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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I love a good conspiracy theory but also love to laugh at those theories which are just too "out there." Take a journey into the mind of some truly strange groups with some truly strange theories and take comfort in the fact that you're not one of them.
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
An excellent work of gonzo journalism, Jon Ronson is apparently fearless and puts himself in the most bizarre situations in an effort to bring us into the heart of extremism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Sexism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia
slow-paced
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
Lots of very interesting stories, allowing the nutters to hoist their own petards
In a pre-9/11 world Ronson meets conspiracy theorists from all sides and backgrounds. With his inimitable humourous style he gives them all a voice. Everyone comes across as a bit naive and mixed up, genuinely nice people with a skewed view. I think that's probably a reflection of Ronson himself. Anyway, it's a far cry from the downright nasty conspiracies we've come to see recently and therefore a pleasure to read.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
loads of crazy stuff in it, really interesting!
informative
medium-paced
This is by Jon Ronson, who’s probably best known for having written The Men Who Stare At Goats. (I love you too much to lie to you: I haven’t read that one. I saw the movie.)
Them is a pretty light, quick read. It’s just what I needed.
It’s fun — as fun as you can have when chillaxing with jihadists, white supremacists, and paranoid people who are convinced the New World Order is forthcoming.
The overarching terror of the extremists is basically “the Jews are coming for us all, and will rule with an iron fist.”
The author is Jewish, and he talks to these people. He’s surprisingly not murdered. He might be crazy.
Most of the book is devoted to the “Bilderberg Group,” a real entity. Conspiracy theorists outside the group are convinced it’s the New World Order. Do their meetings determine the fate of the world?
The book culminates in Ronson party-crashing their event.
(There are a few other chapters in the book, about 3/4 of the way through, that are about totally unrelated things. These chapters are confusing, because they didn’t tie into the primary narrative.)
The extremists are surprisingly — and perhaps a little disappointingly — normal. They have kids, and struggle with not being taken seriously. Sometimes they’re funny. Sometimes they’re sad. Sometimes they’re petty. Typically they’re terrifying.
Sadly, if there is a Jewish conspiracy, I have not been invited to the meetings.
Them is a pretty light, quick read. It’s just what I needed.
It’s fun — as fun as you can have when chillaxing with jihadists, white supremacists, and paranoid people who are convinced the New World Order is forthcoming.
The overarching terror of the extremists is basically “the Jews are coming for us all, and will rule with an iron fist.”
The author is Jewish, and he talks to these people. He’s surprisingly not murdered. He might be crazy.
Most of the book is devoted to the “Bilderberg Group,” a real entity. Conspiracy theorists outside the group are convinced it’s the New World Order. Do their meetings determine the fate of the world?
The book culminates in Ronson party-crashing their event.
(There are a few other chapters in the book, about 3/4 of the way through, that are about totally unrelated things. These chapters are confusing, because they didn’t tie into the primary narrative.)
The extremists are surprisingly — and perhaps a little disappointingly — normal. They have kids, and struggle with not being taken seriously. Sometimes they’re funny. Sometimes they’re sad. Sometimes they’re petty. Typically they’re terrifying.
Sadly, if there is a Jewish conspiracy, I have not been invited to the meetings.
I don't like conspiracy theories. I think the notion that even a powerful group of individuals can control world events is absurd, given how inherently unpredictable people are.
But....
I'm used to Ronson presenting information in a what seems to be completely objective way, but which easily can be construed as subtly poking fun at the absurd. And no doubt that many of the people we meet in this book are absurd: the Islamic fundamentalist who claims he's saving the orphans so people will take his leaflets, the Grand Wizard trying to rebrand the KKK, the former newscaster who believes world leaders are giant lizards, etc. Who I wasn't expecting to find absurd was the Anti-Defamation League and other groups who look for anti-Semitism in every right-wing view, or the actions of our own government in the Ruby Ridge incident. Or, for that matter, the existence of an actual Bilderberg Group, or depraved happenings in Bohemian Grove.
Ronson dives into a world of people from the entire political and ideological spectrum who all have one thing in common: they're convinced someone is out to get them/the world they stand for. With his usual mix of light, sometimes absurd humor and candor, Ronson brings to light the fact that these conspiracies have root in truth and that no side, no matter how just it thinks its cause is, engages in a certain amount of demonization of Them, the Other. (If you've read The Prague Cemetery or some history, you will be more familiar with the anti-Semitic happenings of the nineteenth century.) This work is a little rougher than his later works, but it's still engaging and characteristically humorous and sympathetic towards the fact that these people may believe insane things or represent a far from mainstream side, but they're still people.
But....
I'm used to Ronson presenting information in a what seems to be completely objective way, but which easily can be construed as subtly poking fun at the absurd. And no doubt that many of the people we meet in this book are absurd: the Islamic fundamentalist who claims he's saving the orphans so people will take his leaflets, the Grand Wizard trying to rebrand the KKK, the former newscaster who believes world leaders are giant lizards, etc. Who I wasn't expecting to find absurd was the Anti-Defamation League and other groups who look for anti-Semitism in every right-wing view, or the actions of our own government in the Ruby Ridge incident. Or, for that matter, the existence of an actual Bilderberg Group, or depraved happenings in Bohemian Grove.
Ronson dives into a world of people from the entire political and ideological spectrum who all have one thing in common: they're convinced someone is out to get them/the world they stand for. With his usual mix of light, sometimes absurd humor and candor, Ronson brings to light the fact that these conspiracies have root in truth and that no side, no matter how just it thinks its cause is, engages in a certain amount of demonization of Them, the Other. (If you've read The Prague Cemetery or some history, you will be more familiar with the anti-Semitic happenings of the nineteenth century.) This work is a little rougher than his later works, but it's still engaging and characteristically humorous and sympathetic towards the fact that these people may believe insane things or represent a far from mainstream side, but they're still people.