miam 's review for:

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains (Real and Imagined) by Chuck Klosterman

4.0

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I loved this. A wild ride through an eccentric mind, like all of Chuck Klosterman's work. He lost me a little in the chapter on con men, which ended with a comparison of the 9/11 terrorists to D.B. Cooper, a man who hijacked a plane to steal $200K and make an escape, all while remaining a "gentleman" (i.e. friendly to the flight attendants, non-threatening to passengers). The conclusion of the argument gives the impression that Klosterman sees the difference between the two hijackers as a matter of confidence. It's not that I find this argument offensive, because I know it's not the actual argument he's making. But it seems like a bit of loose construction from a writer who's all about the strange but tightly constructed argument. I also think he took the easy way out of the Hitler chapter by making it so much about the writing of the chapter.

Overall, maybe my favorite Klosterman book so far!