The author introduces the seminal concept of "pseudo-events"--such as press conferences and presidential debates, which are staged solely for publicity--and redefines celebrity as "a person who is known for his well-knownness". The result is an essential resource that distinguishes the deceptions of our culture from its few enduring truths.

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.