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The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America Paperback – September 1, 1992

by Daniel J. Boorstin (Author)

48 customer reviews

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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.

The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Daniel J. Boorstin's The Image

“A very informative and entertaining and chastising book.”
—Harper’s

“A book that everyone in America should read every few years. Stunning in its prescience, it explains virtually every aspect of our mass media's evolution and seductiveness.”
—Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Visit From the Goon Squad

“An engrossing book—sensitive, thoughtful, damning, dead on target and in most respects unanswerable.”
—Scientific American

“Excellent. . . It is the book to end all books about ‘The American Image’—what it is, who projects it, what effect it has at home or abroad.”
—The Observer

“A brilliant and original essay about the black arts and corrupting influences of advertising and public relations.”
—The Guardian

“Boorstin’s book tells us how to see and listen, and how to think about what we see and hear.”
—George Will

From the Inside Flap

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books Ed edition (September 1, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679741801
ISBN-13: 978-0679741800
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 48 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Elections & Political Process > Media & Internet
- #26 in Books > Business & Money > Industries > Media & Communications
- #206 in Books > Business & Money > Skills > Communications

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Insightful. Prophetic. Revealing. Profound.

ByJeffrey E Ellison April 19, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

THE IMAGE by Daniel Boorstin is a seminal work on the popular culture in America. Though first published in 1969, it is as relevant today as it was then; perhaps more so given the clarity and vantage point of time and experience.

In the fall of 1975, this book was required reading in my freshman college Eng 101 class. It was interesting, I thought, but a little radical and not that profound. Silly me. The intervening years have shown Boorstin to be as insightful as he is prolific and a seer of our generation.

He drew the public's attention to the "pseudo-event" even as the marketing and advertising industry flexed their manipulative muscles in the popular culture; even as they merged art with psychology.

Making news and interviewing reporters and commentators has reached absurd levels, just as Boorstin predicted. This was long before CNN and MSNBC, for example, would make the news themselves instead of gathering and reporting events of moment and newsworthiness. Today, newspapers lament their demise and are going broke because they are no longer relevant in America. They have been replaced with the pseudo-event, celebrity, and inch-deep analysis by anyone with a microphone and an opinion.

America has confused the celebrity with the hero as we see in the entertainment, sports, and political realms. Long gone are the prerequisites for public acclaim as hero: honor, integrity, courage. Simply being well-known is cause for being well-known and worshiped at the media altar. Notoriety has replaced heroism in our country.

This book is a fascinating piece of insight, clarity, and honesty well worth the reading.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Should be more widely known...

Bygametimeon September 13, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This somewhat dated analysis of modern times would help one understand the Trump phenomenon. Much food for thought!

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

This was probably groundbreaking when it was written, in ...

ByWilliam Whyteon July 10, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This was probably groundbreaking when it was written, in its observation of how many events in American life are things that are consciously created for effect rather than things that spontaneously arise. Though Boorstin was very much a conservative, his take, that the artifice of spectacle in America forces cynicism on the observer, mirrors a Marxist / Situationist analysis. The exception is where exactly the two analyses put the blame: Situationism sees it as a conspiracy; Boorstin sees it as something unfortunate that has arisen without any conscious agenda other than producing "content". Since it was written, the extent to which big events are stage managed has only increased (remember "Mission Accomplished", anyone?) and this book is unlikely to surprise anyone any more.

0Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

How to Understand Why We Are Where We Are in 2016.

ByJill Wileyon August 9, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Should be required reading for everyone living in the USA to understand the culture we live in. If only I had read this book 50 years ago... and re-read it every year since.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Amazing and Prophetic

ByT.on August 30, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book was written decades ago, but it's far more relevant to today's society than any pop sociology books that are coming out today. I seriously learned more about the world today from this book than I have from the last dozen sociology books I read that were written far more recently, with the exception of Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, although that was written in the 1980s so that probably doesn't count as a modern book either. Postman drew heavily on the Image for his book, and I highly recommend both.

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Useful and Informative, if Dated

ByAdrian Bonenbergeron February 26, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Like most books that address a theme for the first time, the ideas explored by Mr. Boorstin have become familiar enough to proliferate in popular culture, books, movies, and music. Reading this book you will encounter ideas to which you've already been exposed, especially if you, like myself, were born a decade or more after the book's original publication. It's still worth reading because it's well-organized, well-written, and there's something special about reading a *fresh* idea, even one that's dated - much in the same way that reading Plato's "Republic" or Freud's "Civilization and its Discontents" leaves you feeling revitalized and energetic.

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Public relations in the 20th century

ByThe lone Readeron April 7, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Although this book was written in the early 60's it eloquently sets forth what has become the American penchant for the superficial. Our preference for copies over the original, tourism rather than travel, and our growing preference for appearance over fact, are disturbing trends in American culture. The fascination with celebrity, which Borstin defines as " one who is known for his well-knowness", and little else, Borstin supplies much food for thought in this thoroughly enjoyable read.

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The One-Dimensional American

Byckusa2000on March 29, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book explains why how the political candidates are packaged may be more important than what they say. It further explains why American politics is becoming increasingly identity-driven while voters are being discouraged from critical thinking and encouraged to be cult-following lemmings.

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Most recent customer reviews

Five Stars

A classic worth going over again and again.

Published 5 months ago by Rev. John Ellis

Five Stars

great value

Published 1 year ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Great purchase. Thank you.

Published 1 year ago by jlbayles

Great ideas, Poor edition.

Avery cheaply printed on low quality paper and in small, difficult to read type. Content is excellent--just as it was 40+ years ago.Read more

Published 1 year ago by DS

Possibly the most important book I've read.

The only other book in its class is "Amusing Ourselves To Death" by Neil Postman.

Published 1 year ago by Carl King

Author bemoans museums, recorded music, movies, cars & highways... and pulishers when they don't see things as he does

“Not long ago I approached one of the best publishers in the country with a proposal for a book. The book I outlined, it seemed to me, was much needed.Read more

Published 1 year ago by komyathy

The first section is brilliant and has resonance fifty years later

The first section is brilliant and has resonance fifty years later. Boorstin did indeed see where we were headed.Read more

Published 1 year ago by mdd100

A pioneering work of media theory, The Image has somehow grown more relevant with time!

A brilliant, stunningly prescient analysis of culture. It's thoroughly researched, comprehensively argued, and densely packed with proof of the bold notion that America is...Read more

Published 1 year ago by Abner Rosenweig

This book is like the enlightenment tree that leads to frustration and anger instead of Nirvana

The kind of book that makes you think, "Wow, maybe ignorance is bliss." It's main focus is on psuedo-events, things that didn't actually spontaneously happen but are made...Read more

Published on May 5, 2015 by Nathan Vos

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