What a nutty, nutty read. The first few chapter were sooo good. Then it kinda trailed off into this "CIA kill people and lie about things." I understand that "this is not a funny book and it not meant to be so let's have some chapters that tells you why you shouldn't find this kind of lunacy funny." Still. Very good and wacky and everything else.

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

This fell a little flat for me. Despite Jon Ronson's writing being approachable and not without humour, despite here him investigating an apparently interesting subject and putting in a lot of research, despite having enjoyed two other books of his about psychopathy and social media shaming, this was a bit disappointing.

I put this down to the subject, not the author. A book about the US military/authorities attempts to harness psychology in terms of warfare and covert operations etc. did 'on paper' sound interesting to me. However I am not that concerned about conspiracies, about the morality or immorality of authority, and I don't waste much effort assuming there are things being hidden from me by those in power. A lot of the aspects of what is discussed here just sound utterly misguided and stupid when examined, and in the end it all came over like the author wrote a book about a small number of people who for a time believed crackpot theories. A bit like someone telling you about this thing they once heard from a bloke down the pub...

Wow - this was a weird one! It certainly kept my attention so I'm giving it 4 stars. If even only half of this stuff is true it is still a crazy story!

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.

I read about 200 pages of this convinced it couldn't possibly be non-fiction (it is).

That being said, this is a stupid book that has no good reason for existing. It was dumb and I feel dumber for having read it. It was entertaining at times and I laughed here and there just due to the ridiculous of the characters (real people

. . . America, the great superpower, needed to be defended by people who actually had superpowers . . .

When it comes to cockamamie plots and plans to make America great again, nothing our government and the US military cooks up should surprise you. Experiments in mind control, and yes, even "psychic assassins" seem pretty much par for the course. Ronson, a British journalist who has made his name exposing the weird and the wacky, here presents several of the more hare-brained schemes once considered, and/or implemented in the war against our enemies.

Warrior Monks, brown notes, the horrors of Celine Dion and Barney are all covered here.



My favorite line?
I couldn't decide if Jim was being delightfully naive, infuriatingly naive, or sophisticatedly evasive.

One side note: Fort Bragg's Goat Lab is no more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...

At least that's the official story . . .

My four-star review should in no way be taken as a recommendation. It seems as though plenty of people actively hate this book. And, indeed, much of the information presented exists in a purely believe-it-or-not realm; evidence is scant, eyewitnesses shadowy. (Well, would you admit to participating in any of this crap?) I, however, found it to be an entertaining read that left me shaking my head while reaching for a bottle of gin, mumbling aloud something along the lines of "Our tax dollars at work . . ."

I think this book actually is very funny, with a lot of 'maybe it's true, or maybe not so true' interesting information and details in it.

The book also points out how easily it can be for us to fall under the control of powerful suggestions, mind-control and other shit. People, be alerted!

added thoughts after re-reading@14/01/2015

I still think the author has a healthy sense of humor and the story is funny, but once the author starts telling us how music can be used to torture war-prisoners and terrorism-suspects, and how the army/government would assassinate people/eyewitnesses in order silence them...things really become very un-funny. *shivers*

re-reading@25/08/2018: I still really enjoy this book very much!!! And...just look at this trailer!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC2Tz...

I was fooled. The first couple of pages were hilarious and I thought this is it...the golden ark of dark comedy with a splash of reality and a moral lesson to boot.

But no!!

Well because it ends being a conspiracy rant about how hippies in the 70's are responsible for all the bad things that Americans have recently been caught doing in the middle east. All because the American army has taken the loving intentions of the hippies to play soothing music and deliver teddy bears and interpreted it as - lets chain people in steel freight containers and play loud music repetitively until their ears bleed. It is so blindingly obvious - I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. Of course the hippies are to blame.

I also personally love the level of investigative journalism that he goes to. This is a man who will not stop at anything for the truth, and will go to the ends of the world to dig up the facts. Take for example the one e-mail he sent to uncover the truth about whether a psychic's prediction resulted in an actress being followed up by the military. He didn't get a response. End of.

