What do you think?
Przyszłość prawdy
Legendarny reżyser i pisarz Werner Herzog zadaje jedno z najtrudniejszych pytań naszych czasów: czym jest prawda? A tym samym, jak jej szukać w epoce „postprawdy”? Od ponad pięćdziesięciu lat Herzog poszerza nasze rozumienie prawdy. W swoich filmach i książkach nieustannie przekracza granice między fikcją a rzeczywistością, dokumentem a dramatem, faktami a wyobraźnią. Zamiast zadowalać się tym, co „prawdziwe”, szuka prawdy wyższej – ekstatycznej. W Przyszłości prawdy artysta stawia pytanie o sens prawdy w świecie zdominowanym przez sztuczną inteligencję, deepfake’i, fake newsy i polityczną manipulację. Łącząc wspomnienia, historię, poezję, naukę i refleksję nad współczesnością, Herzog tworzy odważny, oryginalny manifest o konieczności nieustannego poszukiwania. Przyszłość prawdy to zaproszenie do myślenia i do odwagi w szukaniu własnej prawdy.
120 pages, Paperback
First published February 19, 2024
About the author
Werner Herzog
63 books993 followersWerner Herzog (born Werner Stipetić) is a German film director, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.
He is often associated with the German New Wave movement (also called New German Cinema), along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Wim Wenders and others. His films often feature heroes with impossible dreams, or people with unique talents in obscure fields.
He is often associated with the German New Wave movement (also called New German Cinema), along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Wim Wenders and others. His films often feature heroes with impossible dreams, or people with unique talents in obscure fields.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 335 reviews
December 9, 2025
"Truth has no future, but truth has no past either."
Werner Herzog, an exceptionally prolific and uncompromising filmmaker, has directed more than 70 films, consistently pursuing his distinctive artistic vision. This collection of eleven lectures offers a look into his perspectives on the concept of truth.
The essence of truth remains perpetually elusive. The value lies not in reaching a final answer, which is impossible, but in the continuous, unending pursuit of it.
As an artist himself, Herzog has always stressed the value of emotional truth over factual truth. The core premise of the book is that deep human understanding often necessitates elements like imagination, stylization, invention, and poetry. He cites the example of Michelangelo's Pietà, where the artist portrays Jesus as the thirty-three-year-old man, but here Mary is reflected as a fifteen-year-old.
“Did Michelangelo intend to deceive us, is he offering us fake news, is his sculpture a lie? Of course not. What Michelangelo has done is to show us the essence of the two figures, the man of sorrows just taken down from
the cross, and the virgin, his mother.”
With Artificial Intelligence able to easily create any version of reality, regardless of its truthfulness, determining what is genuine has become exceedingly difficult. Herzog cautions that we must maintain a constant skepticism and take everything we are shown with a grain of salt. The fabrication of propaganda and false news is not a new phenomenon, having been a practice since antiquity.
In "The Future of Truth," Herzog's witty and entertaining approach is evident. This quick and breezy read uses amusing anecdotes to effectively provoke thought on how we interpret the realities surrounding us.
Thank you to Penguin Press and Edelweiss Plus for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheFutureOfTruth
Werner Herzog, an exceptionally prolific and uncompromising filmmaker, has directed more than 70 films, consistently pursuing his distinctive artistic vision. This collection of eleven lectures offers a look into his perspectives on the concept of truth.
The essence of truth remains perpetually elusive. The value lies not in reaching a final answer, which is impossible, but in the continuous, unending pursuit of it.
As an artist himself, Herzog has always stressed the value of emotional truth over factual truth. The core premise of the book is that deep human understanding often necessitates elements like imagination, stylization, invention, and poetry. He cites the example of Michelangelo's Pietà, where the artist portrays Jesus as the thirty-three-year-old man, but here Mary is reflected as a fifteen-year-old.
“Did Michelangelo intend to deceive us, is he offering us fake news, is his sculpture a lie? Of course not. What Michelangelo has done is to show us the essence of the two figures, the man of sorrows just taken down from
the cross, and the virgin, his mother.”
With Artificial Intelligence able to easily create any version of reality, regardless of its truthfulness, determining what is genuine has become exceedingly difficult. Herzog cautions that we must maintain a constant skepticism and take everything we are shown with a grain of salt. The fabrication of propaganda and false news is not a new phenomenon, having been a practice since antiquity.
