Book Forum 

# *The Power of Glamour: Persuasion, Longing, and Individual Aspiration*

### (Simon & Schuster, 2013) 

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Date and Time 

January 29, 2014 1 - 2:30 PM EST 

Location 

1st floor/Wintergarden 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring the author **Virginia Postrel**, Columnist, *Bloomberg View*, author of *The Future and Its Enemies*, and former editor, *Reason*; with comments by **Tyler Cowen**, Professor of Economics, George Mason University; and **Sam Tanenhaus**, Writer at large, *New York Times*, and former editor, *New York Times Book Review*; moderated by **Walter Olson**, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute. 

[](http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Glamour-Longing-Persuasion/dp/1416561110/?tag=catoinstitute-20)

[![The Power of Glamour](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/images/power-glamour-130.jpg?itok=2dCq-c3M)](/sites/cato.org/files/images/power-glamour-130.jpg) 

Glamour promises to carry us out of quotidian life into a world more beautiful and fulfilling. But what is glamour? A mere daydream distracting us from our true duties and long-term well-being? An illusion created to stimulate commerce in a capitalist economy? How does glamour relate to envy, to art, to self-improvement, to personal charisma? In her new book, Virginia Postrel builds on her path-breaking work in *The Substance of Style* to show that beauty and luxury are far from the only touchstones of glamour: the glamour of military life, of the church, of exploration and discovery, have been driving forces throughout human history, unleashing a dazzling form of persuasion that operates by rousing aspiration and longing in the individual. Please join us for a sparkling discussion of these ideas with three leading public intellectuals. 

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).