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The Art of Being Free: How Alexis de Tocqueville Can Save Us from Ourselves Hardcover – January 17, 2017

3.6 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

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Most of us probably don’t learn about Alexis de Tocqueville in school anymore, but his masterpiece, Democracy in America, is still surprisingly resonant. When he came to America in 1831 to study our great political experiment, he puzzled over our strange struggles with religion and politics, work and money, sex and gender, and love and death. Clearly we haven’t come as far as one might hope. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom―and it isn’t now. Tocqueville didn’t just catalog our problems; he provided a manual on how to flourish despite them. In The Art of Being Free, journalist and scholar James Poulos puts Tocqueville’s advice to work for a contemporary audience, showing us how to live sane, healthy, and happy lives amid our hectic, shifting world.

Poulos reveals what Tocqueville’s beloved study tells us about everything from our relationship to technology and our obsession with appearances to our workaholism, our listlessness, and our ways of coping with stress. He explores how our uniquely American malaise can be alleviated―not by the next wellness fad or self-help craze, but by the kind of fearless inventory-taking that has fallen out of fashion.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“James Poulos is one of the very few consistently interesting writers in America.”--Molly Ball, The Atlantic

"In a time of radical change, it's essential to connect with enduring values -- and that's what James Poulos has done with his fascinating look at Alexis de Tocqueville. With an engaging voice and an always lively mind, Poulos makes the old story new again, offering Americans hope and perspective in the art of being free."―
John Avlon, The Daily Beast

“Poulos weaves personal history and literary analysis, high culture and pop culture, in this provocative, wholly unexpected take on Tocqueville’s best known work. He updates and intensifies Tocqueville’s diagnosis of American life, agitating against a frenzied democratic flattening that risks leaving us overstimulated, overworked, and alone. It’s a kind of erudite self-help that forgoes end-of-chapter bullet points for a galvanizing message of recognition and resistance.”--
Kerry Howley, author of Thrown

"No happy rogue is better than James Poulos at laying bare just how ridiculous and insane American life really is."
--Ben Dreyfuss, Mother Jones

“James Poulos is the new Tocqueville America needs right now."--
Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, The Week

“James Poulos blends lucid writing with ambitious thinking.
The Art of Being Free skillfully applies the timeless truths that Tocqueville uncovered to the practical questions of daily life in our bizarre era. The result is nothing less than a roadmap for a better life. Read it, learn, and enjoy.”―Arthur Brooks, President, American Enterprise Institute

“In an earlier age of political and cultural confusion, Alexis de Tocqueville explained Americans to ourselves and to the world. James Poulos, in this smart and timely book, shows how Tocqueville’s teachings can make sense of our present age of terror and Tinder―and help us see tomorrow more clearly.”--
Adam Keiper, editor of The New Atlantis

"For those citizens passionately committed to the pursuit of Life, Light, Love, and Liberty for all, James Poulos offers a stimulating celebration of the beautifully paradoxical nature of governmental policy as an institutional mechanism for securing true human freedom."―
Andrew W.K.

“Brace yourself. James Poulos boldly, brilliantly shows that we can live freely even in our crazy age.”--
Yuval Levin, editor of National Affairs, author of The Fractured Republic

"In the most crazy-making year of politics in my lifetime, The Art of Being Free helped restore a little bit of my sanity as only a reflection steeped in history's lessons could do. The book was a reminder that much of what feeds our anxiety and dread challenged bygone generations―and that we possess many of the qualities that helped them to survive and even thrive! Drawing on the insights of Alexis de Tocqueville, James Poulos marries a political philosopher's understanding of a celebrated text to a sharp cultural critic's application of it to life today. Few pages pass without an intriguing insight about how to be better at being free."--Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

"James Poulos is a visionary at the forefront of ideas about liberty."―
Judd Weiss

About the Author

JAMES POULOS (J.D.) is a journalist and Alexis de Tocqueville scholar as well as the guitarist in the indie band, Night Years. As a commentator, Poulos is well known for his acerbic humor and unpretentious academicism. He contributes routinely to a wide variety of publications including: The Federalist, Forbes, and National Affairs.Poulos lives with his son in Los Angeles.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (January 17, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250077184
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250077189
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.77 x 1.17 x 8.54 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

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James Poulos
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James Poulos creates and advises brands and enterprises around technology, media, and design. He is the founder of RETURN, acquired by Blaze Media, where he is editor-at-large, editorial director of Frontier, and host of Zero Hour.

