Chuck Klosterman X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century

New York Times-bestselling author and cultural critic Chuck Klosterman's articles and essays covering the past decade, including keystone pieces about Breaking Bad, Lou Reed, Jimmy Page, KISS, Stephen Malkmus, Jonathan Franzen, Tim Tebow, Kobe Bryant, Taylor Swift, Tom Brady, and many more cultural figures and phenomena. Chuck Klosterman has created an incomparable body of work in books, magazines, newspapers, and on the Web. Ten years and four books into his atypical career, Klosterman released a collection of his previously published journalism, essays, and columns titled Chuck Klosterman IV. The volume solidified his reputation as a cultural critic who can span the realms of pop culture and sports, but who can also address interpersonal issues, social quandaries, and ethical boundaries. Since then, Klosterman has written five more bestsellers, helped found and establish Grantland, served as the New York Times Magazine Ethicist, and worked on film and television productions, all while maintaining a consistent stream of writing in outlets such as GQ, Billboard, The Believer, The A. V. Club, and The Guardian. Chuck Klosterman X collects those many pieces along with fresh introductions and new footnotes throughout. The pieces are organized in categories (e.g. White Dudes Holding Guitars ) and Klosterman presents many of the articles in original form, before they were trimmed down for space, so they feature previously unpublished structures, passages, and signature digressions. The final part of the book includes Klosterman's epic 10,000-word KISS retrospective, which proved once and for all that no one knows KISS like Chuck Klosterman -- an entertaining return to his Fargo Rock City roots. Chuck Klosterman X is the culmination and celebration of two decades in journalism and books from one of the sharpest and most prolific observers and chroniclers of our unusual times.