In "The Future of Truth," Herzog's witty and entertaining approach is evident. This quick and breezy read uses amusing anecdotes to effectively provoke thought on how we interpret the realities surrounding us.
Thank you to Penguin Press and Edelweiss Plus for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheFutureOfTruth
October 30, 2025
3.5 stars rounded down.
Herzog is a stone cold genius and a hero of mine. I could listen to him talk for hours about pretty much anything. With this little addendum to his recent memoir, you don’t get much you haven’t heard before if you are a fan of his like I am. There are some profound thoughts woven throughout but ultimately it doesn’t add up to much. Nevertheless, I’m glad I read it and I never regret bouncing around in Werner’s head for a while.
Read on hardcover.
Herzog is a stone cold genius and a hero of mine. I could listen to him talk for hours about pretty much anything. With this little addendum to his recent memoir, you don’t get much you haven’t heard before if you are a fan of his like I am. There are some profound thoughts woven throughout but ultimately it doesn’t add up to much. Nevertheless, I’m glad I read it and I never regret bouncing around in Werner’s head for a while.
Read on hardcover.
February 27, 2026
Um livro que comecei com alguma curiosidade. Reconheci a imagem do autor, Werner Herzog de alguns filmes. A curiosidade fez-me investigar. Descobri que é cineasta alternativo, o que aumentou a curiosidade. Por último, foi o título - O futuro da verdade, a falar mais alto. Estava curioso, mas a qualidade do texto e a iileitura foram decepcionantes. O autor, é alguém irritantemente narcisista, e como todos de tamanho ego, mesmo quando conseguem dizer algo importante, um acontecimento, um marco para a humanidade, nunca resistem a desviar o tema e o fluir da conversa para a sua pessoa ou para o seu caso pessoal.
Não viria mal ao mundo se o seu papel fosse importante ou a sua participação notável e, nos casos aqui descritos, não é! É um ego infeccionado a que devemos adicionar um texto qualidade mediocre, disperso, solto e superficial.
Porém, no fundo, há muitas vezes, algo de positivo. O livro fez-me refletir - o que é a verdade?
E é difícil responder a isto. Pela lógica, verdade é tudo o que com ela se alinha. A lógica é redundante, define-se a si mesmo, e é por isso que a temos como verdade. Mas esta verdade é demasiado redutora. Mesmo na mentira, e vamos supor que o que não é verdade é mentira, o que em si não é de todo verdade, mas mesmo assim, a verdade também existe no mundo dos sentimentos e do onírico. E para essas verdades não há lógica que as defina. Há apenas emoções.
Depois de ler o livro, e principalmente depois de o fechar, verdade deve ser tudo quanto existe em nós porque só o que é verdade pode existir.
Não viria mal ao mundo se o seu papel fosse importante ou a sua participação notável e, nos casos aqui descritos, não é! É um ego infeccionado a que devemos adicionar um texto qualidade mediocre, disperso, solto e superficial.
Porém, no fundo, há muitas vezes, algo de positivo. O livro fez-me refletir - o que é a verdade?
E é difícil responder a isto. Pela lógica, verdade é tudo o que com ela se alinha. A lógica é redundante, define-se a si mesmo, e é por isso que a temos como verdade. Mas esta verdade é demasiado redutora. Mesmo na mentira, e vamos supor que o que não é verdade é mentira, o que em si não é de todo verdade, mas mesmo assim, a verdade também existe no mundo dos sentimentos e do onírico. E para essas verdades não há lógica que as defina. Há apenas emoções.
Depois de ler o livro, e principalmente depois de o fechar, verdade deve ser tudo quanto existe em nós porque só o que é verdade pode existir.
April 7, 2026
3,5*
O Futuro da Verdade é um livro pequenino, simples e acessível sobre a verdade na nossa era, abordando a questão das fake news.
Como cineasta, Weber Herzog já abordou o tema várias vezes nos seus filmes. Neste livro, apresenta vários exemplos em que a verdade não coincide com a realidade ou com os factos verificáveis.
Recuando vários séculos, o autor recorda situações de fake news antes de Cristo e prova que a tensão entre factos e verdade sempre existiu. Não se trata de uma novidade trazida pela internet e pelas tecnologias. É inerente ao ser humano, frágil perante o seu destino mortal, escolher uma versão da verdade que o conforta, mesmo quando tudo indica o contrário.
