Chuck Klosterman X by Chuck Klosterman (June 2017)
Klosterman's tenth book is a collection of articles and essays published over the past decade. Longtime fans will recognize 'X' as an updated version of Chuck Klosterman IV (minus the novella) (1).
The article I enjoyed the most was about Royce White. His promising NBA playing career never quite got going. A 2012 first round draft choice of the Houston Rockets, White's battle with general anxiety disorder proved too difficult to maintain while trying to establish an NBA career. He used his platform as a well-known athlete, however, to become an advocate and humanitarian for mental health issues and awareness.
One thing the article points out is perhaps obvious yet rarely discussed (or possibly willfully ignored): professional sports teams having their own doctors is a conflict of interest. If a business always seeks to cut overhead and sports teams are businesses (as commentators and pundits love to remind fans), then logically the team doctor is incentivized to return injured players to action as early as possible. The result might hamper the player's physical or mental capacities decades later, of course, but this is a problem the team does not need to deal with and therefore can usually ignore.
I also liked Klosterman's insight into confirmation bias. He recounts being chosen to write about the AMC series The Walking Dead, a show he did not watch. Apparently, this made him uniquely qualified to provide a new perspective on the show, or so his boss thought. This is a fair justification. Who else could make an interesting insight into a show he did not watch?
But if Klosterman did watch the show, surely his dedicated viewing habits would also make him an ideal candidate for the piece. Who could know more about the show?
Once someone decided he was the man to write about the show, his relationship to it became irrelevant. The thought reminded me of learning to write. Most writing assignments in school involved defining a position and defending it through reasoned arguments. The hallowed 'five-paragraph essay' organized this principle into an easy enough recipe for us students to follow. What I failed to recognize back then was how many of my examples could be used were I to have written an opposing piece. I think all I would have needed to do was tweak my word choice a little bit to make sure it flowed properly.
Footnotes / imagined complaints
1. All published already?
For rabid fans, I suppose this book is possibly a disappointment. There is very little new material here.
