But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past
"Full of intelligence and insights, as the author gleefully turns ideas upside down to better understand them. . . Replete with lots of nifty, whimsical footnotes, this clever, speculative book challenges our beliefs with jocularity and perspicacity." --Kirkus (starred review) "Klosterman's trademark humor and unique curiosity propel the reader through the book. He remains one of the most insightful critics of pop culture writing today and this is his most thought-provoking and memorable book yet." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) The tremendously well-received New York Times bestseller by cultural critic Chuck Klosterman, exploring the possibility that our currently held beliefs and assumptions about the world will eventually be proven wrong--now in paperback.
But What If We're Wrong? is a book of original, reported, interconnected pieces, which speculate on the likelihood that many universally accepted, deeply ingrained cultural and scientific beliefs will someday seem absurd. Covering a spectrum of objective and subjective topics, the book attempts to visualize present-day society the way it will be viewed in a distant future. Klosterman cites original interviews with a wide variety of thinkers and experts--including George Saunders, David Byrne, Jonathan Lethem, Alex Ross, Kathryn Schulz, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Greene, Junot Díaz, Amanda Petrusich, Ryan Adams, Dan Carlin, Nick Bostrom, and Richard Linklater. Klosterman asks straightforward questions that are profound in their simplicity, and the answers he explores and integrates with his own analysis generate the most thought-provoking and propulsive book of his career.
But What If We're Wrong? is a book of original, reported, interconnected pieces, which speculate on the likelihood that many universally accepted, deeply ingrained cultural and scientific beliefs will someday seem absurd. Covering a spectrum of objective and subjective topics, the book attempts to visualize present-day society the way it will be viewed in a distant future. Klosterman cites original interviews with a wide variety of thinkers and experts--including George Saunders, David Byrne, Jonathan Lethem, Alex Ross, Kathryn Schulz, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Greene, Junot Díaz, Amanda Petrusich, Ryan Adams, Dan Carlin, Nick Bostrom, and Richard Linklater. Klosterman asks straightforward questions that are profound in their simplicity, and the answers he explores and integrates with his own analysis generate the most thought-provoking and propulsive book of his career.
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Community Reviews
Another entertaining book by Klosterman. He's a bit all over the place here, jumping from idea to idea, but the premise is good and he made very interesting points. What if we are wrong about the things we know now? He's trying to think, and make us think, about the future using our present as the past. Got that? It can get a bit confusing.
Klosterman starts of questioning .... gravity. Bold move. But it is just a theory, right? And a fairly new one at that. Chuck tackles rock n roll music (would the Beatles be the epitome of rock 200 years from now??), whether sports will continue as a big money maker, or even at all, and the Constitution. Is democracy overrated? Keep reading, because it's all fair game for Chuck to question.
Klosterman has no real answers. He mainly presents all sides of the possibilities and leaves us to ponder the rest.
If you listen to the audiobook, you will get a lovely British lady reading to you. Apparently Klosterman thought that would sound better than his reading voice. Thanks, Chuck!
Klosterman starts of questioning .... gravity. Bold move. But it is just a theory, right? And a fairly new one at that. Chuck tackles rock n roll music (would the Beatles be the epitome of rock 200 years from now??), whether sports will continue as a big money maker, or even at all, and the Constitution. Is democracy overrated? Keep reading, because it's all fair game for Chuck to question.
Klosterman has no real answers. He mainly presents all sides of the possibilities and leaves us to ponder the rest.
If you listen to the audiobook, you will get a lovely British lady reading to you. Apparently Klosterman thought that would sound better than his reading voice. Thanks, Chuck!
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