Quotes by Daniel J. Boorstin

About Daniel J. Boorstin:

Daniel Joseph Boorstin was an American historian at the University of Chicago, writing on many topics in American history and world history. He was appointed twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress in 1975 and served until 1987. He was instrumental in the creation of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Like Goethe's offers a wide panorama of scenes from the vulgar to the sublime, with passages of wondrous poetry that can be sensed even through the veil of translation. And it also preserves the iridescence of its modern theme. From it Oswald Spengle...

Daniel J. Boorstin

The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.

Daniel J. Boorstin

The force of the advertising word and image dwarfs the power of other literature in the 20th century.

Daniel J. Boorstin

The most important American addition to the World Experience was the simple surprising fact of America. We have helped prepare mankind for all its later surprises.

Daniel J. Boorstin

The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes 'sight-seeing.'

Daniel J. Boorstin

Freedom means the opportunity to be what we never thought we would be.

Daniel J. Boorstin

The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource, adding color and suspense to all our life.

Daniel J. Boorstin

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

An image is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product or service.

Daniel J. Boorstin

Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know.

Daniel J. Boorstin

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.

Daniel J. Boorstin

I've learned any fool can write a bad ad, but it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one.

Daniel J. Boorstin

The celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness.

Daniel J. Boorstin

A sign of celebrity is that his name is often worth more than his services.

Daniel J. Boorstin

We need not be theologians to see that we have shifted responsibility for making the world interesting from God to the newspaperman.

Daniel J. Boorstin

Technology is so much fun but we can drown in our technology. The fog of information can drive out knowledge.

Daniel J. Boorstin

Knowledge is not simply another commodity. On the contrary. Knowledge is never used up. It increases by diffusion and grows by dispersion.

Daniel J. Boorstin

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.

Daniel J. Boorstin

As individuals and as a nation, we now suffer from social narcissism. The beloved Echo of our ancestors, the virgin America, has been abandoned. We have fallen in love with our own image, with images of our making, which turn out to be images of ours...

Daniel J. Boorstin

A best-seller was a book which somehow sold well because it was selling well.

Daniel J. Boorstin

Author Bio

  • NameDaniel J. Boorstin
  • DescriptionHistorian, professor, attorney, writer
  • BornOctober 1, 1914
  • DiedFebruary 28, 2004
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionLibrarian; Historian; Writer
  • AwardsPulitzer Prize For History; National Humanities Medal