Mais do que a verdade em si, porém, Herzog confia no processo de busca, que confere dignidade.
O Futuro da Verdade é um livro pequenino, simples e acessível sobre a verdade na nossa era, abordando a questão das fake news.
Como cineasta, Weber Herzog já abordou o tema várias vezes nos seus filmes. Neste livro, apresenta vários exemplos em que a verdade não coincide com a realidade ou com os factos verificáveis.
Recuando vários séculos, o autor recorda situações de fake news antes de Cristo e prova que a tensão entre factos e verdade sempre existiu. Não se trata de uma novidade trazida pela internet e pelas tecnologias. É inerente ao ser humano, frágil perante o seu destino mortal, escolher uma versão da verdade que o conforta, mesmo quando tudo indica o contrário.
Mais do que a verdade em si, porém, Herzog confia no processo de busca, que confere dignidade.
April 3, 2024
Wer Herzogs Erinnerungen gelesen hat wird feststellen, dass die Zukunft der Wahrheit nicht wirklich viel Neues zu bieten hat. Es liest sich wie eine Essenz seines letzten Buches. Für saftige 22€ empfehle ich, wie sowieso bei jedem Herzog Buch, stattdessen die kostenlose Hörbuch Version auf Spotify aufzusuchen.
April 13, 2026
8th book for 2026.
Herzog's Of Walking in Ice—his account of the 1974 winter pilgrimage from Munich to Paris to be at the bedside of the dying Lotte Eisner—and Conquest of the Useless—the diary of the making of his masterpiece Fitzcarraldo—are both excellent, as is his recent autobiography Every Man for Himself and God Against All. One of an increasingly small number of German thinkers whose early childhood was shaped by WW2, Herzog is a larger-than-life intellectual drawn to larger-than-life subjects. The Future of Truth is a hundred-odd pages of short, scattered entries that wander from Ramses II at Kadesh to deepfakes to alien abductions; five whole pages in chapter 5 are given over, without commentary, to a plot summary of Verdi's La forza del destino. Unfortunately, despite the title, the book has nothing to say about the future, no coherent account of truth, and none of the strange exhilaration of Herzog's best work. It feels like a publisher milking an aging celebrity rather than anything Herzog genuinely needed to write.
1-star.
Herzog's Of Walking in Ice—his account of the 1974 winter pilgrimage from Munich to Paris to be at the bedside of the dying Lotte Eisner—and Conquest of the Useless—the diary of the making of his masterpiece Fitzcarraldo—are both excellent, as is his recent autobiography Every Man for Himself and God Against All. One of an increasingly small number of German thinkers whose early childhood was shaped by WW2, Herzog is a larger-than-life intellectual drawn to larger-than-life subjects. The Future of Truth is a hundred-odd pages of short, scattered entries that wander from Ramses II at Kadesh to deepfakes to alien abductions; five whole pages in chapter 5 are given over, without commentary, to a plot summary of Verdi's La forza del destino. Unfortunately, despite the title, the book has nothing to say about the future, no coherent account of truth, and none of the strange exhilaration of Herzog's best work. It feels like a publisher milking an aging celebrity rather than anything Herzog genuinely needed to write.
1-star.
Read
January 28, 2026"Die psychologische Interpretation von allem und jedem, beleuchtet dunkle Nischen in unserem Inneren, die man eigentlich nicht ausleuchten sollte. Es gibt sicherlich in seltenen Fällen therapeutische Notfälle. Grundsätzlich angewandt aber verhält sie sich, wie bei einem Haus, das man bis in die letzen Winkel ausleuchtet. Das Haus wird dadurch unbewohnbar. Und ähnlich ergeht es mit Menschen: sie werden unbewohnbar."
Ich verstehe nicht, warum ich Werner Herzog bisher übersehen habe. Ganz, ganz großes Kino.
Ich verstehe nicht, warum ich Werner Herzog bisher übersehen habe. Ganz, ganz großes Kino.
