Chuck Klosterman Knihy

Bolo to dávno, no akoby sa to stalo včera: spadol Berlínsky múr a zrútili sa Dvojičky. Deväťdesiate roky boli silne medializované a sebavedomé, no bez skreslenia internetu a sociálnych sietí. Ich trajektóriu dokážeme presne odsledovať. Po väčšinu desaťročia bol Seinfeld najpopulárnejším a najvplyvnejším televíznym seriálom, ktorý zmenil jazyk a cit pre komédiu. Mnohé polarizujúce témy, ktoré dnes dominujú diskusiám, sa už vtedy objavovali, ale vnímali sa skôr ako akademické experimenty. Existovali jadrové zbrane, ale vojna sa nechystala. Internet prichádzal, aj keď neochotne. Deväťdesiate roky dvadsiateho storočia pôsobia ako obdobie, keď sa svet zbláznil, ale nie natoľko, aby to nebolo zvládnuteľné. Autor prináša panoramatický pohľad na koniec dvadsiateho storočia a obdobie, keď sme ešte ovládali technológie. Opisuje vzostup internetu, popkultúrne fenomény ako film Titanic či seriál Priatelia, a spoločenské zmeny týkajúce sa rasy, triedy a sexuality. Analyzuje politické škandály, ako Clintonovu aféru s Monicou Lewinskou a predvolebnú kampaň Rossa Perota, ale aj masaker na strednej škole v Columbine a proces s O. J. Simpsonom. Kniha je nostalgickou prehliadkou dekády, ktorá sa odohrala dávno – hoci nie až tak dávno, ako sa môže zdať.

„Jako většina lidí, i já s oblibou považuji sebe sama za skeptika. Přesto do značné míry nepochybuji o gravitaci. Moje důvěra v koncept gravitace je bezvýhradná a naprostá; jsem přesvědčen, že bude platný i v den mého odchodu z tohoto světa (a že moje mrtvé tělo, pokud by ho někdo vyhodil z okna, bude padat se zrychlením 9,8 m/s2). A nejspíš se pletu. Možná ne zcela, ale částečně. Možná ne dnes, ale nakonec tomu tak bude,“ říká autor knihy Chuck Klosterman. Mimořádně vtipně a čtivě napsaná kniha nám na mnoha příkladech ukazuje, jak jepičí život mají „věčné pravdy“ a jak často vycházíme při svých úvahách z předpokladů, které jsou od začátku chybné. Všichni, které baví přemýšlet, tady najdou spoustu potravy pro svůj mozek, a ještě se u toho dobře pobaví.

US bestselling author Chuck Klosterman shares absurd memories of his rural youth, highlighting how heavy metal shaped his socialization. This book celebrates a deep love for music and is praised by Stephen King as the best writing on American pop culture, filled with humor and joy.

For 6,557 miles, from New York to Mississippi to Seattle, Chuck Klosterman decided to chase rock n roll and death across a continent.

The cultural critic questions how modern people understand the concept of villainy, describing how his youthful idealism gave way to an adult sympathy with notorious cultural figures to offer insight into the appeal of anti-heroes.

New York Times bestselling author Chuck Klosterman asks questions that are profound in their simplicity: How certain are we about our understanding of gravity? How certain are we about our understanding of time? What will be the defining memory of rock music, five hundred years from today? How seriously should we view the content of our dreams? How seriously should we view the content of television? Are all sports destined for extinction? Is it possible that the greatest artist of our era is currently unknown (or weirder still widely known, but entirely disrespected)? Is it possible that we overrate democracy? And perhaps most disturbing, is it possible that we ve reached the end of knowledge? Klosterman visualizes the contemporary world as it will appear to those who'll perceive it as the distant past.Kinetically slingshotting through a broad spectrum of objective and subjective problems, But What If We re Wrong? is built on interviews with a variety of creative thinkers George Saunders, David Byrne, Jonathan Lethem, Kathryn Schulz, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Greene, Junot Diaz, Amanda Petrusich, Ryan Adams, Nick Bostrom, Dan Carlin, and Richard Linklater, among others interwoven with the type of high-wire humor and nontraditional analysis only Klosterman would dare to attempt. It s a seemingly impossible achievement: a book about the things we cannot know, explained as if we did. It s about how we live now, once now has become then

Explores a range of modern cultural phenomenon, including Internet pornography, tribute bands, baseball rivalries, and reality television.

Bestselling author Chuck Klosterman returns with his fascinating and often hilarious musings on pop culture and sport

But What If We're Wrong? visualizes the contemporary world as it will appear to those who'll perceive it as the distant past. Chuck Klosterman asks questions that are profound in their simplicity: How certain are we about our understanding of gravity? How certain are we about our understanding of time? What will be the defining memory of rock music, five hundred years from today? How seriously should we view the content of our dreams? How seriously should we view the content of television? Are all sports destined for extinction? Is it possible that the greatest artist of our era is currently unknown (or--weirder still--widely known, but entirely disrespected)? Is it possible that we "overrate" democracy? And perhaps most disturbing, is it possible that we've reached the end of knowledge? Kinetically slingshotting through a broad spectrum of objective and subjective problems, But What If We're Wrong? is built on interviews with a variety of creative thinkers--George Saunders, David Byrne, Jonathan Lethem, Kathryn Schulz, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Greene, Junot Díaz, Amanda Petrusich, Ryan Adams, Nick Bostrom, Dan Carlin, and Richard Linklater, among others--interwoven with the type of high-wire humor and nontraditional analysis only Klosterman would dare to attempt. It's a seemingly impossible achievement: a book about the things we cannot know, explained as if we did. It's about how we live now, once "now" has become "then."

A man flying first class discovers a puma in the lavatory. A new coach of a small-town Oklahoma high school football team installs an offense comprised of only one, very special, play. A man explains to the police why he told the employee of his local bodega that his colleague looked like the lead singer of Depeche Mode, a statement that may or may not have led in some way to a violent crime. A college professor discusses with his friend his difficulties with the new generation of students. An obscure power pop band wrestles with its new-found fame when its song 'Blizzard of Summer' becomes an anthem for white supremacists. A couple considers getting a medical procedure that will transfer the pain of childbirth from the woman to her husband. A woman interviews a hit man about killing her husband but is shocked by the method he proposes. A man is recruited to join a secret government research team investigating why reality is mathematically unraveling. A man sees a whale struck by lightning, and knows that everything about his life has to change. A lawyer grapples with the unintended side effects of a veterinarian's rabies vaccination