The Image · A Guide to Pseudo Events in America

Boorstin, Daniel J.

What happens to a public when staged events and famous faces replace real news and real achievement?

At a glance

You will spot events that exist only to be reported, and ask what actually happened
You will tell the difference between being admired for an achievement and being famous for being famous
You will see how travel, books and news turn into packaged versions of themselves, and look for the real thing

Foreword to the 25th Anniversary Edition
Foreword to the First Edition
INTRODUCTION
Extravagant Expectations
From News Gathering to News Making: A Flood of Pseudo-Events
I
II
III
IV
V
From Hero to Celebrity: The Human Pseudo-Event
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
From Traveler to Tourist: The Lost Art of Travel
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
From Shapes to Shadows: Dissolving Forms
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
From Ideal to Image: The Search for Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
From the American Dream to American Illusions? The Self-Deceiving Magic of Prestige
I
II
III
IV
V
Afterword to the Vintage Edition (2012)
Douglas Rushkoff
Suggestions for Further Reading (and Writing)
Chapter 1. From News Gathering to News Making: A Flood of Pseudo-Events
Chapter 2. From Hero to Celebrity: The Human Pseudo-Event
Chapter 3. From Traveler to Tourist: The Lost Art of Travel
Chapter 4. From Shapes to Shadows: Dissolving Forms
Chapter 5. From Ideal to Image: The Search for Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Chapter 6. From the American Dream to American Illusions? The Self-Deceiving Magic of Prestige