March 3, 2026
“More needs to be done, but we can't just appeal to the government. It would take too long to do too little. We have to do a good part of it by ourselves, which is a good and liberating thing. Read more. A three- or four-sentence tweet can't possibly do justice to a complicated reality. Only books— of course treated with the same level of caution-can give us the understanding of deeper processes, of conceptual lines and trends in our reality. Of course, no one listens when you say it: Read. But that's not just to do with the internet and short text messages and debates on social media. People have been turning away from books for decades, and today, even in classes on ancient Greek literature, you find that that hardly any of those present reads, and only a minority can frame a simple thought in a couple of sentences. And that's not just confined to out-of-the-way subjects like the classics. When young directors come to me, I tell them: Read, read, read, read, read. If you don't read, you'll presumably make films anyway, but they'll be mediocre at best. If you don't read, you'll never make anything great.”
Even though Herzog is (mostly) on the right side of history (he’s a bit too in awe of AI), I sadly found this a bit naval-gaze-y. Coulda shoulda been a substack. Coulda shoulda been an autumn evening by the fire with your tipsy 80 year old uncle who has had an interesting life and is thankfully not a fascist douchebag, but who keeps rambling off into side stories, falling asleep, jerking awake suddenly before leaping straight into another tangent.
Even though Herzog is (mostly) on the right side of history (he’s a bit too in awe of AI), I sadly found this a bit naval-gaze-y. Coulda shoulda been a substack. Coulda shoulda been an autumn evening by the fire with your tipsy 80 year old uncle who has had an interesting life and is thankfully not a fascist douchebag, but who keeps rambling off into side stories, falling asleep, jerking awake suddenly before leaping straight into another tangent.
August 4, 2024
Werner Herzog, renowned filmmaker and provocateur, explores philosophical and existential inquiries in his latest book, Die Zukunft der Wahrheit (The Future of Truth). This literary work showcases Herzog's prowess not only as a visual storyteller but also as a profound thinker, offering original and provocative musings on art, poetry, spirituality, science, and philosophy.
Herzog's central thesis challenges conventional perceptions of truth. He posits that truth lies not in realistic representation, but in elevation, stylisation, invention, and poetry. This perspective invites readers to reconsider the nature of truth and reality, suggesting that the poetic and the invented often hold deeper truths than mere factual accuracy.
Through eleven chapters of engaging short lectures, Herzog unfolds his theory of truth. He covers eccentric historical figures, the internet, artificial intelligence, and Fake News, concluding with the paradoxical statement: The truth has no future, but truth has no past either. This encapsulates Herzog's view of truth as an elusive, ever-changing construct.
The book opens with a Persian legend about a shattered mirror, each fragment reflecting a piece of truth. This allegory sets the tone for Herzog's exploration of individual perception and truth's subjective nature. Rather than engaging in philosophical debates, Herzog offers vignettes and anecdotes illustrating the complex relationship between truth, emotion, and artistic creation.
Herzog emphasises the truth of emotions, arguing that while emotions may be unreliable in reality, they become credible through artistic expression. He cites Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Forza del Destino and his own film Family Romance, LLC as examples where fictional premises evoke genuine emotions. Herzog contends: Everything in this film is a lie... but in all the lies, the feelings are always truthful.
Intriguingly, Herzog explores self-deception as a necessary component of human existence. Rejecting rational explanations, he celebrates the power of illusion in evoking deeply felt personal truths. This aligns with Shakespeare's idea that The most truthful poetry is the most feigning, underscoring Herzog's advocacy for ecstatic truth - an elevated, emotional truth transcending factual reality.
In our era of fake news and digital falsifications, Herzog's exploration of truth is particularly relevant. He acknowledges these phenomena's impact while recognising technology's potential to create powerful illusions. Herzog advises considering opposing perspectives to navigate this complex landscape, promoting nuanced engagement with the digital world.
Die Zukunft der Wahrheit stands as a compelling treatise on truth in a postmodern world. Through his eclectic mix of stories, aphorisms, and reflections, Herzog encourages readers to embrace the poetic and imaginative as vital components of truth. His work celebrates the enduring human quest for meaning, urging us to recognise this pursuit as what elevates us above the ordinary.
Herzog's central thesis challenges conventional perceptions of truth. He posits that truth lies not in realistic representation, but in elevation, stylisation, invention, and poetry. This perspective invites readers to reconsider the nature of truth and reality, suggesting that the poetic and the invented often hold deeper truths than mere factual accuracy.
Through eleven chapters of engaging short lectures, Herzog unfolds his theory of truth. He covers eccentric historical figures, the internet, artificial intelligence, and Fake News, concluding with the paradoxical statement: The truth has no future, but truth has no past either. This encapsulates Herzog's view of truth as an elusive, ever-changing construct.
