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The Men Who Stare At Goats
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Product Description
The Sunday Times number-one bestseller that inspired the major motion picture.
Book Description
In 1979 a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known military practice – and indeed the laws of physics – they believed that a soldier could adopt a cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls, and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. They were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren’t joking. What’s more, they’re back and fighting George Bush’s War on Terror. Often funny, sometimes chilling and always thought-provoking, The Men Who Stare at Goats is a story so unbelievable it has to be true. ‘Not only a narcotic road trip through the wackier reaches of Bush’s war effort, but also an unmissable account of the insanity that has lately been done in our names’ Observer ‘Funny and gravely serious, what emerges is a world shrouded in secrecy, mystery and wackiness, where Warrior Monks and psychic spies battle it out for military thinking. Mind-blowing stuff’ Metro
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"The Men Who Stare at Goats" is a book by Jon Ronson. The author has written several books on religious cults, conspiracy theories and other absurdities. He has also made TV documentaries on the same subjects. "The Men Who Stare at Goats" is arguably Ronson's most bizarre book ever. In fact, it might be the most bizarre book ever written.
The first part of the book is hilariously funny, so funny that I almost laughed out load when reading it at my favourite café and, later, at the metro. People must have wondered what the hell I was up to! Apparently, several high-ranking members of the US military believe in paranormal phenomena. They have attempted to create the ultimate soldier, a soldier with supernatural powers: invisibility, the power to walk through solid walls, killing people just by staring at them, etc. Some of these ideas originated with a New Age hippie who wanted the US military to become more peaceful and friendly. His ideas were seized upon by other operatives, more interested in "the dark side".
Are we to believe Ronson, the military actually recruited a number of "psychic spies" who attempted to kill goats just by staring at them (one of them says he can kill hamsters, too). They were also supposed to spy on Panama's then-dictator Manuel Noriega, a former CIA asset who later had a fall out with the US authorities. Noriega apparently believed in occult powers himself, and tried to defend himself from the psychic spying by erecting a crucifix on some distant shore in Panama. One of the clairvoyants later ended up at a mental institution, while another became a big star on Art Bell Show. Ronson also writes about his own experiences interviewing these somewhat shadowy characters. Apparently, the guy who can kill golden hamsters just by looking at them, quite seriously believed that Ronson (a Jew) must have been al-Qaeda!
I'm not surprised that the first chapters of "The Men Who Stare at Goats" have been turned into a comic flick by Hollywood. Unfortunately, the second part of the book is not funny, not funny at all...
It deals with MK-Ultra, suicide cults, the bizarre torture of prisoners at Guantanamo and in Iraq, and the disturbing mindset of music producers and media people in the United States. I wasn't laughing when reading the concluding chapters.
Jon Ronson's book "Them: Adventures with extremists" left me similarly bewildered. That book is also supposed to be entertaining, but when I read it, I got some kind of involuntary sympathies with the extremists.
I honestly don't know how to rate "The Men Who Stare at Goats". The book is just too bizarre and disturbing. After some deliberation, I nevertheless settled for a five star review.
But don't tell me I haven't warned you!
The first part of the book is hilariously funny, so funny that I almost laughed out load when reading it at my favourite café and, later, at the metro. People must have wondered what the hell I was up to! Apparently, several high-ranking members of the US military believe in paranormal phenomena. They have attempted to create the ultimate soldier, a soldier with supernatural powers: invisibility, the power to walk through solid walls, killing people just by staring at them, etc. Some of these ideas originated with a New Age hippie who wanted the US military to become more peaceful and friendly. His ideas were seized upon by other operatives, more interested in "the dark side".
Are we to believe Ronson, the military actually recruited a number of "psychic spies" who attempted to kill goats just by staring at them (one of them says he can kill hamsters, too). They were also supposed to spy on Panama's then-dictator Manuel Noriega, a former CIA asset who later had a fall out with the US authorities. Noriega apparently believed in occult powers himself, and tried to defend himself from the psychic spying by erecting a crucifix on some distant shore in Panama. One of the clairvoyants later ended up at a mental institution, while another became a big star on Art Bell Show. Ronson also writes about his own experiences interviewing these somewhat shadowy characters. Apparently, the guy who can kill golden hamsters just by looking at them, quite seriously believed that Ronson (a Jew) must have been al-Qaeda!
