Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781541789012)

An exploration into the curation of the self in Western civilization from Da Vinci to Kim Kardashian.

In a technologically-saturated era where nearly everything can be effortlessly and digitally reproduced, we're all hungry to carve out our own unique personalities, our own bespoke personae, to stand out and be seen. As the forces of social media and capitalism collide, and individualism becomes more important than ever across a wide array of industries, "branding ourselves" or actively defining our selves for others has become the norm. Yet, this phenomenon is not new. In Self-Made, Tara Isabella Burton shows us how we arrived at this moment of fervent personal-branding.

As attitudes towards religion, politics and society evolved, our sense of self did as well, moving from a collective to individual mindset. Through a series of chronological biographical essays on famous (and infamous) "self-creators" in the modern Western world, from the Renassiance to the Enlightenment to modern capitalism and finally to our present moment of mass media, Burton examines the theories and forces behind our never-ending need to curate ourselves. Through a vivid cast of characters and an engaging mix of cultural and historical commentary, we learn how the personal brand has come to be.


Author: Tara Isabella Burton
ISBN-10: 1541789016
ISBN-13: 9781541789012
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Language: English
Published: 06/27/2023
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.00w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 05/15/2023
Booklist 06/01/2023 pg. 5