The book opens with a Persian legend about a shattered mirror, each fragment reflecting a piece of truth. This allegory sets the tone for Herzog's exploration of individual perception and truth's subjective nature. Rather than engaging in philosophical debates, Herzog offers vignettes and anecdotes illustrating the complex relationship between truth, emotion, and artistic creation.
Herzog emphasises the truth of emotions, arguing that while emotions may be unreliable in reality, they become credible through artistic expression. He cites Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Forza del Destino and his own film Family Romance, LLC as examples where fictional premises evoke genuine emotions. Herzog contends: Everything in this film is a lie... but in all the lies, the feelings are always truthful.
Intriguingly, Herzog explores self-deception as a necessary component of human existence. Rejecting rational explanations, he celebrates the power of illusion in evoking deeply felt personal truths. This aligns with Shakespeare's idea that The most truthful poetry is the most feigning, underscoring Herzog's advocacy for ecstatic truth - an elevated, emotional truth transcending factual reality.
In our era of fake news and digital falsifications, Herzog's exploration of truth is particularly relevant. He acknowledges these phenomena's impact while recognising technology's potential to create powerful illusions. Herzog advises considering opposing perspectives to navigate this complex landscape, promoting nuanced engagement with the digital world.
Die Zukunft der Wahrheit stands as a compelling treatise on truth in a postmodern world. Through his eclectic mix of stories, aphorisms, and reflections, Herzog encourages readers to embrace the poetic and imaginative as vital components of truth. His work celebrates the enduring human quest for meaning, urging us to recognise this pursuit as what elevates us above the ordinary.
February 25, 2026
An interesting take on what is truth or if it even exists. I agree completely with Herzog with his Palermo Pig story and the extrapolation of how humans traveling long distances in space would need to reproduce on board leading to inbreeding, mutants and their bodies would turn into translucent soft slugs.
Herzog gives examples of how fake news has been around for thousands of years. However, now with AI and the internet it has become prolific and instantly available and accessible.
Towards the end of the book I thought he summed it up well with:
“Our memory is unreliable, we shape it according to our needs. Even the past, what we call history, is just a construct, something shaped by us according to our requirements.”
The answer is read, read, read and critical thinking. However, the majority of the population cannot or is unable to do that which means a world of uncertainty.
Herzog gives examples of how fake news has been around for thousands of years. However, now with AI and the internet it has become prolific and instantly available and accessible.
Towards the end of the book I thought he summed it up well with:
“Our memory is unreliable, we shape it according to our needs. Even the past, what we call history, is just a construct, something shaped by us according to our requirements.”
The answer is read, read, read and critical thinking. However, the majority of the population cannot or is unable to do that which means a world of uncertainty.
January 12, 2026
Always happy to hear from Werner and this is interesting and entertaining enough to be worth reading, but it probably could have been a Substack post.
Read
January 18, 2025How do you say in German that I did not get the point of the book?
May 17, 2026
Eseje jak gawęda. Bardziej dla fanów Herzoga i jego wizji kina, życia oraz rzeczonej prawdy.
December 13, 2025
2.5 Stars!
Herzog digs repeatedly into history discussing the likes of Nero, Ramesses II, Captain Scott and Bokassa, the former dictator of Central African Republic. But do you really want to read five pages dedicated to Werner Herzog describing the plot of a Verdi opera?...
This has its interesting moments, but it felt so aimless and whimsical as to be just a self-indulgent vanity project. In many ways this read like a toothless, diluted version of Zizek. He’s been given a platform, but he appears to have very little of interest or originality to say and you come away thinking so what was the point of all that then?...
February 8, 2026
minunata!
September 15, 2026
Always a pleasure to hang out in Herzog's world. He did lose me a bit when he described a ChatGPT poem that he thought was better than most human-written poems of the past 20 years, mostly because it sounded like the AI song that Paul Schrader made about his dog.
February 15, 2026
Werner Herzog - Filmregisseur (Fitzcarraldo) versucht sich in diesem (~ 100 seitigen Büchlein) dem Begriff der „Wahrheit“ anzunähern, in Zeiten der KI, in denen man schon fast alles hinterfragen muss, was geschrieben, komponiert oder als „News“ veröffentlicht wird.
