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Men Who Stare At Goats (06 Edition)

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Men Who Stare At Goats (06 Edition) Cover

ISBN13: 9780743270601
ISBN10: 0743270606
Condition: Student Owned
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Synopses & Reviews

Please note that used books may not include additional media (study guides, CDs, DVDs, solutions manuals, etc.) as described in the publisher comments.

Publisher Comments:

In 1979 a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the U.S. Army. Defying all known accepted 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.

Entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries, they were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren't joking. What's more, they're back and fighting the War on Terror.

With firsthand access to the leading players in the story, Ronson traces the evolution of these bizarre activities over the past three decades and shows how they are alive today within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and in postwar Iraq. Why are they blasting Iraqi prisoners of war with the theme tune to Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Why have 100 debleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces Command Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina? How was the U.S. military associated with the mysterious mass suicide of a strange cult from San Diego? The Men Who Stare at Goats answers these and many more questions.

Review:

"This exploration of the U.S. military's flirtation with the supernatural is at once funny and tragic. It reads like fiction, with plenty of dialogue and descriptive detail, but as Ronson's investigation into the government's peculiar past doings creeps into the present — and into Iraq — it will raise goose bumps. As Ronson reveals, a secret wing of the U.S. military called First Earth Battalion was created in 1979 with the purpose of creating 'Warrior Monks,' soldiers capable of walking through walls, becoming invisible, reading minds and even killing a goat simply by staring at it. Some of the characters involved seem well-meaning enough, such as the hapless General Stubblebine, who is 'confounded by his continual failure to walk through his wall.' But Ronson (Them: Adventures with Extremists) soon learns that the Battalion's bizarre ideas inspired some alarming torture techniques being used in the present-day War on Terror. One technique involves subjecting prisoners to 24 hours of Barney the Purple Dinosaur's song, 'I Love You,' and another makes use of the Predator, a small, toy-like object designed by military martial arts master Pete Brusso that can inflict a large amount of pain in many different ways ('You can take eyeballs right out...with this bit,' Brusso tells Ronson). Ronson approaches the material with an open mind and a delightfully dry sense of humor, which makes this an entertaining, if unsettling, read. Indeed, as the events recounted here grow ever more curious — and the individuals Ronson meets more disturbing — it's necessary to remind oneself of Ronson's opening words: 'This is a true story.'" Publishers Weekly (Copyright © Reed Business Information)

Review:

"A hilarious and unsettling book....Ronson comes off as an unusual cross between Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh." The Boston Globe

Review:

"Ronson sets his book up beautifully. It moves with wry precise agility from crackpot to crackpot in its search for the essence of this early New Age creativity...." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Review:

"Jon Ronson...skitters clumsily between genuine inquisitiveness and invented interpretations worthy of an X-Files episode. Intriguing? At times. Humorous? Occasionally. Informative? Not so much..." Houston Chronicle

Review:

"A work that combines investigative reporting, slapstick encounters with fringe people and not-so-funny events ripped from recent headlines to push a provocative thesis..." San Diego Union-Tribune

Review:

"Very funny and packed with oddities....Entertaining and alarming in equal parts." Kirkus Reviews

Synopsis:

From the acclaimed author of Them comes a truly disturbing, often hilarious look at the U.S. military's long flirtation with the paranormal — and the psy-op soldiers who are still fighting the battle.
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About the Author

Jon Ronson is a documentary filmmaker and the author of Them: Adventures with Extremists. He lives in London.
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Table of Contents

CONTENTS

1. The General

2. Goat Lab

3. The First Earth Battalion

4. Into the Heart of the Goat

5. Homeland Security

6. Privatization

7. The Purple Dinosaur

8. The Predator

9. The Dark Side

10. A Think Tank

11. A Haunted Hotel

12. The Frequencies

13. Some Illustrations

14. The 1953 House

15. Harold's Club or Bust!

16. The Exit

Acknowledgments and Bibliography

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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
crowyhead, June 3, 2008 (view all comments by crowyhead)
The subject matter of this book is fascinating. It explores the US military's research into decidedly strange fighting and reconaissance techniques: psychic warfare (as in, soldiers using psychic powers to stop the enemy in its tracks), remote viewing, you name it. It starts out fairly lighthearted: look at what happens when you give some whackadoos in the government money to try to walk through walls! There's a serious side to it, though; out of some of the same minds that came up with the more out-there techniques of psychic warfare, came some of the psychological techniques that are being used to manipulate and torture prisoners and insurgent populations.

