Sticky Reputations

Reviews / Votes

"With this masterful book, Gary Fine solidifies his own reputation as the leading scholar of reputation studies. Fine provides a historical panorama of how and when reputations flourish or sink, shedding light on our current age of celebrity cult(ure). Anyone interested in the intersection of politics and culture will find this a vital resource."

-Daniel Levy, Sociology, SUNY-Stony Brook

"Gary Fine has done it again! Because this stunning book reveals the sociological dynamics of historical reputation, no one interested in America's past, especially the middle decades of the twentieth century, can afford to ignore it. Indeed, no one can read Sticky Reputations without new understandings of social issues, politics, and the making of history itself."

-Barry Schwartz, Sociology, University of Georgia

"Gary Fine argues that reputations depend on the work of cultural "entrepreneurs," people who work to establish or transform the public image of public figures. But he shows here that attempting to diminish a hero or vindicate a villain can be just as consequential for the entrepreneur as it is for the public figure (who, in many cases, is long dead). Together with his previous book on Difficult Reputations, Sticky Reputations defines its field."

-Jeffrey Olick, Sociology, University of Virginia