James is the author of three books: I Know This Sounds Crazy, Human Forever, and The Art of Being Free. With his wife Chandler he is cofounder of the production house Gun Girl Creative. A Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, he holds a Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University.

Previously, James was the cofounder and editor of The American Mind at the Claremont Institute and the founding contributing editor of American Affairs. His prolific and influential work on the dynamics of democracy in the digital age has been widely published for over a decade, from Foreign Affairs and National Affairs to The New York Times and The Washington Post, among many others.

He lives in the desert.

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3.6 out of 5 stars
28 global ratings

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Customers find the book entertaining. However, the writing style receives mixed reactions, with some praising its style while others find it hard to read. Moreover, the content also gets mixed reviews, with some finding it enlightening while others criticize it for having too many pop culture references.

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3 customers mention "Enjoyment"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and enjoyable to read.

"...If you find that enjoyable to read, then you're a better person than I - I gave up on it halfway through the book...." Read more

"...It's fun, it's witty and it's sharp." Read more

"Interesting, important, and fun..." Read more

9 customers mention "Enlightened content"6 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the book's content, with some finding it enlightening while others criticize it for having too many pop culture references.

"...The climactic piece of wisdom is delivered very directly, like late-night advice from a drinking buddy. I have to admit to a “that’s it?”..." Read more

"...But before long you are also treated to modern examples and pop culture references that have woven their way into his thoughts -- Marilyn Manson,..." Read more

"Mostly sociological drivel. No worth reading" Read more

"Poulos has a smart and engaging prose-style that kept me in there, even while I was often confused about what he was trying to say...." Read more

6 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive2 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book, with some praising its style and engaging prose, while others find it hard to read.

"...: he’s incredibly sharp, his perspective is unique and he writes with style...." Read more

"...I was very disappointed. It's basically unreadable - full of sort-of witty turns of phrase that go nowhere, odd pop culture references, and lots of..." Read more

"...'s not an easy line to straddle but James Poulos does it with literary grace and humor, making the weighty ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville accessible..." Read more

"Poulos has a smart and engaging prose-style that kept me in there, even while I was often confused about what he was trying to say...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2017
    The Art of Being Free summons up the spirit of Alexis de Tocqueville to explain why life in the USA is so crazy, and what we can do about it. “Crazy” in the sense of emotionally unmoored: our tendency as Americans to lurch melodramatically and unpredictably from expansive optimism to paranoid resentment and back again.

    Author James Poulos has done a fair bit of unpredictable lurching himself in the dozen or so years since I discovered him. He’s been a blogger, a podcaster, a columnist, a rock band frontman and a novelist. I can’t attest to the novel (still unpublished), but in every other medium he’s excelled: he’s incredibly sharp, his perspective is unique and he writes with style. But whereas other talented cultural observers of his generation have found secure perches--your Chris Hayeses on the Left, your Ross Douthats on the Right--Poulos has remained relatively obscure.

    In part this is because his politics are less easily classifiable. He’s vaguely right-of-center, but he’s not like any conservative you’ve ever encountered. His perspective is heavily informed by classic thinkers like Tocqueville, but he’s as apt to find insights in the lyrics of Marilyn Manson. In a culture that prizes bald declarations, he goes for the elliptical and elusive. Let others rush in with the “hot takes”; Poulos is the guy who watches the scene with a quizzical half-smile and then, when the crowd has dispersed, makes some throwaway comment that seems nonsensical at first, but recurs to you with the force of revelation later that night.

