The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America
First published in 1962, this wonderfully provocative book introduced the notion of “pseudo-events”—events such as press conferences and presidential debates, which are manufactured solely in order to be reported—and the contemporary definition of celebrity as “a person who is known for his...
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First published in 1962, this wonderfully provocative book introduced the notion of “pseudo-events”—events such as press conferences and presidential debates, which are manufactured solely in order to be reported—and the contemporary definition of celebrity as “a person who is known for his well-knownness.” Since then Daniel J. Boorstin’s prophetic vision of an America inundated by its own illusions has become an essential resource for any reader who wants to distinguish the manifold deceptions of our culture from its few enduring truths.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780679741800 (0679741801)
Publish date: September 1st 1992
Publisher: Vintage
Pages no: 336
Edition language: English
Category:
Non Fiction,
History,
Academic,
School,
Literature,
American,
20th Century,
Culture,
Politics,
Philosophy,
American History,
Sociology,
Pop Culture
At first I rated it just three stars, but I really think it deserves the extra star. It's more the fault of my poor reading habits that I lost focus in the last two chapters although the penultimate chapter was, in my estimation, overlong and felt labored (is that the right word?). Nevertheless the...
5+ stars This book should be mandatory reading. Boorstin, Librarian of Congress emeritus, is an outstanding social historian who defines pseudo-events as events created to promote. Generally, these events have no intrinsic newsworthiness. They are not spontaneous, they are usually arranged for the c...
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