First researched during the 1990s, before 9/11, Jon Ronson details his journey through the world of "extremists", or rather conspiracy theorists and the people they theorise about. In the same style of comedy journalism as his other books, Jon Ronson has a knack for picking out the humour in every situation he encounters. This tends to reduce everybody to the same bumbling humans and levels out the playing field.

Ronson spends time with various people, including Omar Bakri, considered a dangerous Muslim extremist in the late 90s, Jeff Berry and Thom Robb of rival Klan groups, the Weaver family of Ruby Ridge fame and even Alex Jones, talk radio show host. He also gets to talk to founder of the Bilderberg group, Denis Healey, and witnesses an owl burning ceremony at Bohemian Grove.

Ronson's knack is noticing the ordinary, the comedic, in otherwise dramatic events. Often he appears to be playing the Gonzo journalist in the manner of Louis Theroux, and it's difficult to decide whether, when he describes events, whether he really takes any of it that seriously. This is probably problematic for many of the subjects of his research, but it certainly makes for entertaining reading. If you're expecting to have your conspiracy theories confirmed, you'll be sorely disappointed.

I really enjoyed this book! The reason it isn't 5☆ for me though is that it was a little narrow? Although it was 'Adventures with Extremists', it focused mainly on one very specific extremist group (those obsessed with a conspiracy theory relating to the "secret rulers of the world"). I would have liked to read about a variety of random beliefs/theories that extremist groups, alas. Maybe that's what "The Men Who Stare At Goats" will cover?
I also left the chapter about Dr. Paisley wondering what he was about or what he believed other than being a very strange man with a possible God complex??

I enjoyed this though, the writing style was very easy and I will definitely read more of Jon Ronson's books after hearing a recommendation by Emily Fox (books with emily fox on yt!)

Every year I venture across the continent to visit friends on either coast. The Bay area holding the largest concentration of old friends dating back to public school, I most commonly travel to California, staying with Tom Miley and family in SanFrancisco and with his brother, Michael, in Sonoma. Travelling light, I bring along one book for the flight in, intending it as a gift for one of these hosts, purchase one or more books for the flight out, and confine myself to reading their books while visiting.

Them is from Michael's library, the most peculiarly interesting collection I've ever known to be in human hands. In addition to the usual classics of literature, Michael has spent decades spending far too much money on books dealing with what he calls "high weirdness": UFOs, remote viewing, alien abduction, alternative history, altered states of consciousness, conspiracy theory, palaeolithic crossdressing rituals and the like. Thanks to him and decades of friendship, I've become a bit of a lay expert in all of these areas, except, of course, the crossdressing materials which are still too scary to contemplate.

Jon Ronsom's Them is a tongue in cheek, rather haphazard overview of a number of diverse conspiracy theorists. I recommend it as I'd recommend Foucault's Pendulum--a light read for conspiracy fans.

My Jon Ronson journey began with one of his more recent books, So You’ve Been Publically Shamed. An eye opening look into the lives of those who have suffered major internet backlash, So You’ve Been Publically Shamed became an instant favorite. He managed to turn internet pariahs into real human beings, removing the computer screen and reminding readers that anyone can make a simple mistake. Unfortunately for those of us who make mistakes on a public forum like the internet, the repercussions may haunt you forever.
The book felt eye opening. We spend so much time connected to people online without actually connecting with them. It’s so easy to demonize some foolish twitter or facebook user. We sit back and allow their lives to be ruined for saying or doing things we are probably guilty of saying or doing in the safety of our own homes, with our own friends.

Obviously the impact this book had on me still resonates.

When I picked up Them: Adventures with Extremists I had hoped for a similar eye opening experience. I have long felt that we too easily “other” people. We see their “extreme” views as making them less than human; worthy of our scorn, our hatred, and whatever justified violence comes their way.

At the time Jon wrote this book we had barely seen the tip of the “us vs them” iceberg that we are faced with today. Today’s world has become so polarized that in America, we view members of different political parties as subhumans. Across the world religious affiliation has become a literal line in the sand. On one side humans, on the other demons; with both sides convinced of their humanity and the other’s lack thereof.

Because of this I hoped for Them to be a truly deep dive into the humanity of extremists. I wanted to understand why they held their beliefs, how they came to believe them, and to be reminded of the fact that they are people too.

In this regard Jon certainly excelled. His quick wit and lighthearted sense of humor softens the sometimes violent beliefs of his subjects. He plays up their quirks and their personality traits, allowing you to see beyond the hateful words and “crazy” conspiracy theories.