    All of which is to say that if you’re hoping to find a straightforward instruction manual in The Art of Being Free, you’re bound to be disappointed. The value of the book lies more in the journey than the destination: the unlikely connections, the unexpected syntheses, the “I never thought of it that way” moments. In the range of his enthusiasms, in the glee with which he pulls high culture into conversation with pop culture, he reminds me of Camille Paglia. Like her, he gives off a “cool teacher” vibe, though his style and concerns are quite different. I found myself scribbling notes in the margins, and I’m not a margin scribbler.

    Poulos sets expectations early: his aim is not to pinpoint a cure for the craziness of contemporary American life--that’s an impossible ask. Rather, he aims (with the help of Tocqueville) to describe a technique for surfing the craziness, for remaining sane and properly enjoying the very real advantages of Liberty, American Style. When the author arrives at this final movement of his symphony, he mostly drops the scholarly allusions and shifts to a more intimate, even confessional register. The climactic piece of wisdom is delivered very directly, like late-night advice from a drinking buddy. I have to admit to a “that’s it?” reaction: after the elaborate build-up, the payoff almost comes across as an afterthought. But I am still thinking about it a week later, which is more than I can say about most books.

    Now when are we going to get to read the novel?
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2017
    Mostly sociological drivel. No worth reading
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2017
    The Art of Being Free exists somewhere on the spectrum between self-help tome and intellectual dissertation. It's not an easy line to straddle but James Poulos does it with literary grace and humor, making the weighty ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville accessible and relevant even if you've never read Democracy in America (though you should!). Thankfully, he's not afraid to challenge the reader either -- you are warned up front that Poulos will not pander. But before long you are also treated to modern examples and pop culture references that have woven their way into his thoughts -- Marilyn Manson, Beck and an acknowledgment that the world we live in is one that seeks practical guides for navigating our philosophical challenges. Poulos is the rare breed who can hold court on the day's events while effortlessly putting things into a larger context of historical meaning -- all before strapping on a guitar and conveying meaning in an entirely different medium with his Los Angeles-based band.
    The ideas Poulos grapples with are timeless but especially relevant in 2017 as America, and the world, are forced to ponder exactly what democracy means at large and at home in ways we haven't truly been made to think for decades. Obviously no book is for everyone, but if you're interested in the larger issues that drive our daily search for meaning and purpose, The Art of Being Free is a wonderful place to start.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2017
    I really wanted to like this book! I heard James Poulos on two of my favorite podcasts, The Conservatarians and The Federalist Radio Hour, and in both he was engaging, enlightening, and entertaining. So I ordered The Art Of Being Free from Amazon and sat down to read it with great anticipation. I was very disappointed. It's basically unreadable - full of sort-of witty turns of phrase that go nowhere, odd pop culture references, and lots of meandering sentences stuffed with sociologese that make it near-impossible to follow his argument. Here's a sample taken at random:

    "With the mutability money confers comes commensurability. The more things change, the more things interchange. Money allows us to change like it does by allowing us to exchange - to "reconnect" (as we say) with our unity by participating in a kind of interchangeability that carries, however fleetingly, a sense of import. Our experiences of significant interchange are an inspiring bulwark against the dispiriting experience of our interchangeable insignificance. Without the commensurability of goods and services - in principle, any and all goods and services - access to that experience is imperiled or lost." (p. 132)

    If you find that enjoyable to read, then you're a better person than I - I gave up on it halfway through the book. Maybe I'm dense, but I do know that I love the writing of G. K. Chesterton, Thomas Sowell, and Neil Postman. All of them write about social, economic, technological, and cultural issues in ways that can have a profound impact on the reader, while remaining accessible.

    Based on Mr. Poulos' warm and thoughtful conversations I heard on the podcasts, he has a great book in him. Unfortunately, this one isn't it.
    66 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2017
    Poulos has a smart and engaging prose-style that kept me in there, even while I was often confused about what he was trying to say. The book is full of deep feeling about profound issues, and I admire the effort. The feelings remain but his ideas are elusive.
    6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • trevor shelley
    5.0 out of 5 stars For those who both do and don’t know Tocqueville, ...
    Reviewed in Canada on November 14, 2017
    For those who both do and don’t know Tocqueville, this is a clear, witty, and insightful work.
    Arrived on time, thanks.