Synopses & Reviews
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.
Ronson's Them: Adventures with Extremists, a highly acclaimed international bestseller, examined the paranoia at the fringes of hate-filled extremist movements around the globe. The Men Who Stare at Goats reveals extraordinary and very nutty military secrets at the core of George W. Bush's War on Terror.
Review
"A work that combines investigative reporting, slapstick encounters with fringe people and not-so-funny events ripped from recent headlines..." San Diego Tribune
Review
"The Men Who Stare at Goats still concentrates on quirks, making it a smarter, nuttier version of The Tipping Point or Blink." New York Times
Review
"It is [Ronson's] acute grip on the nuance of this idea that makes his book...a narcotic road trip through the wackier reaches of Bush's war effort... an unmissable account of some of the insanity that has lately been done in our names." The Observer
Review
"Possessing sharp timing and a characteristically dry Brit wit, Ronson specializes in such offbeat topics..." Village Voice
Review
"If Ronson doesn't manage to expose this official hall of mirrors entirely, he still makes an admirable effort, 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.
About the Author
Jon Ronson is a documentary filmmaker and the author of Them: Adventures with Extremists. He lives in London.
Table of 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