First published in 1871, ¿Democratic Vistas¿ is an early classic work of comparative politics and letters by American author Walt Whitman (1819 ¿ 1892). Whitman was an American essayist, poet, and journalist who was pivotal to the transition from transcendentalism to realism. His work was notably divisive and claimed by many to be obscene when first published, but he is now considered to be one of the most influential people in the American poetic canon and the ¿father of free verse¿. Contents include: ¿A Visit to Walt Whitman in 1877¿, ¿Walt Whitman in 1884¿, ¿Notes and Appreciations¿, ¿Whitman as a Prophet¿, ¿The Poetic Form of 'Leaves of Grass¿, ¿Walt Whitman's Children¿, ¿Whitman and Emerson¿, etc. Other notable works by this author include: ¿Franklin Evans¿ (1842), ¿Life and Adventures of Jack Engle¿ (1852), and ¿Leaves of Grass¿ (1855). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.