Unfortunately his humor tends to undermine the seriousness of the subject matter. There were many times where I hoped he would dig deeper, push further, and point out the hypocrisy imbedded in all of this. Instead he erred on the side of caution, relying on humor to prevent him from having to make any real observations.

It’s worth reading if you have the time, but I doubt I’ll be revisiting it any time soon. Hopefully my next Jon Ronson book will be more satisfying!

I heard about this book on an episode of This American Life and I thought I'd give it a try.

This book is... interesting to say the least.

It reads like fiction, and the ideas put forward are so ridiculous that you can't help but think that it is, indeed, fiction.

First off, the author is a Jew. Not such a big deal until you discover that he hangs out with the Ku Klux Clan, Neo-Nazis, and goes to a Jihad training camp, just to name a few.

It is eye opening to see that the people that Ronson writes about aren't serious all the time. A good chunk of the book involves Omar Bakri Mohammed, the man considered by many to be Bin Laden's man in England. Most of what this guy says to the author are jokes. Not exactly what you would expect.

As I said, some of the ideas are out there to say the least, but when you think about the fact that most of these ideas are from the brains of conspiracy theorists who think that the people who run the world are descendants of 12-foot-tall lizard aliens, things all of a sudden make a little more sense.

It is a fun read, and as I said, it really lets you know how the "crazies" think.

I don't know how you are keeping your head up in the cacophonous hell-vortex that is American politics in the year of our lord two thousand seventeen, but the way I am doing it is by getting all my news from one Wonkette, a gloriously foul-mouthed political site that brings an hourly dose of shrewd political analysis served up with a healthy patina of cursing and a fervent dedication to dick jokes. Here are a few recent favorites:

Donald Trump’s Base Weak, Flaccid, Shriveled, If You Know What We Mean (you will literally not believe how many dick jokes are crammed into this tiny piece of writing)
Trump Unzips Pants, Shows Everybody His Little Bitty Approval Rating
So-Called Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals Unanimously Invites Trump To Eat This Dick

This is relevant, and here's why. I am obsessed with Wonkette, and Wonkette is obsessed, among many, many, many other things, with ragey conspiracy loon Alex Jones, so I've become a little obsessed with him too. (While we're on the subject, please see the Vice series of supercuts where you can watch, for example, Alex screaming, Alex facepalming, and Alex apologizing. My god, this fucking guy.)

And at some point, someone (probably Wonkette) mentioned that once upon a time, Jon Ronson, whom I love, wrote a book about hanging out with Alex Jones, whom I despise, and well, I ordered it so fast my computer spun.

About the book itself: Unfortunately it's not all that great. I mean it's fine, it's Jon Ronson bein' Jon Ronson, all wry and British and meek and clever, but the thing about this book is that it was published in 2001. Before September 11th. Before Breitbart. Before any of the many swirling howling fantods that have converged to bring us to our current moment of apocalyptic terror had really begun to percolate. So not only does it feel staggeringly dated and, I guess, innocent? It almost seems like a full-on mockery of what matters.

Like, watching Jon buddy up with Ku Klux Klanners, and express his distrust of the Anti-Defamation League, and hang out laughingly with former dictators, and joke around with conspiracy theorists like David Icke and, yup, Alex Jones... well, it's not cute and it's not clever and it's not edgy. It's downright appalling.

Not that I am suggesting that Jon does not currently understand the hellscape of this world and the part played in it by the alt-right and the Pizzagate-ers and the Kellyanne Conways and the white supremacists and our myriad other homegrown terrorists — I'm sure he does now. But he didn't then, because none of us did.

So my respect for Jon is undiminished by this book, and my schadenfreudian contempt for Alex Jones is too. But I am so emotionally and intellectually bruised by just being alive today, by bearing witness to the catastrophic nightmare that our country is convulsed within at the moment, that I just cannot, with any of this, or any of anything, really. Except Wonkette, I guess.

Dick jokes for all! As we whistle while the world fuckin burns.

This book would have been a lot more amusing if I'd read it when it came out rather than this year, when it seems the conspiracy theorists are gaining the upper hand. That said, it's a fascinating look at the ways in which extremist thought intersects across the political spectrum. Or is that what 'they' want us to think? Hmm.

Anyway, I'm glad I read this, but I think I need something really grounding to read today. Like, I don't know, The Lord of the Rings or something.

