Daniel Boorstin Dies at 89
Historian Led Museum and Library of Congress

Daniel Joseph Boorstin, 89, the prizewinning and bestselling author and historian who had served as librarian of Congress and director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of History and Technology, died of pneumonia yesterday at Sibley Memorial Hospital.

Boorstin was author of two dozen books, which were translated into at least 30 languages.

By Bart Barnes, Washington Post Staff Writer - Sunday, February 29, 2004 [full text here]

America, according to Boorstin, was threatened by "the menace of unreality," which was infiltrating society, and replacing the authentic with the contrived.

As a result, he believed, America was losing contact, not merely with reality, but with the ideals that had given the nation strength throughout its history. In the age of contrivance, American ideals were being replaced by superficial images.

When Boorstin published The Image in 1961, it was early in the emergence of these trends. Nevertheless, he saw what was taking place with a remarkable clarity. His criticism of the packaging of politicians, politics and celebrities, is by now one of the most significant truths of American society.

[source: transparencynow.com

On a personal note: I learned of Boorstin by way of owning a second-hand BOMC copy of The Discoverers, which is still my favorite reference on my favorite topic, the History of Science.

Here's another Boorstin quote I find applicable to our community, and our times:

We must abandon the prevalent belief in the superior wisdom of the ignorant.