How People Become Famous

by Rainer Zitelmann

The art of self-marketing has never been more important. Best-selling author Rainer Zitelmann shows how 12 of the most successful self-promoters of all time achieved their extraordinary fame. The celebrities featured come from a variety of backgrounds from politics to sport, fashion, show business and science. Each has their own technique and their own lessons to offer – essential reading for anyone wanting to create their own successful personal brand.

Table of Contents:
1. Albert Einstein: The Man Who Stuck His Tongue Out at the World
2. Andy Warhol: From a Soup Can to Global Fame
3. Karl Lagerfeld: Me, Myself and I
4. Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe
5. Muhammad Ali: I Am the Greatest
6. Donald Trump: Trophy Real Estate, Trophy Women, Trophy Presidency
7. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Bodybuilder, Actor, Politician – The Three Careers of a PR Genius
8. Oprah Winfrey: The American Dream Come to Life
9. Steve Jobs: The Entrepreneur as Artist, Rebel and Guru
10. Madonna: I Won’t Be Happy until I’m as Famous as God
11. Princess Diana: Queen of Hearts
12. Kim Kardashian West: Famous for Being Famous

Genres: Business

208 pages, Paperback

Published November 24, 2021

Reviews

[Robin Waite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not normally a fan of celebrity culture, however I was recommended this book by a friend as she mentioned it had lots of useful nuggets about marketing and personal branding inside and felt it would be helpful for me in my role in the business world.

Were I to pick up autobiographies about the 12 people Zitelmann chose to feature in the book individually the only one I feel I would have resonated with would have been Steve Jobs. So it's a huge positive that he picked a dozen subjects to use as case studies in How People Become Famous. Otherwise I'd unlikely have proactively chosen to read about the others.

I found the "tools" section at the end of each chapter incredibly helpful as it summarised the six features each person used to build their personal brand, which made it super easy to go back and reference.

For me personally I would have liked to have seen more influential business leaders...or a book geared specifically towards business leaders. It was interesting reading about the people from other backgrounds but I did find one or two of them hard to relate to.

I'll give Rainer credit though, it kept me engaged, entertained and educated throughout. Very well written.

[Haitham · Rating 3 out of 5]

أعجبتني الفكرة ولكن لم تعجبني التركيز على صفات ليست محببة عموماً كصفات من يسوقون لأنفسهم كالاستفزاز والشكل الملفت المنفر.
ربما هذه الفكرة تصلح مع البعض ولكن هل هناك فعلاً من يعجبه شخص يقوم بالسب مثلاً على سبيل الاستفزاز ويمشي عارياً في الشارع؟
نعم هو سيتم شهرته وهذا ما حققه الكتاب ببراعة ولكن هذه الشهرة ستنتهي سريعاً جداً.