3.5*

So many emotions. This book wasn't quite what I thought it would be...a humorous account of crackpot guys doing crazy things, such as trying to stop a goat's heart by the power of the mind. Okay well it was that. It also detailed events surrounding Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, 911, Waco, MK-ULTRA and the 'War on terror'. Jon Ronson wrote this in 2004 at a time when Iraq was just being handed back from coalition forces to the new Iraqi government (which of course has been a great success on all sides and everyone has moved on rapidly since then) This was also a time when recent press stories had circulated photos showing U.S. soldier Lynndie England parading an Iraqi prisoner naked by a dog leash. This book delves a little deeper, not so much into the rights or wrongs of the war, or the conspiracy theories, but into the bizarre tactics used by special forces within the U.S. Army, which may have led to such events. All of which is of course highly hush hush and top secret. However Jon Ronson has interviewed many people for the book, from several retired military servicemen to an innocent Guantanamo Bay detainee, as well as others and they all have incredible stories. Obviously some were more tight lipped than others.

For me this book ended up not being the amusing read I was expecting, but it was definitely intriguing, shocking and fascinating. On the whole though it has left me feeling quite angry (but take note, if your allegiance is more right wing and pro war on terror, this book may annoy you for completely different reasons than it does me)

It has also increased my understanding of why so many people develop conspiracy theories.

I'll leave this review with a great quote from near the end of the book -

'Remember that the crazy people are not always to be found on the outside. Sometimes the crazy people are deeply embedded on the inside. Not even the most imaginative conspiracy theorist has ever thought to invent a scenario in which a crack team of Special Forces soldiers and major generals secretly try to walk through their walls and stare goats to death'

I first heard about this book back before the movie was announced. I have always had a slight, very cynical, interest in the paranormal/supernatural/mystic bullshit. So when I was told about this book I had to read it. Just for the title alone. It took a long time, always seemed to fall to the bottom of the pile, but finally I read it.

It was not quite what I was expecting but it wasn't bad. The fact that the US military and intelligence organisations (and most likely a lot of other countries, possibly including my own) have been doing serious tests and investigations into this for decades was astounding. So many of the things in the book I just have to laugh it but I can believe the government would try it.

It was an interesting read and now I'm curious to see how they made a movie out of it.

Interesting stories but didn’t quite hold together as a cohesive whole.

"The Men Who Stare at Goats",
"Wow! This proves the old saying that truth is stranger (and much weirder) than fiction.No one could make up this stuff about a secret military section devoted to psychic phenomena and new age beliefs.
I thought the military generals and other wackos and weirdos would at least be identified under false names, but internet searches shows articles and photos on the ones I googled.
I would give the book at least 5 stars for some of the material brought to light, but cannot give it more than 1 star for writing style, organization and cohesion. At times he seemed to be adding things only remotely connected to the subject in order to fill out what would have been an excellent magazine exposure into a full length book. I found myself alternating between laughter and horror at some of the things these men were attempting to do."

You cannot accuse Jon Ronson of being dull, that’s for sure. His books consistently shed light on the fringe elements of society, be it psychopaths, Icke-followers, or the psychic soldiers depicted here. And he treats the subjects of his investigations with respect and a refreshing open-mindedness, regardless of how nutty the fruitcakes therein may be. But, in the case of The Men Who Stare At Goats, there’s a lack of cohesion to the final product. I enjoyed this book, but I’m not sure what point Ronson is trying to make with it, other than there’s some freaky shit in our military’s history that rears up every now and again.

I made the mistake of watching the movie before reading the book, so I expected the usual setup of protagonist, antagonist, plot, conflict, etc. as they are presented in the film. The book is much looser, however, weaving in and out of the lives of multiple ex-soldiers and psychics and lunatics without ever finding a central theme or personality in which to be grounded. The resulting information is astounding and quite hard to believe, but never coalesces into what you can call a story. It comes off as interviews and set pieces and tales of strangeness that all float around each other, yet there’s nothing in the middle for these elements to orbit.

Do I believe the odd experiments of the First Earth Battalion were carried out as presented in the book? Sure. Why not. And I like how Ronson ties together fringe beliefs pulled from army research done in the seventies and eighties to the shameful and sickening treatment of Iraqi prisoners during the Second Iraq War. He mixes humor with horror, insanity with military reasoning, yet never undermines his skill as a reporter by growing glib or condescending.

Too bad things never gel. The book comes across as a series of vignettes, linked but not flowing, and by the time I finished The Men Who Stare At Goats, I was left wondering what exactly Ronson is trying to say. Still, it makes for a quick, funny, startling read, quite the alternative take on the supposed mindset of the American military.

The documentarian examines how the US military intelligence community has attempted to make use of paranormal and extra-sensory techniques and how this has impacted the war on terror today. Ronson shows how Jim Channon, a US Army colonel, who wrote the “First Earth Battalion” manual which attempted to reorganize the military along non-lethal, New Age ideals such as pacifying the enemy with indigenous music, positive energy, or discordant sounds. He interviews people such as Guy Savelli, martial arts teacher who claims to have the Death Touch and to be able to kill goats by staring them to death, and who works with the US military. He talks with former members of the Stargate Project, a US-funded program that attempted to develop telepathy. He interviews General Albert Stubblebine, who apparently firmly believes that walking through walls is possible with the right mindset. He talks with guards at Abu Ghriab, and with detainees who have been blasted by US officials with inane pop songs and strobe lights, and possibly with music with subliminal messages (the “torture lite” that Tony Lagouranis details in Fear Up Harsh). He looks into the very dark secrets of MK-ULTRA (specifically Operation Artichoke, which attempted to subvert wills through forced drug use and hypnosis), and interviews a man who believes his brother, Frank Olson, was murdered over fears he would reveal it to the press.

Like Ronson’s previous book, Them: Adventures with Extremists, this is an alternately hilarious and deeply disturbing book; if even half of the things Ronson details are true (and there’s no reason to think that any part is false of exaggerated), America’s intelligence community was or is festooned with people who are not only amoral – that’s to be expected – but passionately ignorant. Basically, despite Ronson’s smooth prose, dry wit, and chummy writing style, this is a damn scary book.

Entertaining and well written account of conversations with colorful sources- plenty of honest disclaimers.

Officially DNF’d 14/01/20

honestly, this is probably the best thing i've read by ronson! i'm not sure how much of it is true (although when people say the government has done something kind of fishy, i'm generally inclined to believe it), but it's an excellent story (and a salutary reminder that all narratives are emplotted, it just depends on who that emplotment benefits). also, i feel like a lot of other things i've read by ronson are interesting, but feel a little disjointed in the way that his podcasts never do, but this was a very strong piece! it sometimes comes off as a series of vignettes, but that's like...not a bad thing, somehow? clapping for him

While thinking on, or researching conspiratorial matters, the ability to resist the urge of diving nose first into the rabbit hole is of utmost importance. Which is precisely what Jon Ronson failed to do. Consequently he lost tracks of his goats around the fourth chapter, and unfortunately never found his way back to them. The result is a messy, unfocused exploration into interesting anecdotes from the history of American intelligence agencies. Possibly very interesting if you've never come across things such as MK-Ultra before.

I usually like Jon Ronson books but this one didn’t quite hit the spot.
It felt very strange and disjointed, but also quite amusing?
3*