James Howard Kunstler

James Howard Kunstler was born in New York City in 1948. He is the author of numerous novels, including World Made By Hand and The Witch of Hebron, and four nonfiction books, including The Long Emergency. He is a frequent lecturer at colleges and professional organizations across the country. He lives in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Kunstler's new book is A History of the Future: A World Made By Hand Novel.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:

I recently finished Laurent Binet’s HHhH — a Novel, which is mostly a fictional account of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi governor of occupied Czechoslovakia, known as “the Butcher of a Prague.” I say mostly because parts of the book include memoiresque digressions into the novelist’s own past in his struggle to write the novel. I generally don’t like authors getting this cute with breaking the envelope of dramatic form, but Binet is a winning voice and his artistry allows him to pull off the stunt. I enjoyed the book hugely. It is translated from the French.

I am now reading Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies, sequel to her 2009 novel Wolf Hall about the court intrigues surrounding Henry VIII’s romance with Ann Boleyn — as told through eyes of Henry’s chamberlain Thomas Cromwell. The sequel is about Boleyn’s downfall. Mantel’s powerful and original narrative skills interest me as much as the story itself. She’s a writer’s writer.

Visit James Howard Kunstler's website.

--Marshal Zeringue