Democracy and its Discontents by Daniel J Boorstin

Paperback. Condition: Very Good+. 1975. Vintage. Stock Image.

A collection of essays on American society and the media by Daniel Boorstin, a distinguished historian, 12th Librarian of Congress, and proponent of the book arts. While he is typically known for the political conservatism of his later years and associated with what is called "the consensus school" of American history, he also had a number of radical insights about the nature of reality in the mediated landscape of the late 20th century such as his coining of the term "pseudo-event" (a forerunner of today's "fake news") way back in the early 1960s. One essay in this collection, "The Prison of the Present," takes on what is now referred to as "presentism"-- the scourge of all history being made to conform with the constantly changing dictates of present-day morality. Another essay explores the growth of public opinion as a concept and its inherent limitations. Arguably, Boorstin is one 20th century American intellectual whose work deserves a reboot in this century.