I Wear the Black Hat

Essays on Villains (Real and Imagined)

By: Chuck Klosterman

Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman

One-of-a-kind cultural critic and New York Times bestselling author Chuck Klosterman “offers up great facts, interesting cultural insights, and thought-provoking moral calculations in this look at our love affair with the anti-hero” (New York magazine).

Chuck Klosterman, “The Ethicist” for The New York Times Magazine, has walked into the darkness. In I Wear the Black Hat, he questions the modern understanding of villainy. When we classify someone as a bad person, what are we really saying, and why are we so obsessed with saying it? How does the culture of malevolence operate? What was so Machiavellian about Machiavelli? Why don’t we see Bernhard Goetz the same way we see Batman? Who is more worthy of our vitriol—Bill Clinton or Don Henley? What was O.J. Simpson’s second-worst decision? And why is Klosterman still haunted by some kid he knew for one week in 1985?

Masterfully blending cultural analysis with self-interrogation and imaginative hypotheticals, I Wear the Black Hat delivers perceptive observations on the complexity of the antihero (seemingly the only kind of hero America still creates). As the Los Angeles Times notes: “By underscoring the contradictory, often knee-jerk ways we encounter the heroes and villains of our culture, Klosterman illustrates the passionate but incomplete computations that have come to define American culture—and maybe even American morality.” I Wear the Black Hat is a rare example of serious criticism that’s instantly accessible and really, really funny.

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?

Neat book

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

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