Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us

"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

About the Author :
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.

Review :
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. 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