Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13463 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Synopsis
Why are Iraqi prisoners of war being forced to listen to Barney the Purple Dinosaur's theme tune repeatedly, at top volume? Why have 100 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.

Customer Reviews

Weirdness in fatigues
An enjoyably light read that doesn't try to over-claim for what is quite a slight piece of investigative journalism. The style is similar to Louis Theroux: ask innocent sounding questions, and let people talk. And quite soon you're thinking...are these people for real? In this case that's a pretty serious question, because these people are in charge of the most powerful military in the world. But in the end, too many questions are left unasked, never mind unanswered.

Good to hear from Ronson again
I loved Them: Adventures With Extremists and waited a long time before Ronson obliged us by writing another book. This deals with the US military and its more obscure developments in warfare, including using psychic warfare and remote viewing. It can seem at times as if Ronson is making this stuff up, fantastic as it is, except that he is not the only author to document this kind of activity from the army and there are people around who can and do teach many of the techniques that Ronson catalogues. If you're interested in some of the more extreme uses for Neuro Linguistic Programming this book will ring a lot of bells for you. Ronson writes as ever, with self deprecating wit and humour about very serious subjects and mines the absurdity of some of the darker and weirder practices of human beings. A fantastic read.

Gripping, serious and extremely funny
The saying 'Never judge a book by its cover' could be used here for myself as i did not think i would give it five stars. Jon Ronson is great in the book. I would highly advise this book to anyone who enjoys books about military wackiness. I would also advise this book if you liked his last book 'Them: Adventures with extremists.