We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to the library. Find a location near you.

Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
5 star
 
(0)
4 star
 
(1)
3 star
 
(0)
2 star
 
(0)
1 star
 
(0)
Published:
ABRAMS, Inc. 2019
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
"An intriguing odyssey" though the history of the self and the rise of narcissism (The New York Times).
Self-absorption, perfectionism, personal branding—it wasn't always like this, but it's always been a part of us. Why is the urge to look at ourselves so powerful? Is there any way to break its spell—especially since it doesn't necessarily make us better or happier people? Full of unexpected connections among history, psychology, economics, neuroscience, and more, Selfie is a "terrific" book that makes sense of who we have become (NPR's On Point). Award-winning journalist Will Storr takes us from ancient Greece, through the Christian Middle Ages, to the self-esteem evangelists of 1980s California, the rise of the "selfie generation," and the era of hyper-individualism in which we live now, telling the epic tale of the person we all know so intimately—because it's us.
"It's easy to look at Instagram and selfie-sticks and shake our heads at millennial narcissism. But Will Storr takes a longer view. He ignores the easy targets and instead tells the amazing 2,500-year story of how we've come to think about our selves. A top-notch journalist, historian, essayist, and sleuth, Storr has written an essential book for understanding, and coping with, the 21st century." —Nathan Hill, New York Times-bestselling author of The Nix
"This fascinating psychological and social history . . . reveals how biology and culture conspire to keep us striving for perfection, and the devastating toll that can take."—The Washington Post
"Ably synthesizes centuries of attitudes and beliefs about selfhood, from Aristotle, John Calvin, and Freud to Sartre, Ayn Rand, and Steve Jobs." —USA Today
"Eminently suitable for readers of both Yuval Noah Harari and Daniel Kahneman, Selfie also has shades of Jon Ronson in its subversive humor and investigative spirit." —Bookseller
"Storr is an electrifying analyst of Internet culture." —Financial Times
"Continually delivers rich insights . . . captivating." —Kirkus Reviews
Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Copies In LINK+
Loading LINK+ Copies...
More Details
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
04/02/2019
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781468315905
ASIN:
B07MXBRVZY
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Will Storr. (2019). Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us. ABRAMS, Inc.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Will Storr. 2019. Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us. ABRAMS, Inc.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Will Storr, Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us. ABRAMS, Inc, 2019.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Will Storr. Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us. ABRAMS, Inc, 2019.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection11
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
1c9ed99a-99c5-b51f-083b-0d523d013ddb
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 17:34:58
Date Updated:
Jul 27, 2023 11:03:02
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 24, 2024 09:00:31
Last Metadata Change:
Sep 18, 2023 20:54:58
Last Availability Check:
Mar 24, 2024 09:00:34
Last Availability Change:
Mar 18, 2024 14:30:13
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 29, 2024 02:17:20

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/2363-1/{4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/2363-1/{4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/2363-1/{4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2363-1/{4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781468315905
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781468315905
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B07MXBRVZY
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781468315905
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9781468315899
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Will Storr
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Selfie
dateAdded
2018-03-16T02:35:28.127Z
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com?websiteID=141&titleID=3694660
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
          • id: 1151
sortTitle
Selfie How We Became So SelfObsessed and What Its Doing to Us
crossRefId
3694660
subtitle
How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us
id
4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5
starRating
3.5

