Book review: celebrity politics: image and identity in contemporary political communications

In Celebrity Politics, Mark Wheeler offers an analysis of the ways that celebrity politicians and politicized celebrities have had an impact upon the practice of politics. New forms of political participation have emerged as a result and the political classes have increasingly absorbed the values of celebrity into their own PR strategies. Celebrity activists and humanitarians also play a part in reconfiguring politics for a more fragmented and image–conscious public arena. Hansley A. Juliano encounters some theoretical weaknesses but believes the book remains useful for students of political communication.