The Image
This wonderfully provocative book, first published in 1962, introduced the concept of "pseudo-events"—events like press conferences and presidential debates that are staged solely for the purpose of being reported—as well as the modern definition of celebrity as "a person who is known for his well-knownness." Since then, Daniel J. Boorstin's prophetic picture of an America engulfed in its own illusions has become a must-read for anybody looking to separate our culture's many deceptions from its few enduring realities.