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: Selfie_9781468315905_3694660
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 1740943
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781468315905
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 1
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 6/8/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=4c4b85b8-cad8-4872-9290-4545afa61fa5&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: Selfie_9781468315905_3694660
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781468315905
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B07MXBRVZY
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 6/8/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=4c4b85b8-cad8-4872-9290-4545afa61fa5&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: Selfie_9781468315905_3694660
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 752964
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781468315905
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 6/8/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=4c4b85b8-cad8-4872-9290-4545afa61fa5&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: ego
      • value: Ayn Rand
      • value: Ancient Greece
      • value: Middle Ages
      • value: self
      • value: Donald Trump
      • value: Individualism
      • value: silicon valley
      • value: Self-Image
      • value: narcissism
      • value: Vasco
      • value: Social Media
      • value: Perfectionism
      • value: authentic self
      • value: Self-Esteem
      • value: self-love
      • value: smartphones
      • value: Esalen Institute
      • value: Self-Obsession
      • value: selfie
      • value: tribalism
      • value: selfie generation
      • value: egotism
      • value: Esalen
      • value: age of individualism
      • value: age of perfectionism
      • value: how the west became self-obsessed
      • value: hyper-individualism
      • value: john vasconcellos
      • value: narcissism epidemic
      • value: perfect self
      • value: selfie culture
      • value: self-love movement
      • value: tribal self
      • value: vasconcellos
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Storr, Will
      • bioText: Will Storr is an award-winning journalist and novelist whose work has appeared in the Guardian, Sunday Times, The New Yorker, and the New York Times. His books include Selfie: How the West Became Self-Obsessed and The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science (Overlook/Abrams Press). His writing courses are among the most in-demand offerings of the Guardian Masterclasses and the Faber Academy. He lives in Kent, England.
      • name: Will Storr
imprint
ABRAMS Press
publishDate
2019-04-02T00:00:00-04:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Selfie
fullDescription
"An intriguing odyssey" though the history of the self and the rise of narcissism (The New York Times).
Self-absorption, perfectionism, personal branding—it wasn't always like this, but it's always been a part of us. Why is the urge to look at ourselves so powerful? Is there any way to break its spell—especially since it doesn't necessarily make us better or happier people? Full of unexpected connections among history, psychology, economics, neuroscience, and more, Selfie is a "terrific" book that makes sense of who we have become (NPR's On Point). Award-winning journalist Will Storr takes us from ancient Greece, through the Christian Middle Ages, to the self-esteem evangelists of 1980s California, the rise of the "selfie generation," and the era of hyper-individualism in which we live now, telling the epic tale of the person we all know so intimately—because it's us.
"It's easy to look at Instagram and selfie-sticks and shake our heads at millennial narcissism. But Will Storr takes a longer view. He ignores the easy targets and instead tells the amazing 2,500-year story of how we've come to think about our selves. A top-notch journalist, historian, essayist, and sleuth, Storr has written an essential book for understanding, and coping with, the 21st century." —Nathan Hill, New York Times-bestselling author of The Nix
"This fascinating psychological and social history . . . reveals how biology and culture conspire to keep us striving for perfection, and the devastating toll that can take."—The Washington Post
"Ably synthesizes centuries of attitudes and beliefs about selfhood, from Aristotle, John Calvin, and Freud to Sartre, Ayn Rand, and Steve Jobs." —USA Today
"Eminently suitable for readers of both Yuval Noah Harari and Daniel Kahneman, Selfie also has shades of Jon Ronson in its subversive humor and investigative spirit." —Bookseller
"Storr is an electrifying analyst of Internet culture." —Financial Times
"Continually delivers rich insights . . . captivating." —Kirkus Reviews
reviews
      • premium: False
      • source: Nathan Hill, New York Times bestselling author of The Nix
      • content: It's easy to look at Instagram and selfie-sticks and shake our heads at millennial narcissism. But Will Storr takes a longer view. He ignores the easy targets and instead tells the amazing 2,500-year story of how we've come to think about our selves. A top-notch journalist, historian, essayist, and sleuth, Storr has written an essential book for understanding, and coping with, the 21st century.
      • premium: False
      • source: Bookseller, Editor's Choice
      • content: Eminently suitable for readers of both Yuval Noah Harari and Daniel Kahneman, Selfie also has shades of Jon Ronson in its subversive humour and investigative spirit . . . Selfie, without being remotely fluffy, just might be the ultimate in post-truth comfort reading.
      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        December 1, 2017
        Studying self-image from a variety of perspectives.The idea of the self has long fascinated British novelist and journalist Storr (The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science, 2014), and he scrutinizes the topic through both historical and contemporary lenses. The author probes themes of identity and reputation in an anthropologically sound examination of the ancestral tribal brain and the inherent nature of humans to become preoccupied with perfectionism and outward perception. He traces ideas of self-imagery and cultural influence back to ancient Greece, contrasts Confucian and Aristotelian principles, and looks at the work of Ayn Rand. He intermingles these notions with a chronicle of his conversation with a brutish former club bouncer whose violently aggressive demeanor, according to psychologists, stems from low self-esteem issues. Some scientists argue for the significance of threatened masculinity and ego, which correlates to Storr's introduction to the personal growth-focused Esalen Institute, whose main intent remains to improve attendees' general self-esteem. The author's immersion in the encounter groups at the facility's "Big Yurt" provides a revealing look at the individualistic author himself. In another self-commentary, he equates his extra belly fat with a "moral transgression," a failure to match the historically and culturally normative blueprint of what his body should resemble. Reflections on neoliberalism follow a discussion of his extended stay at Silicon Valley's Rainbow Mansion tech commune, where a millennial narcissist obsessively takes hundreds of selfies daily, continually incentivized by social media's virtual validation. The book is uncommonly structured into large segments with text that often glides into a stream-of-consciousness flow, featuring ideas and points of reference that correlate but sometimes seem haphazardly arranged. Nonetheless, Storr continually delivers rich insights, historically grounded conclusions, and more contemporary deliberations on his subject's relevance to the Trump campaign and how to stay hopeful living in a me-first world.Captivating, self-reflective research on our culture of rampant egocentricity.

        COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

popularity
594
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/4c4b85b8-cad8-4872-9290-4545afa61fa5/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
4c4b85b8-cad8-4872-9290-4545afa61fa5
starRating
3.5
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/2363-1/{4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/2363-1/{4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/2363-1/{4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2363-1/{4C4B85B8-CAD8-4872-9290-4545AFA61FA5}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: Psychology
      • value: Sociology
      • value: Technology
      • value: Nonfiction
publishDateText
04/02/2019
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9781468315899
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription
"An intriguing odyssey" though the history of the self and the rise of narcissism (The New York Times).
Self-absorption, perfectionism, personal branding—it wasn't always like this, but it's always been a part of us. Why is the urge to look at ourselves so powerful? Is there any way to break its spell—especially since it doesn't necessarily make us better or happier people? Full of unexpected connections among history, psychology, economics, neuroscience, and more, Selfie is a "terrific" book that makes sense of who we have become (NPR's On Point). Award-winning journalist Will Storr takes us from ancient Greece, through the Christian Middle Ages, to the self-esteem evangelists of 1980s California, the rise of the "selfie generation," and the era of hyper-individualism in which we live now, telling the epic tale of the person we all know so intimately—because it's us.
"It's easy to look at Instagram and selfie-sticks and shake our heads at...
sortTitle
Selfie How We Became So SelfObsessed and What Its Doing to Us
crossRefId
3694660
subtitle
How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us
publisher
ABRAMS, Inc.
bisacCodes
      • code: PSY031000
      • description: Psychology / Social Psychology
      • code: SOC002010
      • description: Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social
      • code: TEC052000
      • description: Technology & Engineering / Social Aspects