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Daniel J. Boorstin

Daniel J. Boorstin Quotes

Historian

Daniel J. Boorstin was an influential American historian known for his research on historical writing and public knowledge. His work emphasized the connection between history and contemporary life, as well as the role of historians in shaping public consciousness.

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Famous Daniel J. Boorstin Quotes

“The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.”

Men Bigs Names Hero

Book:The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

Source: The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

“The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media.”

Book:The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

Source: The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

“The hero was distinguished by his achievement; the celebrity by his name or trademark.”

Names Hero Achievement Distinguished Trademarks

Author:Daniel J. Boorstin

“Our discontent begins by finding false villains whom we can accuse of deceiving us. Next we find false heroes whom we expect to liberate us. The hardest, most discomfiting discovery is that each of us must emancipate himself.”

Next Hero Findings Discovery Hardest Villain Deceiving Discontent

Book:The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

Source: The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

“Time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities.”

Time Hero Time Management Idols

Author:Daniel J. Boorstin

“Celebrity-worship and hero-worship should not be confused. Yet we confuse them every day, and by doing so we come dangerously close to depriving ourselves of all real models. We lose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous but are famous because they are great. We come closer and closer to degrading all fame into notoriety.”

Source: The Image or What Happened to the American Dream

“In our world of big names, curiously, our true heroes tend to be anonymous. In this life of illusion and quasi-illusion, the person of solid virtues who can be admired for something more substantial than his well-knownness often proves to be the unsung hero: the teacher, the nurse, the mother, the honest cop, the hard worker at lonely, underpaid, unglamorous, unpublicized jobs.”

Source: The Image or What Happened to the American Dream

“The hero was distinguished by his achievement; the celebrity by his image or trademark. The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media. The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.”

Men Bigs Names Sports Media Hero Achievement Distinguished Trademarks

Book:The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

Source: The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

“The hero is known for achievements; the celebrity for well-knowns. The hero reveals the possibilities of human nature. The celebrity reveals the possibilities of the press and media. Celebrities are people who make news, but heroes are people who make history. Time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities.”

People Humans Wells Known Media Human Nature Possibility Hero Achievement News Presses Well Known

Author:Daniel J. Boorstin

About the Author

Born: October 1, 1914
Died: February 28, 2004
Known for: Historian
Quotes: 127

Related Topics

World Men America Hero Knowledge Book Humans Illusion People Ignorance Way Wells Atheism Ifs Made Nations Persons Reading Thinking Facts

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Books & Sources

The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in AmericaRelated source material

The DiscoverersRelated source material

The Lost World of Thomas JeffersonRelated source material

The ImageRelated source material

The Image or What Happened to the American DreamRelated source material

The Americans: The Democratic ExperienceRelated source material

The Creators: A History of Heroes of the ImaginationRelated source material

Cleopatra's Nose: Essays on the UnexpectedRelated source material

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