In kurzen Episoden und Geschichten, von der Astrophysik über die Oper, Mittelaltertum, Mike Tyson oder Szenen aus diversen Filmen versucht er sich der Wahrheit anzunähern - intelligent, kurzweilig und amüsant!
In kurzen Episoden und Geschichten, von der Astrophysik über die Oper, Mittelaltertum, Mike Tyson oder Szenen aus diversen Filmen versucht er sich der Wahrheit anzunähern - intelligent, kurzweilig und amüsant!
September 22, 2026
I could not understand where Werner was going, listing all kinds of deceptions without any evaluation, any suggested opinion, just a bunch of different kinds of lies, from the horrible ones to harmless, silly lies. So what - I was thinking the whole book, until the last two chapters.
That's what - saying Herzog almost at the end of the book. Humanity survived all those. It means we will too survive AI deepfakes, politicians' games, yellow media, cyberbullying, and all that shit that seems to be so overwhelming now. Lie evolves, but we evolve as well, and we learn how to recognise it. But only if our eyes are open. Read. Read books, not tweets. Do not shorten your way to knowledge by making shortcuts with AI responses. Read long stuff, and take long walks. Read and Learn by Walking - this is the ultimate advice Werner gives.
He is not opposed to AI btw; he uses it constantly. He is not opposed to lies - he lies in his movies with the goal to extract some kind of truth. Use it, evolve with it, play with it. But have your eyes open to distinguish one from another.
Why? Because truth is dignity. No other reason.
"Truth has no future, but truth has no past either.
But we will not, must not, cannot, give up the search for it"
That's what - saying Herzog almost at the end of the book. Humanity survived all those. It means we will too survive AI deepfakes, politicians' games, yellow media, cyberbullying, and all that shit that seems to be so overwhelming now. Lie evolves, but we evolve as well, and we learn how to recognise it. But only if our eyes are open. Read. Read books, not tweets. Do not shorten your way to knowledge by making shortcuts with AI responses. Read long stuff, and take long walks. Read and Learn by Walking - this is the ultimate advice Werner gives.
He is not opposed to AI btw; he uses it constantly. He is not opposed to lies - he lies in his movies with the goal to extract some kind of truth. Use it, evolve with it, play with it. But have your eyes open to distinguish one from another.
Why? Because truth is dignity. No other reason.
"Truth has no future, but truth has no past either.
But we will not, must not, cannot, give up the search for it"
January 4, 2026
‘Truth has no future, but truth has no past either. But we will not, must not, cannot, give up the search for it.’
This small book written by Werner Herzog is a collage of thoughts presenting themselves as the essay on the titular topic of the future of truth.
Herzog thinks about the difference between truth, being genuine, fantasy and ponders even if our brains are capable of storing such concepts as ‘truth’.
I can see a lot of constructivist narrations here, which I am inclined to believe as a product of post-modernist society.
For all its worth, it gives hope amongst the decade of fake news and AI generated slop that defies the conventions of what's true.
This small book written by Werner Herzog is a collage of thoughts presenting themselves as the essay on the titular topic of the future of truth.
Herzog thinks about the difference between truth, being genuine, fantasy and ponders even if our brains are capable of storing such concepts as ‘truth’.
I can see a lot of constructivist narrations here, which I am inclined to believe as a product of post-modernist society.
For all its worth, it gives hope amongst the decade of fake news and AI generated slop that defies the conventions of what's true.
January 10, 2026
A quick, yet deeply insightful read. I could hear the cadence and clear speech of Herzog's voice in my head as I read, maybe I've seen too many of his docs lol. He isn't really trying to parse the entirety of truth but communicates stories and thoughts on many of modern times' (within the last 5 years) attacks and complications on truth. I chuckled, pondered considerably and immensely enjoyed the pages. Fitting book to start the year of 2026 off with where truth is a murky if not non existent reality in modern politics and news sharing.
July 21, 2026
Ich höre Werner Herzog und seinen Geschichten einfach extrem gerne zu.
