Tara Isabella Burton is a fascinating and prolific writer whose work always has something to interest me. This is an excellent and accessible review of the idea of the "self-made" person. A wonderful introduction to the philosophy of self.

The writing is solid, creating a vivid atmosphere, but the plot is a mix of captivating moments and predictability. Characters are well-developed, though some lack depth. Pacing fluctuates, making it a decent but not outstanding read.

I really enjoyed this book. I hit a reading slump so it took me a while but this was so comprehensive. I’m so impressed by Tara Isabella Burton as an author and researcher. She really knows what she’s talking about and presents so much information in ways that keep you interested. Would definitely recommend!

Burton's tour through Renaissance Italy to Silicon Valley lacks the incisiveness of "Strange Gods," her prior foray into non-fiction. But it still gives readers plenty of bon mots and tidbits about "self-made men" of early eras, suggesting that some of the pathologies and eccentricities of TikTok personalities aren't that new, after all.

I was lucky enough to read "Self-Made" and interview its author, Tara Isabella Burton, for the Storytime in Paris podcast. Here is what I said:

"Ep 61. Dr. Tara Isabella Burton, “Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians”

My guest this week is author, theologian, and cultural critic Dr. Tara Isabella Burton. Tara has written five books, including three novels and two nonfiction books. Her debut novel, “Social Creature,” was named a "book of the year" by The New York Times, New York's Vulture, and The Guardian. In addition to this, her writing has appeared in publications like The New York Times, National Geographic, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Tara’s second nonfiction book “Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians” traces the myth of the self-made person from the Italian Renaissance, and the idea that genius can make you a star, through the dandies of England and France, to the “you can do anything if you work hard enough” slogan in the US, to the Hollywood star, to modern day internet influencers famous for inhabiting their brand, and everything in between."

Full episode available on the Storytime in Paris podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts.

This book is a cultural history of the self-made man and woman in Western civilization, and it explores how our sense of self has evolved over time. Burton offers that our current obsession with self-branding and personal image is rooted in the historical shift from a collective to an individual mindset. It would be interesting to anyone who wants to understand the forces that have shaped our current obsession with self-branding.

It was the subtitle that did it. I thought this would be more about the creation of digital identities and influencers but it is much more about the philosophy of self. This looked to contain a lot of research and read like a dissertation or college essay, but I was looking for something more like "Swipe Up for More!"

I would rate this 3.5 out of 5.

I want to thank Netgalley & PublicAffairs for an uncorrected proof of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially drawn to this book because I have some experience with the psychological concept of the self and I thought this might provide a different and exciting point of view on the topic. Overall, I was not disappointed by Burton's arguments throughout this book about the socio-cultural and economic impacts on the development of the self.

That being said I did find this book really hard to connect with. I did not find that I was really engrossed in the topic of the book until the third chapter and somewhere around the seventh my interest fell off again. I almost wish that the book was written in the opposite direction where Burton started with the present day and worked backwards. I think that would have been helpful to me as it would have given a frame to the topic with which the reader is more familiar rather than starting the topic from an area where there is less familiarity as it was five centuries ago. I also found that the language usage in the book might not be accessible to everyone who might pick this book up as there was a lot of academic phrasing and language.

I did appreciate that throughout the book Burton made an effort to point out the boundaries that self-made men, dandies, etcetera were often exclusionary to women and people of colour. Often when doing an analysis with a historical progression the topic is not addressed by the author in any way and that was refreshing to see.

I also really appreciated that Burton would take one or two people from a period of time to focus on the central idea of how the self was constructed during that period to make the point. It made the information easier to digest because there was a stable center to which all of the information could be drawn back. I also think of the balance Burton provided by pointing out the ways in which the subject exhibited the larger practice of self-making while addressing the very negative aspects that were inherent in that process.

If you are a fan of books that synthesize several fields into a coherent analysis of a topic I would recommend this book. Equal parts historical, anthropological, and spiritual analysis this is an interesting read.

