- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (28 Jan 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743227077
- ISBN-13: 978-0743227070
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 931,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Kirkus Reviews" (starred) A picaresque journey into the wonderland of delusional fanatics, often scary, yet wildly funny....Ronson's eye for the telling detail and his gift for capturing hilarious dialogue make this an entertaining read, but laughs aside, this is serious and thought-provoking stuff, and likely to nettle left, right, and some in the middle too.
Product Description
AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD OF FRINGE-DWELLERS
Islamic fundamentalists, Ku Klux Klansmen, Christian separatists, and certain members of British Parliament would seem to have very little in common, but they do in fact share one crucial belief: that the world is secretly controlled by an elite group -- in a word, Them. This shadowy elite starts the wars, elects heads of state, sets the price of oil and the flow of capital, conducts bizarre secret rituals, and controls the media. This group is incredibly powerful and will destroy any investigator who gets too close to the truth.
Does this shadowy elite really exist? Jon Ronson wondered. As a journalist and a Jew, Ronson was often considered one of "Them," but he had no idea if their meetings actually took place and, if so, where. Was he the only one not invited?
Ronson decided to settle the matter himself, seeking out the supposed secret rulers of the world by way of those who seem to know most about them: the extremists. The result is a riveting journey around the globe. Along the way Ronson meets Omar Bakri Mohammed, once considered to be the most dangerous man in Great Britain. This powerful Muslim fundamentalist -- who tricks Jon into chauffeuring him around town because he doesn't have a car -- seems harmless enough until he takes Jon to Jihad training camp where Ronson is unmasked as a Jew.
Jon shoots guns with Ruby Ridge survivor Rachel Weaver and learns about black helicopters and the New World Order. While trying to monitor a meeting of the famous Bilderberg Group in Portugal, he is chased by men in dark glasses. With a group of other true believers, he breaks into the fabled Bohemian Grovein California and witnesses CEOs and politicians engaged in a bizarre pagan ritual. When he attends a KKK rally to interview a PR-conscious Grand Wizard who forbids use of the "N-word," Jon watches as Klan members confront a perpetual cross-burning problem: Do you raise it and then soak it or soak it and then raise it?
But the more Ronson tries to expose the emptiness of these conspiracies, the less and less he's certain that the extremists are crazy. In the end, "Them" is an eye-opening narrative of the looking-glass world of "us" and "them." Funny, chilling, and seamlessly told, it is an unforgettable glimpse into lives on the fringe.
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First Sentence
IT WAS A BALMY Saturday afternoon in Trafalgar Square in the summertime, and Omar Bakri Mohammed was declaring Holy War on Britain. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
IT WAS A BALMY Saturday afternoon in Trafalgar Square in the summertime, and Omar Bakri Mohammed was declaring Holy War on Britain. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After hearing the media's over-hyped version of things, it was great to read something that puts it all into context. Ronson does the impossible and manages to take a really funny look at conspiracy theories and Islamic fanticism (the bit about the controversial cleric and the choc-ice still makes me laugh).
My only problem with the book is that it storms off brilliantly, moving from one set of extremists to another, but this does not continue throughout the book. Therefore, it's only let down is that the start is so good, that the last half cannot possibly keep the same pace and quality of laughs.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was funny, chilling and informative. Without excusing the State from its crass and at times brutal behaviour, it acts as a timely antidote to the various conspiracy theories circulating nowadays. Everyone should read it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I heartily recommend this brilliant, comical, farsical, but in the end down right clever book. Written as a set of encounters, this book is cutting at times and hilarious at others.
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