February 24, 2026
Von
„[…] Vermutlich ja, aber wie bekommt man eine Atombombe auf den Mars?“
Bis
„Hier am Rande, zur Ermutigung der Männer mit lichten Scheitel, wie ich es einer bin, meine Haltung dazu:
Lieber tot als je ein Toupet zu tragen.“
„[…] Vermutlich ja, aber wie bekommt man eine Atombombe auf den Mars?“
Bis
„Hier am Rande, zur Ermutigung der Männer mit lichten Scheitel, wie ich es einer bin, meine Haltung dazu:
Lieber tot als je ein Toupet zu tragen.“
October 3, 2025
Herzog is more concerned with the problems of truth more than his idea of what truth could be, his "ecstatic" truth.
Still, I found his audiobook reading of it to be invigorating, even if some stories are repeated (boiling wallpaper for nutrients in glue).
At first I was worried that Herzog's descriptions of AI would feed into the current moral panic, but it's a relief to see someone take a grounded and ambivalent look at fake news using history. It's not common.
Still, I found his audiobook reading of it to be invigorating, even if some stories are repeated (boiling wallpaper for nutrients in glue).
At first I was worried that Herzog's descriptions of AI would feed into the current moral panic, but it's a relief to see someone take a grounded and ambivalent look at fake news using history. It's not common.
December 16, 2025
If you can do Werner's accent, do yourself a favor and read it aloud.
Full of way out personal anecdotes, bits of obscure history, and unvarnished observations about AI and "ecstatic truth". It took me a long time to wend my way through my (autographed!) copy because I am a bear of very little brain, and I needed to go back and reread certain passages to let it sink in.
Recommended!
Full of way out personal anecdotes, bits of obscure history, and unvarnished observations about AI and "ecstatic truth". It took me a long time to wend my way through my (autographed!) copy because I am a bear of very little brain, and I needed to go back and reread certain passages to let it sink in.
Recommended!
December 13, 2025
This was disappointing, but only because I was expecting something different. There is very little stringing these entries together, and does not have a clear connection.
October 21, 2025
4.5
Got a targeted ad for a signed copy of this book for a pretty good deal and if that's not late stage capitalism at its best, I don't know what is. When I opened it up I threw away the signature's verification document.
I think Herzog might be a little worried about dying without people hearing what he has to say. His whole body of work has been built upon the hunt for the ecstatic truth, the poem that illuminates our soul. This book in itself is a bit of a poem. If you're a good reader, you can easily finish it in one or two quick sittings. I think this might become a bit of a Josh Cheatham classic in the coming years.
Got a targeted ad for a signed copy of this book for a pretty good deal and if that's not late stage capitalism at its best, I don't know what is. When I opened it up I threw away the signature's verification document.
I think Herzog might be a little worried about dying without people hearing what he has to say. His whole body of work has been built upon the hunt for the ecstatic truth, the poem that illuminates our soul. This book in itself is a bit of a poem. If you're a good reader, you can easily finish it in one or two quick sittings. I think this might become a bit of a Josh Cheatham classic in the coming years.
November 24, 2025
What you need to know about Werner Herzog: 1) Do not, under any circumstances, bring up the concept of colonizing Mars. Not unless you want to hear an *extended* critique. 2) This is a man who fabricated a quote by Blaise Pascal in the opening of one of his movies, is proud of it, and included the anecdote in a book called The Future of Truth. 3) He is well aware of the prank played on news anchors at a station in San Francisco where racist fake names were given to them as the pilots of a Asiana Airlines jet, and he also includes that in a book called The Future of Truth (though he's not proud of it). These things alone are enough to recommend, and there are more in this slim volume.
March 1, 2025
Een reeks aan grijpende reflecties over de huidige tijd, verwoven met referenties naar cinematische werken. Herzog durft terechte vragen te stellen, waarom zoveel investeren in Mars als utopische uitweg als we met dat geld ook een poging kunnen doen om de wereld een betere plek te maken. Wat ook is blijven hangen is de normatieve kracht van feiten, staat dat gelijk aan de waarheid? Een boek waar iedereen zich goed aan doet om een keer op te pakken, en om er over een aantal jaar weer bij te pakken om te reflecteren op de veranderingen ten opzichte van het boek als ijkpunt.
November 9, 2025
While most of this book is "old man boringly yarns about ancient Rome and other random shit he likes," there are a few humorous and pithy nuggets of Herzogian wisdom to enjoy here. He presents a fairly measured approach to AI, creativity, and truth that was worth a quick read. If you want a higher quality way to mainline full, unadulterated Herzog, you'd do better to read his memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All.
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