The execution leaves something to be desired. For one, Ronson is aware that there is both an amusing and a serious side to his research, and points this out from time to time, but Ronson does not work to somehow make these two aspects of the stories he tells play off each other, or to reconcile these two aspects of the subject matter. Instead, the tone of the book is simply wildly uneven, sometimes switching from dead serious to satirical and jokey in the same page or two. The book is also quite rambling, and the overall impression is that it's a series of journalistic articles he wrote, which he then strung together into a book. It just struck me as lazy writing. Still interesting, though.
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uncle_loki, April 22, 2007 (view all comments by uncle_loki)
This book is about the more esoteric practices of the United States military. Since Ronson is a bit of a skeptic, there is a underlying tone of playfull mockery throughout the book. I found it mildly informative, but quite homorous.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780743270601
Author:
Ronson, Jon
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Subject:
Animals
Subject:
Political
Subject:
Military - United States
Subject:
Topic - Political
Subject:
Occultism
Subject:
Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations
Subject:
Military Science
Subject:
Parapsychology -- Military aspects.
Subject:
Animals -- War use.
Subject:
Parapsychology - General
Subject:
Military-US Military General
Copyright:
2006
Edition Description:
B102
Publication Date:
April 2006
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
272
Dimensions:
8.44 x 5.5 in 8.33 oz
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Related Subjects

History and Social Science » Military » Recent Military History
History and Social Science » Military » Strategy Tactics and Deception
History and Social Science » Military » US Military » General
History and Social Science » Politics » Covert Government and Conspiracy Theory
History and Social Science » Politics » General

Men Who Stare At Goats (06 Edition) Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$8.00 In Stock
Product details 272 pages Simon & Schuster - English 9780743270601 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "This exploration of the U.S. military's flirtation with the supernatural is at once funny and tragic. It reads like fiction, with plenty of dialogue and descriptive detail, but as Ronson's investigation into the government's peculiar past doings creeps into the present — and into Iraq — it will raise goose bumps. As Ronson reveals, a secret wing of the U.S. military called First Earth Battalion was created in 1979 with the purpose of creating 'Warrior Monks,' soldiers capable of walking through walls, becoming invisible, reading minds and even killing a goat simply by staring at it. Some of the characters involved seem well-meaning enough, such as the hapless General Stubblebine, who is 'confounded by his continual failure to walk through his wall.' But Ronson (Them: Adventures with Extremists) soon learns that the Battalion's bizarre ideas inspired some alarming torture techniques being used in the present-day War on Terror. One technique involves subjecting prisoners to 24 hours of Barney the Purple Dinosaur's song, 'I Love You,' and another makes use of the Predator, a small, toy-like object designed by military martial arts master Pete Brusso that can inflict a large amount of pain in many different ways ('You can take eyeballs right out...with this bit,' Brusso tells Ronson). Ronson approaches the material with an open mind and a delightfully dry sense of humor, which makes this an entertaining, if unsettling, read. Indeed, as the events recounted here grow ever more curious — and the individuals Ronson meets more disturbing — it's necessary to remind oneself of Ronson's opening words: 'This is a true story.'" Publishers Weekly (Copyright © Reed Business Information)
"Review" by , "A hilarious and unsettling book....Ronson comes off as an unusual cross between Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh."
"Review" by , "Ronson sets his book up beautifully. It moves with wry precise agility from crackpot to crackpot in its search for the essence of this early New Age creativity...."
"Review" by , "Jon Ronson...skitters clumsily between genuine inquisitiveness and invented interpretations worthy of an X-Files episode. Intriguing? At times. Humorous? Occasionally. Informative? Not so much..."
"Review" by , "A work that combines investigative reporting, slapstick encounters with fringe people and not-so-funny events ripped from recent headlines to push a provocative thesis..."
"Review" by , "Very funny and packed with oddities....Entertaining and alarming in equal parts."
"Synopsis" by , From the acclaimed author of Them comes a truly disturbing, often hilarious look at the U.S. military's long flirtation with the paranormal — and the psy-op soldiers who are still fighting the battle.
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