Walter Lippmann (1) (1889–1974)
Author of Public Opinion
For other authors named Walter Lippmann, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Walter Lippmann, an American political journalist, dominated political journalism in the United States from World War I almost until his death. In his last year as a student at Harvard University, he was an assistant to the philosopher George Santayana. He read extensively in Freud and was in every show more sense an "intellectual" journalist. "His Public Opinion" (1922) became the intellectual anchor for the study of public opinion, and it is widely read today. He came close in this book to questioning whether citizens can possibly make rational, democratic decisions. The source of the difficulty is not our irrationality but the inherent nature of the modern system of mass communication; information must be condensed into brief slogans. These slogans become stereotypes, a concept that Lippmann brilliantly analyzed prior to its acceptance by psychologists. As a political columnist, he wrote on many topics, particularly on foreign relations, and he held a position of prestige in Washington's press corps that has never been matched. Alastair Buchan wrote in 1974 that Walter Lippman was "the name that opened every door." (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Harris & Ewing Collection
(REPRODUCTION NUMBER: LC-DIG-hec-21696)
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Works by Walter Lippmann
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1889-09-23
- Date of death
- 1974-12-14
- Burial location
- At sea, ashes spread off the coast of Maine, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- New York, New York, USA
- Place of death
- New York, New York, USA
- Education
- Harvard University
- Occupations
- journalist
editor
secretary
military intelligence officer - Relationships
- James, William (teacher)
Santayana, George (teacher) - Organizations
- The New Republic (Founder)
United States Army
National Press Club
Cosmos Club
Metropolitan Club
Army-Navy Country Club (show all 14)
Century Club
River Club
Harvard Club
Coffee House Club
Tavern Club
The New York Herald Tribune
Newsweek
Fund for the Advancement of Education - Awards and honors
- Legion of Honor (Commander, 1946)
Order of Leopold (Officer, 1947)
Order of St. Olav (Knight's Cross, 1950)
Order of Orange Nassau (Commander, 1952)
Overseas Press Club Award (1953 - 1955 - 1959)
George Foster Peabody Award (1962) (show all 13)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964)
National Academy of Arts and Letters (Gold Medal, 1965)
City of New York (Bronze Medallion, 1974)
Phi Beta Kappa
American Academy of Arts and Letters
National Institute of Arts and Letters
Sigma Delta Chi
Members
Reviews
A Preface to Morals by Walter Lippmann
$26. Excellent Condition.
Insightful and timeless. I didn't realise until halfway through that this was written a century ago. Makes good points about the problems with democracy and limits to informed decision making.
This was just a bad match--between me and the book. Usually I find I can stretch reasonably well beyond the subjects with which I am very interested. I even thought I might be very curious about this particular topic. Although somewhat dated since it was written in 1922 and much of the 20th century is not even included in the examples and discussion, I found the book was well-organized, logically presented and included many relevant examples. But I just could not get interested. The lack of attraction between the book and me, between the content and me, became painful. I saw it through, wished I hadn't and have concluded that I deserve much of the blame.… (more)
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 24
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 1,818
- Popularity
- #14,145
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 11
- ISBNs
- 180
- Languages
- 10
- Favorited
- 1