I was able to get half way through this book but was not compelled to finish. I loved the premise but some of the chapters were extremely convoluted. I think it had the potential to be great but was missing a solid through-line to keep the reader engaged.

⭐️ rating: 3+

Burton takes the reader through various topics that I was not expecting when I chose this book. It is NOT a guide on how to be an influencer - in fact, it hardly touches on modern day. She goes through each era to discuss how the concept of self was regarded at that time. To emphasize the point, Burton includes influential self makers and how they utilized each way of thinking.

While I did find the content interesting, I had a tough time getting into the book each time I picked it up. The writing felt educational more than literary, similar to a thesis or extended essay. Some areas were difficult to follow. Overall, I think this is a unique and well-researched novel that would be a good read for anyone interested in this particular topic.

I received a copy of this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. #NetGalley #LilReads

A well written and clearly thoroughly researched journey taking a peek into the lives of people who have consciously bucked social, economic, and religious cultural standards throughout history.

Burton gets in use of the best word that John Green ever taught me, “eschatological,” so I must offer bonus kudos for that. I did not realize going in to this book that Burton is a theologian, but it becomes obvious as religion is so often either directly/literally or indirectly/metaphorically invoked throughout.

It really made me consider that perhaps the way we present ourselves is less about how society perceives us and more about how we perceive society. What is it within us that makes us look at what’s “normal,” current and popular and decide, “Not me” or “That’s how I must be”? It kind of makes me want to delete social media 😅

Who will enjoy “Self-Made”? Readers who are seriously into sociology and want to think about self-awareness, self-image, the ways that we either maintain the status quo or purposefully buck it in the pursuit of capital, social or otherwise. It was definitely not as pop-sci of a vibe as I expected from a book that invokes the Kardashians in the subtitle!

The publisher’s blurb describes Self-Made as “a series of chronological biographical essays on famous (and infamous) ‘self-creators’ in the modern Western world”, and essentially, it reads like author Tara Isabella Burton is presenting a lecture series on our society’s evolution from enforced (cultural and religious) conformity to the pressures we feel today to each be striking individuals with marketably unique brands. Each chapter tells the stories of those who pushed the limits of what was acceptable in their day, and from these individual biographies to Burton’s overall thesis, I found this to be totally fascinating and readable. If I had a complaint it would be that this felt too comprehensive — there are so many stories here, spanning centuries, that I find it hard to sum up succinctly — but that’s hardly a complaint at all (if this had been a lecture series, I would have enjoyed taking it in over several weeks or months, but as it was, I still enjoyed reading this slowly.) Recommended!

It was an interesting read. I originally was intrigued by the cover and the title. There was a lot of good information.

I was very interested in the topic of this book, because of the prevalence of "self-making" in social media and job-hunting/professional development, and was curious to learn more about Burton's historical analysis of the idea. Some of the earlier chapters were hard for me to get through, while the second half was far more compelling to me. The chapters on the Italian concept of sprezzatura, the first reality shows, and early drag queens and "campy" individuals in Andy Warhol’s world, as well as the Kardashians and Donald Trump stuck out to me. I wish there were more current analysis than there is now, because some of the history felt disconnected from my perspective, even though I understand how it connects to her larger thesis. Overall, I would recommend “Self-Made” with the caveat that some chapters might be more skimmed than relished.

Self-Made by Tara Isabella Burton is a well written and extremely thoughtful exploration of what is now known as "branding," but the act of curating the self we share with the world has been done since the beginning of time. I genuinely enjoyed following the author's research on this topic, from historical examples to her current analysis of today's social media driven world. Highly recommend!

Self-Made by Tara Isabella Burton is a well written and extremely thoughtful exploration of what is now known as "branding," but the act of curating the self we share with the world has been done since the beginning of time. I genuinely enjoyed following the author's research on this topic, from historical examples to her current analysis of today's social media driven world. Highly recommend!