Book Recommendation

‘Their Chief Claim to Fame Is Fame Itself’: Heroes and Celebrities

Historian Daniel Boorstin makes the distinction between heroes and celebrities as defined in this modern age of technology and social media platforms.
‘Their Chief Claim to Fame Is Fame Itself’: Heroes and Celebrities
American flags adorn the gravesites of fallen military heroes in Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day on May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va. These are heroes in Daniel Boorstein's sense of the word. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Jeff Minick
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Before reading the article that follows, take a moment and ask yourself: “Who are my heroes, living and dead?” If you want to add to the game, ask the same question of others around you, family or friends: “Who are your heroes?”

All done? Then let’s pay a visit to Daniel Boorstin’s book “The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America,” specifically to the chapter titled “From Hero to Celebrity: The Human Pseudo-Event.”

An Overview

Jeff Minick
Jeff Minick
Author
Jeff Minick has four children and a growing platoon of grandchildren. For 20 years, he taught history, literature, and Latin to seminars of homeschooling students in Asheville, N.C. He is the author of two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust on Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning as I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” Today, he lives and writes in Front Royal, Va.