Daniel J. Boorstin

We suffer primarily not from our vices or our weaknesses, but from our illusions. We are haunted, not by reality, but by those images we have put in their place. ”

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

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

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

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

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 ourselves. ”

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.' ”

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. ”

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

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. ”