Boorstin, Daniel J.

The Image, Or What Happened to The American Dream

New York, NY, USA: Atheneum, 1962. First Edition. “What happened to the American dream, Mr. Boorstin says, can be explained only by seeing what we have substituted for it. Great new powers created by the ‘Graphic Revolution,’ a distinctly modern and American Revolution, have enabled us to make an imitation of reality which is more attractive than reality itself. We have flooded our world with ‘pseudo-events’ and images. These powers, which are another name for American literacy and wealth and progress, have tempted us to turn newsgathering into newsmaking, to transform heroes into celebrities, to become tourists instead of travelers to displace real shapes by shadows, to give up ideals for images, to live not by the American dream but by American illusions.”--from inside front flap of dust jacket. Daniel J. Boorstin (1914–2004) was an American historian and writer at the University of Chicago. Although he was a member of the Communist Party in his early years, he became a political conservative and this conservatism would become a milieu upon which the body of his work would reside. This broader milieu would also come to include the likes of Richard Hofstadter (1916–1970), Louis Hartz (1919–1986), and Clinton Rossiter (1917–1970), all of whom would write in this same “Consensus History” way of historiography, which focused on the unity of the American people and downplayed class and social conflict. Offered today is Boorstin’s 1962 work, The Image: Or What Happened to The American Dream. In this volume, Boorstin tackles the problem of the increasingly absurd propaganda machine that, seemingly, has pervaded every single aspect of American culture. While he cannot analyze this problem as being a byproduct of Capitalism-induced corruption, due to his repudiation of his Communist past, Boorstin seems to engage the problem on the grounds of a moral failing rather than that of an ideological-economic one. Ultimately, Boorstin’s clear, concise, and entertaining prose makes The Image: Or What Happened to The American Dream an enlightening-if-not-prophetic read. From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), poet, editor, and professor in the University of Michigan Department of English Language and Literature Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket. First edition as stated at copyright page, presumed first printing though not explicated as such thereon. Book is in very fine condition with only minor wear to fine edges; dust jacket is in relatively fine condition with some wear to fine edges, slight tearing at top and bottom near spine, light discoloration/sun-toning due to age and very minor smudging to front and back covers. Very Fine / Fine. [Item #7005]

Price: $125.00