The Future of Truth - by Werner Herzog (Hardcover)

About the Book

"From legendary filmmaker and author Werner Herzog, a compact, effervescent, and deeply personal exploration of art, philosophy, and history that unravels one of our most elusive and contested questions: what is truth-and how to find it in our "post-truth" era? For over half a century, Werner Herzog has challenged, enriched, and expanded our understanding of the truth. His films and books have mixed fiction and nonfiction, documentary and drama, reality and imagination. Invariably, Herzog goes beyond the appearance of what is true in search of a higher truth, or what he has often referred to as the "ecstatic truth". But never before has he engaged so directly with the question of truth. In The Future of Truth, a great artist essays an answer to one of humanity's deepest, most eternal questions. At a moment when deepfake AI videos are proliferating, and most people have simply thrown up their hands in despair at the ubiquity of what we now know as fake news-not to mention the constant lying and propagandizing from certain public figures-Herzog seeks a remedy. Mixing memoir, history, politics, poetry, science, and fierce opinion, he writes with dazzling originality and panache, urging readers themselves to be unflagging and imaginative in the pursuit of truth, endless though the quest may be: I don't think truth is some kind of Pole star in the sky that we will one day get to. It's more like an incessant striving. A movement towards it, an uncertain journey, a seeking full of futile endeavor. But it is this journey into the unknown, into a vast twilit forest, that gives our lives meaning and purpose; it's what distinguishes us from the beasts in the fields"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

From legendary filmmaker and author Werner Herzog, a compact, effervescent, and deeply personal exploration of art, philosophy, and history that unravels one of our most elusive and contested questions: What is truth--and how to find it in our "post-truth" era?

For over half a century, Werner Herzog has challenged, enriched, and expanded our understanding of the truth. His films and books have mixed fiction and nonfiction, documentary and drama, reality and imagination. Invariably, Herzog goes beyond the appearance of what is true in search of a higher truth, or what he has often referred to as the "ecstatic truth." In The Future of Truth, a great artist essays an answer to one of humanity's deepest, most eternal questions. At a moment when deepfake AI videos are proliferating, and most people have simply thrown up their hands in despair at the ubiquity of what we now know as fake news--not to mention the constant lying and propagandizing from certain public figures--Herzog seeks a remedy. Mixing memoir, history, politics, poetry, science, and fierce opinion, he writes with dazzling originality and panache, urging readers to be unflagging and imaginative in the pursuit of truth, endless though the quest may be:

I don't think truth is some kind of polestar in the sky that we will one day get to. It's more like an incessant striving. A movement, an uncertain journey, a seeking full of futile endeavor. But it is this journey into the unknown, into a vast twilit forest, that gives our lives meaning and purpose; it is what distinguishes us from the beasts in the fields.

Review Quotes

Praise for THE FUTURE OF TRUTH

"Herzog is an erudite and elegant writer seeking to understand what he considers the simulacrum of truth . . . Herzog concludes, on a more positive note, that the hard work of discovering the truth is what gives life dignity and meaning. An intelligent and thoughtful reflection on the truth and how we got here." --Library Journal (starred review)

Praise for Werner Herzog

"Stepping outside a conventional human identity to achieve an ecstatic vision is the ruling passion that runs through this astonishing book. . . . Regaling stories that sometimes seem beyond credibility, Herzog does not claim to be offering a literal rendition of the events of his life . . . His memoir should be read for what it is: a visionary masterpiece that speaks, as did the ancient Greek daimon, of the world of mortals and the regions that seem to lie beyond." --John Gray, The New Statesman

"The book is nonlinear and exuberantly free-associative, less a narrative than an extravagant demonstration of sensibility . . . I feel the same sense of awe when I contemplate the phenomenon of Werner Herzog as I do when I contemplate the pyramids. Amazing, that this fabulous impracticality exists." --Becca Rothfeld, The Washington Post

"Written in that rich, dramatic speaking style . . . Every Man for Himself and God Against All is packed with memorable vignettes and tidbits of information . . . God also makes two appearances . . . But what He's wearing is something only Herzog could dream up. So is every word in this entertaining and informative book." --Odie Henderson, The Boston Globe

"Like his films (Fitzcarraldo, say, or Aguirre, the Wrath of God), Herzog's memoir is a decidedly nontraditional piece of storytelling . . . The book is written in a literary voice that is outspoken and conversational . . . (The translation by Hofmann, who has also translated books by Wim Wenders and Franz Kafka, is delightful.) A fascinating portrait of an inventive and idiosyncratic filmmaker." --Booklist

"Herzog in all his extravagant, perspicacious glory . . . witty and captivating as he recollects all kinds of odd, curious, and outlandish events, people, and injuries . . . Fans and neophytes alike will relish the opportunity to delve deeply into Herzog's fascinating mind." --Kirkus (starred review)

About the Author

Werner Herzog was born in Munich on September 5, 1942. He made his first film in 1961 at the age of nineteen. Since then, he has produced, written, and directed more than seventy feature and documentary films, including Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Nosferatu the Vampyre; Fitzcarraldo; Little Dieter Needs to Fly; My Best Fiend; Grizzly Man; Encounters at the End of the World; and Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Herzog has published more than a dozen books of prose and directed as many operas. He lives in Munich and Los Angeles.

Translator Michael Hofmann is a German-born poet who writes in English. He has translated the works of Bertolt Brecht, Franz Kafka, Hans Fallada, and Joseph Roth, and teaches at the University of Florida in Gainesville.