I Wear the Black Hat

Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined)

By: Chuck Klosterman

Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman

From New York Times best-selling author, "one of America's top cultural critics" (Entertainment Weekly), and "The Ethicist" for The New York Times Magazine, comes a new book of all original pieces on villains and villainy.

Chuck Klosterman has walked into the darkness. As a boy, he related to the cultural figures who represented goodness - but as an adult, he found himself unconsciously aligning with their enemies. This was not because he necessarily liked what they were doing; it was because they were doing it on purpose (and they were doing it better). They wanted to be evil. And what, exactly, was that supposed to mean? When we classify someone as a bad person, what are we really saying (and why are we so obsessed with saying it)?

In I Wear the Black Hat, Klosterman questions the very nature of how modern people understand the concept of villainy. What was so Machiavellian about Machiavelli? Why don't we see Batman the same way we see Bernhard Goetz? Who's more worthy of our vitriol - Bill Clinton or Don Henley? What was O.J. Simpson's second-worst decision? And why is Klosterman still obsessed with some kid he knew for one week in 1985?

Masterfully blending cultural analysis with self-interrogation and limitless imagination, I Wear the Black Hat delivers perceptive observations on the complexity of the anti-hero (seemingly the only kind of hero America still creates). I Wear the Black Hat is the rare example of serious criticism that's instantly accessible and really, really funny. Klosterman is the only writer doing whatever it is he's doing.

©2013 Chuck Klosterman (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

Neat book

I was interested in the idea of everyday villains, and I felt like the book delivered.

Still great

Funny and thoughtful, his writing feels like interesting conversations for intellectuals. What makes evil and why don't we remember bad things about our heros? Muhammad Ali turned Joe Frazier into a hated Uncle Tom , not a real black man, the tool of racists who is stupid and ugly. Ali went nasty and personal for no reason. Frazier had been his friend , had helped Ali in his time of need. Had loaned him money. Frazier came from a much more difficult environment; and lived among the disadvantaged, had more of a claim of 'keeping it real'. Why ruin Fraziers life and make him as hated as the Klan among Fraziers own community? Why doesn't anybody care today?

Self-indulgent

Meh. Klosterman thinks he's very clever because he can make more pop culture references in more fields than almost anyone else. It's fine, he has some good insights about the whole idea of villains, but overall it's about Klosterman himself. He is trying to show how clever he is. Always. Despite that, there were parts I quite enjoyed. He's a good reader, and has the right sardonic tone for his own writing.

Wow. What a pleasant surprise.

This is the first Chuck Klosterman book I've ever read. It was lighthearted, thought provoking and a lot of fun. I will be listening to his other books for sure.

One thing to note though. He reads the book himself. And for the first 5 minutes I thought: "This guys should NOT be reading his own book." But after I got used to him, he seems like the perfect person to be narrating his work. I can't imagine one of the typical great readers like Scott Brick reading this. So if you listen to the sample and worry that you won't like the narration, don't worry, you will get used to it, it's a good thing.

entertaining but vapid

I enjoyed this. lots of good anecdotes. but there were just too many times I thought "eh, that's kind of a stupid point" or "that's a grossly oversimplified argument" or whatever. fun, glad I read it, but it was by no stretch amazing. when I read a great book, I find myself bringing it up in conversation. I didn't do that with this one.

Enjoyable - for a certain age range.

I enjoyed this book a lot, the narrator took some getting used to but about a half hour into it, I felt like I was having coffee with a friend and discussing pop culture. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much if I was not in the author's age range, but since I am, I found it very thought-provoking and well-explained. Discussing some of the topics after reading, I discovered that Batman is a highly sensitive subject with a lot of people. I find myself evaluating people's motivations (characters or real people) with a more discerning eye after reading this. Well worth the credit spent.

Like an initially captivating conversation that you soon lose interest in while the other participant does not

I love Klostermans ideas initially and then he loses me once I get into the book. It wasn't as bad as "what if we're wrong" but again lagged and spent too much time grossly over explaining one point 1000 different ways. The book moves too slowly and so I couldn't keep focused and found myself not paying attention.

An interesting book that is all over the place

Would you consider the audio edition of I Wear the Black Hat to be better than the print version?

I dont know. I didnt read the print version

Who was your favorite character and why?

There were no characters

What about Chuck Klosterman’s performance did you like?

His performance was really good. As it was his own writing, he was able to put the right amount of emotion and flow with it

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

There were a few. I liked the premise of the book and how it related to Nicolo Macchiavelli. The parts that made no sense, like his chronological list of bands that he hated and why, were funny but a bit nonsensical to me.

Any additional comments?

This is an entertaining book, but I'm not 100% sure why. Its one part philosophy and one part random story telling and funny commentary. I wish it were longer and Id read anything else he did as a result of this book

Witty Humor

Good listen - not my typical genre of books but enjoyed it and Chuck provided some good laughs

Needs professional narration

An excellent essay ruined as an audio book by amaturish narration. Mr. Klosterman should stick to writing and hire a narrator .....