What does Jade Goody tell us about Athenian democracy? What does Achilles say about the death of Ayrton Senna? Why does anyone want to be famous? Why do we want them to be? Everybody wants their fifteen minutes of fame. But just what is it that elevates mere mortals to the status of gods, and why has celebrity become an increasing preoccupation in the modern world? It once was ability, intelligence, power or beauty that established fame: military or sporting achievement, artistic, literary or musical genius, political prowess, blue blood or, occassionally, criminal depravity. Attributes of the men and women who rose above the common stock. Throughout history we have defined ourselves with reference to famous people, and allowed them to exercise a strange power over us, and us, a strange power over them. Fame though, has changed. The cult of celebrity has become a global obsession. Reality television dramatises the lives of the famous as though they were people just like us, and people just like us can become famous on reality TV. Are we more preoccupied with fame than before? Or have we always been a little too interested? In A History of Fame Tom Payne expertly answers these puzzling questions and many more. From deities to divas, masterpieces to magazines, it is a book about the heroes, losers, loners and glamour-pusses of all times. It is also a book about the rest of us, about what our hunger for celebrity says about ourselves, and about the value of fame, both good and bad.