On a side note and not being one to pass up a learning opportunity. Never end a sentence with a preposition - like I did just there 'End of'. And there. Or there. 'There' is an intransitive preposition but is sometimes thought to be an adverb. So whatever your persuasion be careful with your 'there's and 'of's.

Bottom line you don't need to read this book to realise hippies are evil.

Interesting reading but with some pretty grim happenings at times

Though I've marked this book as Read, I have to confess I read less than half of The Men Who Stare at Goats, as I found it both repetitive and tedious. I enjoyed The Psychopath Test by the same author and I know many readers have also enjoyed The Men Who Stare at Goats, but the book is obviously an acquired taste. The perceived stupidity of elements within the American armed forces, particularly their willingness to embrace bizarre beliefs such as being able to kill animals, including goats by staring at them may indeed be a mildly amusing subject, but the topic is relentlessly pursued page after page, as the author meets and interviews various parties involved in these practices. Boredom soon turns to apathy as the book progresses with yet more of the same, well at least it did for me anyway.

Já toda a gente sabe que os norte americanos são um povo um pouco excêntrico, para não dizer mesmo doido chalado da cabeça - ups, já disse! :D (Só espero que a CIA não esteja a monitorizar o Goodreads, mas dado o acreditarem em psíquicos, não me parece que estejam. :D)

Este livro só demonstra o nível de excentricidade que podem atingir. Caberia na cabeça de alguém criar uma unidade de espiões psíquicos? Pessoas que, supostamente, com o poder da mente e do olhar matariam cabras e fariam com que pessoas em interrogatório vomitassem todos os segredos que sabem? Parece que sim, os americanos fizeram-no. Tanta terra para cavar e esta gente investe dinheiro em supostos psíquicos! E pior, deixa cabrinhas inocentes mudas! Balha-me Deus!

Também temos um programa da CIA da década de 1950 em que dariam LSD e outras dorgas às pessoas fazendo com que elas, devido à dependência e às alucinações, estivessem dispostas a revelar o que sabiam. Tanto livro para ler e esta gente a dar trips às pessoas!

A parte que eu achei mais séria foi a situação dos inimigos da América capturados no Iraque, após a invasão devido às supostas armas de destruição, que foram sujeitos a torturas e humilhações, e eu isto lembro-me de ver nas notícias. Prisioneiros nus, com trelas e outras alarvidades. Confesso que não estava à espera desta parte mais séria num livro com um título tão curioso.

Nesta leitura ficou também provado que ouvir músicas infantis é uma excelente forma de tortura e que os pais dos rebentos têm razão se à conta disso cometerem um homicídio. O facto deveria servir como atenuante, pois parece que é uma coisa que existe. Os americanos usaram o Enter Sandman dos Metallica em altos berros como forma de tortura aos prisioneiros iraquianos, mas também usaram uma canções de programas infantis - do dinossauro Barney e da Rua Sésamo. Parece que é mais eficaz do que choques elétricos!

Claro que a opinião pública norte americana ao tomar conhecimento desta parte levou o caso como uma piada e o autor das músicas da Rua Sésamo preocupou-se foi com os royalties das músicas, já que as mesmas tocadas em loop durante dias renderiam uns bons trocos.

Não foi uma grande leitura esta pois acho que o autor começa a escrever sobre a unidade das cabras e outros assuntos sem uma introdução, pelo menos a mim fez-me falta um preâmbulo qualquer que explicasse o porquê deste livro, o que iria abordar. Em certas alturas senti-me um pouco perdida, pois saltava de assunto e de pessoas sem um enquadramento prévio, mas também não se pode esperar muito de um livro que aborda estas situações absurdas.

- O que é que vai acontecer?
- Vamos todos morrer! Disse o Ed. Riu-se

A única coisa acertada lida neste livro!

#circulalivros Obrigada, Cristina! :)