Daniel J Boorstin Famous Quotes
"There was a time when the reader of an unexciting newspaper would remark, 'How dull is the world today' Nowadays he says, 'What a dull newspaper'"
"Our American past always speaks to us with two voices the voice of the past, and the voice of the present. We are always asking two quite different questions. Historians reading the words of John Winthrop usually ask, What did they mean to him Citizens ask, What do they mean to us Historians are trained to seek the original meaning all of us want to know the present meaning."
"The American experience stirred mankind from discovery to exploration, from the cautious quest for what they knew (or what they thought they knew) was out there, to an enthusiastic reaching to the unknown."
There is no disinfectant like success.
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.
Formerly a public man needed a private secretary for a barrier between himself and the public. Nowadays he has a press secretary to keep him properly in the public eye.
A sign of a celebrity is that his name is often worth more than his services.
A best seller was a book which somehow sold well simply because it was selling well.
More appealing than knowledge itself is the feeling of knowledge.
Freedom means the opportunity to be what we never thought we would be.
"The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource, adding color and suspense to all our life."
"Americans expect to eat and stay thin, to be constantly on the move and ever more neighborly...to revere God and be God."
Knowledge is not simply another commodity. On the contrary. Knowledge is never used up. It increases by diffusion and grows by dispersion.
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers."
Daniel J Boorstin Quotations
Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it.
Robert A Heinlein
"No, 'tis slander, Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue Outvenoms all the worms of Nile, whose breath Rides on the posting winds, and doth belie All corners of the world."
William Shakespeare
As a rule it was the pleasure haters that became unjust.
Wystan Hugh Auden
"In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from."
Peter Ustinov
Small minds are much distressed by little things. Great minds see them all but are not upset by them.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.
Norman Douglas
"These two truths are the same in weight and importance. Accept and love WHO and WHERE you are now, and all good things shall find you there."
Unknown
"Men who have reached and passed forty-five, have a look as if waiting for the secret of the other world, and as if they were perfectly sure of having found out the secret of this."
Benjamin Haydon
I took a look around the office. ... I walked out and closed the door behind me. I knew that I would not be back there again. (On leaving the Executive Office Building)
Richard Milhous Nixon
Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast.
Epictetus