He's smart, charming and an excellent story teller.
How we all laugh as we sit around a dinner table, listening to his finely crafted stories.
It's only later, when you think a little harder about what he said that the depth of his assholistic character becomes clear.
...
When Kunstler writes about sprawl (his most carefully considered topic) everyone laughs and applauds. Conservatives love it because he's skewering the modernity that, according to modern legend (ironically) destroyed the American Family. Liberals and 'progressives' love it because he writes and speaks smartly about the many aesthetic deficits of contemporary design.
Yes, that's right, our buildings do suck! Yes, we are sitting alienated in our vehicles sipping lattes like idiots!
Give us hell Kunstler!
But then he turns his attention to hydrocarbons -- 'Peak Oil', specifically, and things rapidly go off the rails.
I've written about this before and won't repeat myself:
"Why am I so annoyed by James Kunstler's The Long Emergency?"
<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20080114/001111.html>
Kunstler's most recent book is a novel, "World Made By Hand". Look it up at Amazon. It imagines the post-hydrocarbon world. Oddly, the novel places oil depletion sometime after next Thursday. It's an entertaining book and I suggest everyone pick up or borrow a copy to keep them company during the Winter.
It's also an exercise in middle aged apocalytarian fantasy. You see, all the non-white people are apparently off somewhere killing each other (or something) and only white guys -- and former middle managers -- have the skill, the virility, the sheer gumption to make a new world from the bad, latte sipping old.
After reading the book, I wanted to send the author to therapy, or perhaps re-education camp. Then I remembered it was Kunstler and laughed.
Because he's so charming!
.d.