I’ve only ever read half of another Jon Ronson novel, but I knew from a few pages in that I preferred that half to this whole novel. That’s not the say this one wasn’t entertaining, but the witty and awkward Jon we met in The Psychopath Test didn’t seem to translate into this book quite as well.

I really wanted to love this book but it didn’t grab me quite as much as I’d hoped. I found the plot of conspiracy theorists and the Bilderberg Group really intriguing, but it didn’t actually work so well on paper. Personally, I found the stories in this novel felt disjointed and random, where I was expecting an easy flow of stories to tell a bigger story.

Some of the characters Jon meets felt far more interesting to me than others, and so that translated into the chapters. One could hold my attention and I would read it through all in one go, others felt lacklustre and slow, so I would put the book down and splash around in the pool instead. Maybe it was just the surroundings I was in, and maybe even the fact I had read The Boy on the Bridge just before this book, but I couldn’t seem to focus my attention on this.

Don’t get me wrong, the plot was really interesting and I did learn lots of new things about conspiracy theories that I hadn’t know before. I even did some of my own research on the Bilderberg Group afterwards (I found out that The Bilderberg Group actually came to Watford when I was a child and lived there, and the whole city centre was shut down!), so the topic was something that worked for me. Plus, there were definitely some funny moments and I did get a chuckle out of a few of the scenarios and conversations that Jon got himself into.

In the end, I think I thought this book was going to be something else? I’m not really sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t exactly what I got. My mum did say to me that she felt this was his weakest book, so I’ve got more to look forward to with his other work… of which I will be giving a shot!

For a time, I was raised on Infowars, Alex Jones, 9/11 Truther, and other conspiracy theories. This book did a good job of giving a different perspective and view to conspiracy theories.

*SPOILER*

I was very surprised to learn Jon Ronson was the one who went with Alex Jones to the Bohemian Grove! I remember watching that video when I was young. It was haunting, and downright terrifying. However, when reading Jon Ronson’s version of it, I felt silly (and relieved...kind of, haha.) It’s amazing the how much you can spin a story and turn it into something crazy.

I love that Jon Ronson’s books can clear the air on some things, but leave a hint of mystery on others...

But it makes one wonder...

Who’s paying you, Ronson? Are you a Soros shill?

Just joking. Maybe. ;)

I picked up this book thinking it was going to be about the same subject Ronson initially set out to focus on: a series of interviews with controversial figures who expressed various extremist points of view. Then Ronson discovers a fear that appears to unite many extremist groups (as well as some non-extremists) despite their differing ideologies. This fear focuses on the concept of a New World Order.
Referred to some as the Bilderberg group (by others, giant lizards disguised as humans or a powerful cult of warlocks), fear of the New World Order is essentially fear that global events are being manipulated by rich and influential elites.
Reading this book feels like tumbling down a rabbit hole. You turn to Ronson for answers - or at least a more moderate and measured perspective than his extremist interviewees - but find that he is also trapped inside an atmosphere of paranoia and conspiracies.
In many ways, this book reads like a thriller novel rather than a piece of journalism. In part, this is also due to the fact that Ronson’s style of writing emphasises his subjects’ personality quirks as well as occasionally remarking on any notable aspects of their physical presence.
I won’t reveal the conclusion Ronson comes to when he reflects on what he learn over the years of writing this book, but I definitely think it is one worth reading if you enjoy conspiracy theories.

I really enjoy the honesty of Jon Ronson's writing. He gets angry, he gets impatient, and he occasionally gets sucked in by the people he trails. This also allows him to see the human in each extremist, as well as see elements of truth in what each believes; the Bohemians do meet and burn owls and it's weird as hell, but perhaps not as part of a Paganist cult.

Just like Louis Theroux (our Lord and Saviour), he manages to present an account that both shows what these people are really like, as well as offer a somewhat non-judgmental tone; no wonder these folk keep inviting him back to hang out with them.

Some stories were more intriguing than others, however what they all offer in 2021 seems stronger than when this was first published; then, they were a bizarre, although dangerous bunch of weirdos that could be held at arm's length, now, they've just left The White House and are the most popular podcast on Spotify.

3.5 stars. 'Them' is a quirky investigation into the bizarre world of extremists and conspiracy theorists. I didn't find this as insightful as 'The Psychopath Test', but that might have something to do with the disturbing and more direct application points of that book - versus the distance I feel, from a social point of view, from the global elite and their secret societies which Ronson explores in this account. This book isn't entirely baked in theory; there are some very real experiences Ronson reflects on which shakes up one's views of the 1%, which led to some interesting background reading escapades I embarked on.