Daniel J. Boorstin

Author profile

born

in The United States

October 01, 1914

died

February 28, 2004

gender

male

About this author

edit data

Daniel Joseph Boorstin (October 1, 1914 – February 28, 2004) was an American historian, professor, attorney, and writer. He was appointed twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1975 until 1987.

Boorstin's parents were second-generation Russian-Jewish immigrants.
Boorstin was born in 1914 in Atlanta, Georgia, where his father was a lawyer who participated in the defense of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendant who was falsely accused of the rape and murder of a teenage girl. After Frank's 1915 lynching led to a surge of anti-Semitic sentiment in Georgia, the family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Boorstin was raised. He graduated from Tulsa's Central High School at the age of 15. He graduated with highest honors from Harvar...more Daniel Joseph Boorstin (October 1, 1914 – February 28, 2004) was an American historian, professor, attorney, and writer. He was appointed twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1975 until 1987.

Boorstin's parents were second-generation Russian-Jewish immigrants.
Boorstin was born in 1914 in Atlanta, Georgia, where his father was a lawyer who participated in the defense of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendant who was falsely accused of the rape and murder of a teenage girl. After Frank's 1915 lynching led to a surge of anti-Semitic sentiment in Georgia, the family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Boorstin was raised. He graduated from Tulsa's Central High School at the age of 15. He graduated with highest honors from Harvard, studied at Balliol College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and earned his PhD at Yale University. He was a lawyer and a university professor at the University of Chicago for 25 years. He also served as director of the National Museum of History and Technology of the Smithsonian Institution. Boorstin wrote more than 20 books, including a trilogy on the American experience and one on world intellectual history. The Americans: The Democratic Experience, the final book in the first trilogy, received the 1974 Pulitzer Prize in history. Boorstin also wrote the books The Discoverers, The Creators and The Seekers, a trilogy of books that attempt to survey the scientific, artistic and philosophic histories of humanity, respectively.

Within the discipline of social theory, Boorstin’s 1961 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America is an early, description of aspects of American life that were later termed hyperreality and postmodernity. In The Image, Boorstin describes shifts in American culture — mainly due to advertising — where the reproduction or simulation of an event becomes more important or "real" than the event itself. He goes on to coin the term pseudo-event which describes events or activities that serve little to no purpose other than to be reproduced through advertisements or other forms of publicity. The idea of pseudo-events closely mirrors work later done by Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord. The work is still often used as a text in American sociology courses.

When President Gerald Ford nominated Boorstin to be Librarian of Congress, the nomination was supported by the Authors League of America but opposed by the American Library Association because Boorstin "was not a library administrator." The Senate confirmed the nomination without debate.

Boorstin died in 2004 in Washington, D.C.(less)

combine editions
Daniel J. Boorstin's Books

Average rating: 4.00 · 13,220 ratings · 630 reviews · 46 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself 4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 5,443 ratings — published 1983 — 22 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination by Daniel J. Boorstin, Bernard Klein (Designed by) 4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 1,152 ratings — published 1992 — 19 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Americans, Vol. 1: The Colonial Experience 4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 308 ratings — published 1958 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World 3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 389 ratings — published 1998 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 239 ratings — published 1961 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Americans, Vol. 3: The Democratic Experience 4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 233 ratings — published 1973 — 11 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Americans, Vol. 2: The National Experience 4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 144 ratings — published 1967 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cleopatra's Nose: Essays on the Unexpected 3.31 of 5 stars 3.31 avg rating — 133 ratings — published 1994 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hidden History: Exploring Our Secret Past 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 55 ratings — published 1987 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Landmark History of the American People, 2 Volumes by Daniel J. Boorstin, Ruth Frankel Boorstin 3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 62 ratings — published 1968 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Daniel J. Boorstin…

Series by Daniel J. Boorstin

Knowledge Trilogy (3 books)
by Daniel J. Boorstin
4.082015664252992 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 6,767 ratings

The Americans (3 books)
by Daniel J. Boorstin
4.104011887072808 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 673 ratings

Quotes by Daniel J. Boorstin

“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge.”
― Daniel J. Boorstin

tags: discovery, earth, illusion

68 people liked it

“No agnostic ever burned anyone at the stake or tortured a pagan, a heretic, or an unbeliever.”
― Daniel J. Boorstin

27 people liked it

“A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that you can take it to bed with you.”
― Daniel J. Boorstin

tags: books

25 people liked it

See all Daniel J. Boorstin's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Sword and Laser: Non-fiction recommendations for Sword and Laser fans	20	78	Nov 10, 2011 06:12am
The History Book ...: Military Series: BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA - BIBLIOGRAPHY ~ Spoiler Thread	39	62	Jul 24, 2012 07:48am
The History Book ...: INTRODUCTION: THOMAS JEFFERSON: THE ART OF POWER BY JON MEACHAM (SPOILER THREAD)	295	386	Dec 11, 2012 09:19am

More…