Manufacturing Fame

The fame machine is more powerful than ever

Apotheosis of Napoleon III by Guillaume-Alphonse Harang Cabasson, 1854 (public domain — Wikimedia Commons)

“Two centuries ago when a great man appeared, people looked for God’s purpose in him; today we look for his press agent.” — Daniel Boorstin, 1961

When he delivered the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln self-deprecatingly said, “The…