How to Become Famous

Lost Einsteins, Forgotten Superstars, and How the Beatles Came to Be

By: Cass R. Sunstein

Narrated by: Tom Beyer

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

It's hard to imagine our world without its stars and celebrity geniuses—they become a part of our culture and history, seeming permanent and preordained. But as Cass Sunstein shows in this startling book, that is far from the case. Focusing on both famous and forgotten (or simply overlooked) artists and luminaries in music, literature, business, science, politics, and other fields, he explores why some individuals become famous and others don't, and offers a new understanding of the role of greatness, luck, and contingency in the achievement of fame.

First, Sunstein examines recent research—on informational cascades, power laws, network effects, and group polarization—to probe the question of how people become famous. He explores what ends up in the history books, in the great religious texts, and in the literary canon—and how that changes radically over time. He delves into the rich and entertaining stories of a diverse cast of famous characters, from John Keats, William Blake, and Jane Austen to Bob Dylan, Ayn Rand, and Stan Lee—as well as John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

How to Become Famous takes you on a fun, captivating, and at times profound journey that will forever change your perspective on the latest celebrity's "fifteen minutes," the nature of memory, success and failure in business, and our enduring fascination with fame.

©2023 Cass R. Sunstein (P)2024 Ascent Audio

Is lasting fame inevitable?

I love Professor Sunstein's books and this latest did not disappoint. Why do some people achieve lasting fame? Why do others with great talent end up in obscurity? Why do some achieve fame that fades after they pass while others only achieve iconic status long after they die? Sunstein explores many factors - including luck - to see if there are common characteristics. The narrative is witty and thought provoking and will make you look at people who have achieved fame in a somewhat different light.

Interesting ideas

What could easily have been a five-star audio book due to the quality of the writing and ideas became less due to the narrator. He should have read it straight without his terrible impersonations of Dylan, McCartney, Lennon and many others.

Missed the mark.

This book contained a few interesting stories, but for the most part was a pedantic mishmash of what if scenarios taken into their ridiculous extreme.