I Wear the Black Hat

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined)

The first edition cover
Author	Chuck Klosterman
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	Pop culture
Publisher	Scribner
Publication date	July 9, 2013
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	242
ISBN
OCLC	886390536
LC Class	2013003049
Preceded by	The Visible Man (2011)
Followed by	What If We're Wrong: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past (2016)

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined) is a book written by Chuck Klosterman, first published by Scribner in 2013. It is a collection of twelve essays examining the nature of villainy through the lens of popular culture, rock music, and sports. It is the eighth book released by Klosterman. The book debuted at number 5 on the New York Times bestseller list.

I Wear the Black Hat investigates the thesis: A villain is someone who knows the most but cares the least. The book explores how villains behave and why, and many of the essays surround famous athletes and musicians.

I Wear the Black Hat consists of twelve essays:

The book has received mixed reviews, with The A.V. Club giving it a B-. Writing for the New York Times, James Parker said I Wear the Black Hat is, "...not [Klosterman's] best book, but in considering it we should remember the young person, probably not a reader of The New York Times, to whom its haphazardness, its occasional pointlessness and above all its difficulty keeping a straight face will come as sweet, sweet relief." Michael Robbins said in his review of the book in the Chicago Tribune that, "What's most frustrating about "I Wear the Black Hat" is that I'd love to read a good version of it."