Author(s): Marina Hyde

Entertainment

These days, entertainers no longer just entertain: they advocate dubious 'religions', work for the United Nations, get face-time with heads of state and monopolise problems they are infinitely qualified to solve - problems like Africa, the Middle East, and AIDS. We stand at the beginning of a bright new chapter in human history. Feast your eyes, then, on Sharon Stone's peace mission to Israel, on a world where Angelina Jolie advises on the Iraqi reconstruction effort or Charlie Sheen analyses 9/11, and in which Jude Law's attempts to establish contact with the Taliban are reported without irony. "Celebrity" is a roadmap, a survivalist's guide, a Rosetta Stone for our times: without a copy you are not equipped to engage with the world... Author Biography: Marina Hyde read English at Christ Church, Oxford, and started in journalism as a temporary secretary on the Sun's showbiz desk. She has worked at the Guardian since 2000, where her three weekly columns - on sport, celebrity and politics - have won her a reputation as one of the funniest and most admired journalists in the UK. She lives in London. First published 2009.