Jon Ronson

Peter Straughan

A reporter, trying to lose himself in the romance of war after his marriage fails, gets more than he bargains for when he meets a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit whose goal is to end war as we know it. The founder of the unit has gone missing and the trail leads to another psychic soldier who has distorted the mission to serve his own ends.

The Men who Stare at Goats

Why are Iraqi prisoners of war forced to listen to Barney the Purple Dinosaur's theme tune repeatedly, at top volume? Why have a hundred de-bleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces command centre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina? Has the US Army really enlisted the help of Uri Geller?In The Men Who Stare at Goats, Jon Ronson searches for answers to these and many other questions, revealing some of the extraordinary beliefs at the core of the War on Terror.So unbelievable that it has to be true – this is the real-life account that inspired the film.

Ed Kay

Meh. Incoherent, rambling and without any meaningful narrative drive. The short unconnected stories in Them are at least internally logical. Ronson is always witty and his prose easy to read, but just couldn't get into this.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Fraser Simons

I may write something on this over on my medium because I find this so interesting. Perfect interplay between comedy and reality; truth being stranger than fiction. Honestly, that the US government reacted to intense demoralization from a war with similar ways in which Hitler desperately sought additional power through similar absurdities, is just so on point for the relationship institutions have when they accrue power and deal with loss of agency. 

Anyway, I liked this book a lot lol. If I write a piece I will link it in the review. It may be that the narration boosted this from a 3 star to 4 star book for me. Very good delivery of just wild material. Especially some quotes from people. 

I did not find it difficult to follow. It was chronological, though I suppose he goes out of the narration to comment on things sometimes, both for humour or needed context. It felt fairly normal to me, structure wise. It’s the rest that’s whack. People who find some of it devalued because it’s the truth from his perspective and it undermines actual truths, I suppose that’s true to some degree—but not the Point as detailed in the final chapters.

Alex

I only belive that everything written in this book is true, because it's too crazy to be a believable lie. It's really amazing what Jon Ronson discovered about the US army. It's an easy to read and funny, but also a disturbing book. I liked the "Psychopath test" a bit more than this one, but it was still fascinating!

Shea Newton

Absolutely bizarre, funny and unbelievable. This book really interesting, It's the kind of thing that you'll want to tell everyone around you about as you're reading it.

Alistair Shepherd

Bizarre military history: In 1979, a crack commando unit was established by the most gifted minds within the U.S. Army. Defying all known laws of physics and accepted military practice, they believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls, and—perhaps most chillingly—kill goats just by staring at them. They were the First Earth Battalion, entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries. And they really weren’t joking. What’s more, they’re back—and they’re fighting the War on Terror. An uproarious exploration of American military paranoia: With investigations ranging from the mysterious “Goat Lab,” to Uri Geller’s covert psychic work with the CIA, to the increasingly bizarre role played by a succession of U.S. presidents, this might just be the funniest, most unsettling book you will ever read—if only because it is all true and is still happening today.

The Men who Stare at Goats

Reviews

Highlights