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I Wear the Black Hat

Grappling With Villains (real and Imagined)
Oct 17, 2013britprincess1 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Chuck Klosterman's writing style is a pleasure to read. After having read SEX, DRUGS, AND COCOA PUFFS: A POP CULTURAL MANIFESTO, I instantly dubbed him one of my favourite comical nonfiction writers (in that he is writing the truth and it is funny, but he is not exactly being a comedian). Now, he has chosen to write about villains, all kinds, mostly nonfictional but a few fictional ones, too, using the argument that a villain can be boiled down to the person who knows the most and cares the least. You'll read about all kinds of things in this book, starting with Machiavelli and the notions associated with him to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, from the problem with the Eagles (and what that has to do with Taylor Swift) to a compare-and-contrast examination of how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and OJ Simpson are so similar yet so different. Perez Hilton, Kim Dotcom, and Wikileaks founder Assange are all discussed not long after the essay on Sandusky. You read about Nancy Botwin of WEEDS and Walter White of BREAKING BAD and learn why it is that suddenly we like drug dealers, but don't like drug users. What makes one villainous and the other innocent, or at least, neutral? The book starts off with an examination of how devious tying women to the railroad tracks became known as the ultimate evil deed, asking what makes other people evil or not evil, but it ends off on a self-reflective note, a perfect way to end frankly, short and sweet and slightly abrupt, but with the closure and finality that wraps up the details. Quite frankly, at a mere 200 pages, I wish I WEAR THE BLACK HAT was longer. Ultimately, the charisma stems from Klosterman's writing; his wit is most amusing. I discovered this was so as I realized that, had it been anyone else, I wouldn't care about sports commentary or music criticisms, but through his particular lens, I appreciate what I'm learning. For anyone who likes to learn and laugh simultaneously, Klosterman is the writer for you. I would definitely recommend I WEAR THE BLACK HAT.