I Wear the Black Hat

May 13, 2013
Klosterman’s latest exercise in pop-culture-infused philosophical acrobatics is an exploration of villainy, or rather, “the presentation of material” on the subject. Basically, the premise gives the veteran author (Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs) and current “Ethicist” for the New York Times Magazine an excuse to tackle an array of subjects ranging from Machiavelli (whose biggest crime was turning “an autocratic template into entertainment”) to 1980s N.Y.C. subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz, who could have been a superhero if he had just kept his mouth shut. “Every forthcoming detail about his life—even the positive ones—made his actions on the subway seem too personal,” Klosterman writes. His circuitous arguments are occasionally self-indulgent and too reminiscent of David Foster Wallace, but the writing is always intellectually vigorous and entertaining. According to Klosterman, being the villain is about knowing the most but caring the least, which has as much to do with self-awareness and public perception as the act itself. Agent: Daniel Greenbert, Levine Greenberg Agency.

February 1, 2013

What, the "Ethicist" for the New York Times Magazine (and best-selling author of books like Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs) is proclaiming a fondness for the villain? Having once sided with Luke Skywalker, he now cheers Darth Vader's embrace of evil. Sharp but funny cultural criticism about where we draw the line between hero and villain--and the meaning of villainy in our society; with a six-city tour.

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