Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas | Chuck Klosterman

Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas | Chuck Klosterman | Klosterman at his best

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Chuck Klosterman I...

	Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas Chuck Klosterman Scribner, 2007 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 32 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SEX, DRUGS, AND COCOA PUFFS

CHUCK KLOSTERMAN IV

CONSISTS OF THREE PARTS:

THINGS THAT ARE TRUE

Profiles and trend stories: Britney Spears, Radiohead, Billy Joel, Metallica, Val Kilmer, Bono, Wilco, the White Stripes, Steve Nash, Morrissey, Robert Plant -- all with new introductions and footnotes.

THINGS THAT MIGHT BE TRUE

Opinions and theories on everything from monogamy to pirates to robots to super people to guilt, and (of course) Advancement -- all with new hypothetical questions and footnotes.

SOMETHING THAT ISN'T TRUE AT ALL

This is old fiction. There's a new introduction, but no footnotes. Well, there's a footnote in the introduction, but none in the story.

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This man is funny - no, I mean it. Really funny.

I picked up a copy of Mr. Klosterman's latest book on CD to listen to in my car as a commuter pick-me-up. I hadn't heard of him before and bought the CDs blindly. I needed some driving company and his work seemed as good as any in the store.

Let me say that this is probably the single best uninformed consumer purchase I have made. Maybe not ever, but at least this year. I laughed out loud - multiple times - and even found myself "rewinding" parts to hear them again. The sometimes caustic and always insightful tidbits about our culture and the icons in it were fascinating, hillarious, and at moments, surreal. I thoroughly enjoyed the CDs and found myself recommending them to friends. In a 500-mile trip, I essentially became a Chuck Klosterman groupie. I even bought the printed version of this to read the essays that were not included on the CD version (it is abridged).

If you like a dry, witty, intelligent (at times biting) sense of humor, you will likely love this book.
If you are conservative,nice, and decidedly uninterested in pop culture, you will likely find it offensive.

Either way, you'll laugh out loud at something. I guarantee it.

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Klosterman at his best

Though I find most essay compilations disjointed and wildly varying in quality between the pieces, Chuck Klosterman's consistent excellence has always impressed me. The selection of his best articles is what makes this so good. Klosterman has a unique way of looking into seemingly vapid pop culture celebrities and occurrences with an intellectual bent that's funny and intriguing.

If you're a person who's ever found yourself thinking WAY too deeply about the implications of our musicians and tabloid darlings, this is for you. Klosterman's cynical yet self-deprecating sense of humor gets me laughing all the time. His writing style, though a little cerebral considering his topics of choice, is truly unique.

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Made me care about Billy Joel

Contains previously published interviews and essays on personalities and topics as disparate as Britney Spears, Radiohead and the phenomenon of Latino Morrissey fans. Generally speaking, this is a pretty fun read. Klosterman's Advancement Theory is one of the most brilliant hypotheses I've ever encountered and it almost makes sense....kind of. At times, though, his analysis of social issues makes him sound a bit condescending and he has a tendency to over simplify issues (such as his take on international political dynamics). Fortunately, there's more than enough mirth and playful self-deprecation to make up for these slight lapses.

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He hates the Olympics, but that's okay, because he's hilarious

The most entertaining interviews I've read, Klosterman's short pieces on everyone from Britney Spears to Val Kilmer to Steve Nash work on so many levels. Some of them make me actually wonder if I haven't met and become best friends with these people, as Klosterman's questions and descriptions seem to delve that deeply into his subject's psyche. Other times, Klosterman comes off as though my iTunes learned to write at a "New Yorker" level.

Still, my favorite essays were his opinion-styled columns on the Olympics, determining your archnemesis, and even a 24-hour VH1 binge. He says things that strike so close to home and are so simple in their brilliance that you hate yourself for not thinking them first, but his wit and humor make it impossible to hate him.

His short "fictional" story at the end, like his longer semi-autobiographical "Killing Yourself to Live," was underwhelming, but considering that it accounted for at most 10% of the total book, he can be forgiven for that.

My third time around with Klosterman, and I can say definitively that he's a winner. I'll read anything he writes.

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Creative insights

Klosterman's work reflects creativity and interesting insights into American culture. His major frame of reference is modern-pop music. Interesting read with fascinating "what if" scenarios. Good basis for discussion with friends. Worth the quick read.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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