I'm not surprised that the first chapters of "The Men Who Stare at Goats" have been turned into a comic flick by Hollywood. Unfortunately, the second part of the book is not funny, not funny at all...
It deals with MK-Ultra, suicide cults, the bizarre torture of prisoners at Guantanamo and in Iraq, and the disturbing mindset of music producers and media people in the United States. I wasn't laughing when reading the concluding chapters.
Jon Ronson's book "Them: Adventures with extremists" left me similarly bewildered. That book is also supposed to be entertaining, but when I read it, I got some kind of involuntary sympathies with the extremists.
I honestly don't know how to rate "The Men Who Stare at Goats". The book is just too bizarre and disturbing. After some deliberation, I nevertheless settled for a five star review.
But don't tell me I haven't warned you!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is written as a documentary exploration of some truly bizarre forms of research into alternative forms of killing, torture and manipulation by various governments, mainly US and UK. While similar to a Michael Moore exposure, it's also so close to a novel that it's hard to tell whether this is truth or fiction (take Moore's Sicko and add in The Constant Gardener).
The book investigates forms of development of the human brain usually associated with the personal development movement, but applied to military and government control. From staring at goats (to kill them) to walking through walls, this covers a number of esoteric development skills. The reporting lists interviews with people purported to be involved in this research, and interweaves well-documented cases that add semblance of veracity to these reports. But the evidence is thin.
As a light-hearted holiday read, this deserves marks for an imaginative overview of potentially crazy investments of public funds. As an investigative journal, this is light on evidence and poorly organised to prove a point. Read it and laugh, and suspend belief.
The book investigates forms of development of the human brain usually associated with the personal development movement, but applied to military and government control. From staring at goats (to kill them) to walking through walls, this covers a number of esoteric development skills. The reporting lists interviews with people purported to be involved in this research, and interweaves well-documented cases that add semblance of veracity to these reports. But the evidence is thin.
As a light-hearted holiday read, this deserves marks for an imaginative overview of potentially crazy investments of public funds. As an investigative journal, this is light on evidence and poorly organised to prove a point. Read it and laugh, and suspend belief.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I did see the film before reading this, as I enjoyed it so much it prompted me to pick up a copy of the book. I don't normally read many non-fiction books, but this is brilliant, I loved every bit. Its a fairly easy-read and has a fairly pacey narrative, starting in back in the 1950s/1960s and progresses to the the most recent activity of the American military. It starts off light-hearted and funny, much like the tone of the film, but then it becomes more eye-opening and worrying as you read on.
I enjoyed this book after seeing the film, and I think its worth a read just for the bizzare nature of some of the topics!
I enjoyed this book after seeing the film, and I think its worth a read just for the bizzare nature of some of the topics!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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The issues are credible, but not this book
The problem with this book is not the subject matter. It's the quality of the journalism (I almost said "so-called journalism", using the author's own precedent for quotation... Read more
Published 9 months ago by fat man on a bicycle
Almost unbelieveble
The Men Who Stare At Goats is the story of the First Earth Battalion, an attempt by the post-Vietnam American army to find new ways to fight their wars. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Missy
Disturbing, funny, sometimes plain scary!
The Men Who Stare at Goats film tie-in
Disturbing if true!
People in high places instigating very dubious practices, and seriously believing they will... Read more
Disturbing if true!
People in high places instigating very dubious practices, and seriously believing they will... Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2010 by SusieH
crazy world of American army "psychics"
A wonderful book about the nutcases in charge of American military "intelligence". The general who thinks he can train himself to walk through walls, levitate and kill a goat by... Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2009 by V. A. Scott
life's too short to take this piffle seriously
We've all known that the Americans are mad since the Kennedy asassination. They look like us and you can more or less understand them when they speak, but underneath - well, one... Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2009 by Gargantua Pantaloon
Worth a read
I like the way this is written - a great deal of time/dedication/effort has clearly gone into putting it together and that alone justifies the read. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2009 by Fidelina
Entertaining read but not a deep political classic
British journalist Jon Ronson attempts to delve deep into what happened when senior people in United States military and intelligence embraced a whole lot of New Age rubbish. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2009 by Mr. Tristan Martin
...according to a guy in a bar who told me to look for this ex-General...
I bought and read this book quite some time ago (about mid-2006) and it says a lot about George Clooneys political views that he is starring in a movie based on it. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2009 by M. Keogh
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