion based on the small town's extraordinary number of banks (five by Beaumont's count, among them the Citizens Bank, still open today). Newport, we learn, is also home to America's first synagogue, an enduring symbol of Rhode Island's unique beginning as a place of religious tolerance, and the nation's oldest library. Also explained is the origin of the pineapple as a symbol of hospitality (Newport sailors set them outside their front door to show their neighbors they had returned from the Indies and had fruit to share). The entry concludes with directions, suggestions on where to stay, and tips on tours by foot, car, or boat.
An invaluable guide to a journey of national self-discovery, In the Footsteps of Tocqueville is the perfect companion for armchair traveler and tourist alike.
From the entry on Ossining, New York:
"The Frenchmen relished the town's natural beauty. Ossining's views of the Hudson are spectacular and Beaumont captured them in his sketch book. (For a panorama of the river, go to Louis Engle Park at the foot of Sing Sing on Westerly Road.) At 7 p.m. each evening the duo went swimming in the river. Later, they socialized with the locals. (Beaumont complained that he heard a plethora of painful musical recitals by women in town.) But the people of Ossining were impressed with the two young men. The Westchester Herald described them as 'gentlemen of engaging manners, of first rate talents.' The house where they boarded still stands (34 State Street). Now a wood-working company, the house has gained additions and lost levels since 1831. It is made of Sing Sing marble, which is actually a pale limestone that was quarried by prison inmates... "

Traveling Tocqueville's America: A Tour Book

History

C-SPAN

Americas

The Johns Hopkins University Press

In a handsome, gift-quality volume celebrating the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, America's top Lincoln historians offer their diverse perspectives on the life and legacy of America's sixteenth president. Spanning Lincoln's life—from his early career as a Springfield lawyer, to his presidential reign during one of America's most troubled historical periods, to his assassination in 1865—these essays, developed from original C-SPAN interviews, provide a compelling, composite portrait of Lincoln, one that offers up new stories and fresh insights on a defining leader.
Edited by C-SPAN's Brian Lamb and Susan Swain, illustrated with Lamb's photographs of Lincoln landmarks, and promoted throughout the year on C-SPAN, Abraham Lincoln is a wonderful compendium of information and deeply-informed analysis that deserves a prominent place on every bookshelf.

Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President

Biographies & Memoirs

Lamb, Brian

Swain, Susan

Historical

PublicAffairs

The Supreme Court grew out of a unique opportunity to interview all nine sitting Supreme Court Justices plus retired Justice O'Connor for a documentary on the Supreme Court. Through Brian Lamb and Susan Swain's interviews with our country's most influential judges, the book offers portraits of the Justices that introduces readers to the closed world of the Supreme Court, and what's it's really like to serve on the nation's highest Court.Accompanying the Justices around the Supreme Court, and through offices steeped in historic memorabilia, Lamb and Swain offer readers a window into a fascinating world to which few have had access. In these pages, Justice Sotomayor reflects on her first impressions of the job and the acclimation process. Justice Breyer takes us behind the scenes on a private tour of his Chambers as he describes how the Court works. And Chief Justice Roberts talks about the role of the Court in Society, the role of the Chief Justice, and the process of deciding cases.
Enriching this unique material are interviews with journalists, court historians, and other experts on the Court. Journalists Joan Biskupic and Lyle Denniston (the longest serving Supreme Court reporter) talk about the process that unfolds in the Court and the impact of a new member of the Court. Clerk of the Supreme Court William Suter provides insights into the traditions of the Court. Historian Jim O'Hara discusses the Supreme Court building and its history. Two attorneys who have argued numerous cases in front of the Supreme Court tell readers what it's like facing the justices in fast paced oral arguments.
Vividly illustrated with color photographs, the book is a perfect gift for anyone interested in the makings of this powerful institution.

The Supreme Court: A C-SPAN Book, Featuring the Justices in their Own Words (C-Span Books)

In this newly updated book, C-SPAN provides a comprehensive guide to the final resting places of our nation's presidents. As much about the presidents' lives as it is about their burial sites and how to visit them, this book belongs in the glove box of every traveler and the bedside table of every American history fan. Contributions from presidential historian Richard Norton Smith and an afterword by historian Douglas Brinkley add to this unique look at the American presidency.

Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?: A Tour of Presidential Gravesites

For the last 25 years, Sunday nights at 8pm on C-SPAN has been appointment television for many Americans. During that time, host Brian Lamb has invited people to his Capitol Hill studio for hour-long conversations about contemporary society and history. In today's soundbite culture that hour remains one of television's last vestiges of in-depth, civil conversation. First came C-SPAN's Booknotes in 1989, which by the time it ended in December 2004, was the longest-running author-interview program in American broadcast history. Many of the most notable nonfiction authors of its era were featured over the course of 800 episodes, and the conversations became a defining hour for the network and for nonfiction writers. In January 2005, C-SPAN embarked on a new chapter with the launch of Q and A. Again one hour of uninterrupted conversation but the focus was expanded to include documentary film makers, entrepreneurs, social workers, political leaders and just about anyone with a story to tell. To mark this anniversary Lamb and his team at C-SPAN have assembled Sundays at Eight, a collection of the best unpublished interviews and stories from the last 25 years. Featured in this collection are historians like David McCullough, Ron Chernow and Robert Caro, reporters including April Witt, John Burns and Michael Weisskopf, and numerous others, including Christopher Hitchens, Brit Hume and Kenneth Feinberg. In a March 2001 Booknotes interview 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt described the show's success this way: All you have to do is tell me a story.” This collection attests to the success of that principle, which has guided Lamb for decades. And his guests have not disappointed, from the dramatic escape of a lifelong resident of a North Korean prison camp, to the heavy price paid by one successful West Virginia businessman when he won 314 million in the lottery, or the heroic stories of recovery from the most horrific injuries in modern-day warfare. Told in the series' signature conversational manner, these stories come to life again on the page. Sundays at Eight is not merely a token for fans of C-SPAN's interview programs, but a collection of significant stories that have helped us understand the world for a quarter-century.

Sundays at Eight: 25 Years of Stories from C-SPAN’S Q&A and Booknotes

Arts & Literature

A look inside the personal life of every first lady in American history, based on original interviews with major historians C-SPAN's yearlong history series, First Ladies: Influence and Image, featured interviews with more than fifty preeminent historians and biographers. In this informative book, these experts paint intimate portraits of all forty-five first ladies—their lives, ambitions, and unique partnerships with their presidential spouses. Susan Swain and the C-SPAN team elicit the details that made these women who they were: how Martha Washington intentionally set the standards followed by first ladies for the next century; how Edith Wilson was complicit in the cover-up when President Wilson became incapacitated after a stroke; and how Mamie Eisenhower used the new medium of television to reinforce her, and her husband's, positive public images. This book provides an up-close historical look at these fascinating women who survived the scrutiny of the White House, sometimes at great personal cost, while supporting their families and famous husbands—and sometimes changing history. Complete with illustrations and essential biographical details, it is an illuminating, entertaining, and ultimately inspiring read.

First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women

Community & Culture

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by C-SPAN. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by C-SPAN

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by C-SPAN. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Traveling Tocqueville's America: A Tour Book

Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President

The Supreme Court: A C-SPAN Book, Featuring the Justices in their Own Words (C-Span Books)

Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?: A Tour of Presidential Gravesites

Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?: A Tour of Presidential Gravesites

Sundays at Eight: 25 Years of Stories from C-SPAN’S Q&A and Booknotes

First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women