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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
funny
informative
Still enjoyed it; jon ronson's voice still comes through. but subject matter was oddly less compelling than all his other books. seems like it'd be interesting, but somehow isn't.
Great book that shows many aspects of strange cults and groups from all different classes.
While the book itself is only "good" or "pretty good," the audiobook is amazing. I love Jon Ronson's voice!
I listen to a lot of audiobooks on my commute, and I'm starting to feel expert on audiobook readers. Even the professional voices can get grating after a while. Jon Ronson's audio performance is highly recommended.
I listen to a lot of audiobooks on my commute, and I'm starting to feel expert on audiobook readers. Even the professional voices can get grating after a while. Jon Ronson's audio performance is highly recommended.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death
Jon Ronson has taught me many things in my life. Reading (listening to) this book in 2022 just emphasized how little things have changed since the late 90s. I loved hearing these stories in his voice (narration), especially as I learned the British pronunciation of urinal. (I had no idea!) Worth your time.
Jon Ronson is a journalist from the UK, and he generally writes about the odd, quirky corners of human life. Them: Adeventures with Extremists is one of Ronson's first published books -- for years previous, he had written for various newspapers and magazines. Most of his stories are told from a distinct first-person narrative, and readers are privy to his internal thoughts, feelings, and reservations. Importantly, Ronson does all of this with a nice sense of upbeat humor -- he may travel to, and write about, some of the strangest circumstances in the world, but he always seems game to follow the story to its ending, no matter how crazy things get. In this respect, Them: Adventures with Extremists is a through-and-through Ronson adventure with all of the advantages and disadvantages that entails.
SUMMARY: Them: Adventures with Extremists is a nonfiction, investigative journalist's account of his travels with fringe group members. Ronson travels with an extremist muslim, a member from the Ku Klux Klan, a man who believes that the world is run by a shadowy group of businessmen and government leaders trying to install a New World Order, Alex Jones -- the conspiracy theorist, and a man that believes the world is controlled by a group of alien satanic lizards that dabble in pedophilia. Almost all of these individuals are well educated, and many of them are personable and friendly, but they are all characterized with the belief that there's some group of people secretly controlling the world and oppressing its people. The book is written with the characteristic wit and humor of Jon Ronson who is unabashedly neurotic and anxious throughout his entire investigation. Ronson really throws himself into the fray -- traveling to Portugal to track down the Bilderberg Group, and infiltrating Bohemian Grove where many important leaders dress in robes and participate in pseudo-pagan rituals. All of these travels are colored with Ronson's humor, and it makes for a very enjoyable read.
Perhaps most interestingly, this book was published very shortly after the attacks of 9/11/2001 on New York City. The world has changed drastically since those terrorist attacks -- especially in regards to the fringe groups and conspiracy theorists out there. Today, this book feels strange because much of conspiracy theories today center around 9/11 conjecture, and this book is almost completely without it (besides a brief mention in the prologue). In this regard, the book is both an interesting snapshot of fringe beliefs before 9/11, and a dated account of the extremists in the late 1990's.
PRO'S: Jon Ronson seems very afraid to put himself in such close contact with these extremists and fundamentalists, but he does it anyways. A good deal of the humor in this book comes from Ronson's panics, neuroses, and fears as he travels into the dark shadowy world of conspiracy theory. The first person narrative that this book assumes makes it an immediate and enjoyable experience, and the story comes alive and more personal than if it were without Ronson's point of view.
CON'S: Cohesion has never been Ronson's strongest suit. His background is in shorter-piece essays and articles fit for newspapers and magazines, not full-length books. Additionally, the structure of this book doesn't lend itself well to cohesion: Ronson follows the story of a handful of extremists, and the only real through-line is that they are all extremists and convinced that the world is out to get them. While many of the chapters here work extraordinarily well on their own, they never really come together in a meaningful way. This lack of cohesion is probably most evidence by the book's ending -- the book mostly ends abruptly without much fanfare. Ronson's later books, like The Psychopath Test, gives himself a chapter at the end in order to sum up his thoughts on the matter and to put it all into perspective.
SUMMARY: Them: Adventures with Extremists is a nonfiction, investigative journalist's account of his travels with fringe group members. Ronson travels with an extremist muslim, a member from the Ku Klux Klan, a man who believes that the world is run by a shadowy group of businessmen and government leaders trying to install a New World Order, Alex Jones -- the conspiracy theorist, and a man that believes the world is controlled by a group of alien satanic lizards that dabble in pedophilia. Almost all of these individuals are well educated, and many of them are personable and friendly, but they are all characterized with the belief that there's some group of people secretly controlling the world and oppressing its people. The book is written with the characteristic wit and humor of Jon Ronson who is unabashedly neurotic and anxious throughout his entire investigation. Ronson really throws himself into the fray -- traveling to Portugal to track down the Bilderberg Group, and infiltrating Bohemian Grove where many important leaders dress in robes and participate in pseudo-pagan rituals. All of these travels are colored with Ronson's humor, and it makes for a very enjoyable read.
Perhaps most interestingly, this book was published very shortly after the attacks of 9/11/2001 on New York City. The world has changed drastically since those terrorist attacks -- especially in regards to the fringe groups and conspiracy theorists out there. Today, this book feels strange because much of conspiracy theories today center around 9/11 conjecture, and this book is almost completely without it (besides a brief mention in the prologue). In this regard, the book is both an interesting snapshot of fringe beliefs before 9/11, and a dated account of the extremists in the late 1990's.
PRO'S: Jon Ronson seems very afraid to put himself in such close contact with these extremists and fundamentalists, but he does it anyways. A good deal of the humor in this book comes from Ronson's panics, neuroses, and fears as he travels into the dark shadowy world of conspiracy theory. The first person narrative that this book assumes makes it an immediate and enjoyable experience, and the story comes alive and more personal than if it were without Ronson's point of view.
CON'S: Cohesion has never been Ronson's strongest suit. His background is in shorter-piece essays and articles fit for newspapers and magazines, not full-length books. Additionally, the structure of this book doesn't lend itself well to cohesion: Ronson follows the story of a handful of extremists, and the only real through-line is that they are all extremists and convinced that the world is out to get them. While many of the chapters here work extraordinarily well on their own, they never really come together in a meaningful way. This lack of cohesion is probably most evidence by the book's ending -- the book mostly ends abruptly without much fanfare. Ronson's later books, like The Psychopath Test, gives himself a chapter at the end in order to sum up his thoughts on the matter and to put it all into perspective.
I thought the story about Vicky and Randall was maddening and very sad.
It's a bit terrifying that those people being described are really existing, doing God knows what. One seems to have 'reformed'. Mohammed, Omar Bakri's son has been killed. I find it surprising that these seemingly ordinary people, who are very good in talking, gave Jon Ronson access to them. They have a strange thought process, but then again their justifications for doing what they do, are actually psychologically explainable. They manage to come across as quite normal. It's a mad world out there.
It's a bit terrifying that those people being described are really existing, doing God knows what. One seems to have 'reformed'. Mohammed, Omar Bakri's son has been killed. I find it surprising that these seemingly ordinary people, who are very good in talking, gave Jon Ronson access to them. They have a strange thought process, but then again their justifications for doing what they do, are actually psychologically explainable. They manage to come across as quite normal. It's a mad world out there.
abandoned!! fascinating because one can make the conclusion "extremists: theyre just like us!" but the writing was as dull as the subject matter turned out to be. cannot continue slogging through
2022 read - interesting and held attention, well written and no complaints - nothing special but still a good read