The Men Who Stare at Goats

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		The Men Who Stare at Goats
		The Men Who Stare at Goats

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.

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This book tries to create ironic comedy from almost-plausible non-fiction journalism. I didn't find it all that funny, but it did prompt an occasional smile about the ridiculousness of the interviews and the mental image of someone trying to stare a hamster to death.

The 'journalism' is basically a sham, so don't expect a hard-hitting exposé. The source material is mostly interviews with people who are either insane or just doing some great trolling. I get that it's supposed to be dry humour, but I think it errs a little bit too much on the side of non-fiction for this approach to actually work properly. If Ronson took himself a lot less seriously then I think it would have been a lot more funny.

The strangest and most surprising part of the book is when it crosses the line from silly shenanigans to much darker conspiracy theories about links to real-world events like the rock music blared at Manuel Noriega in Panama, 9/11, and torture techniques used at Abu Ghraib prison. Not particularly funny subjects.

Maybe I'll get around to watching the movie one day.

2 stars.

Read more of my reviews at g-readinglist.blogspot.com

The Men Who Stare At Goats is really, really funny, mostly because it is true. I read The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to get Ronson's other books. This is a book that is really hard to define . . . in fact, when I looked for it in a bookstore I couldn't find it anywhere. Finally I asked someone, and they directed me to the New Age section (definitely not a new age book . . . would be more appropriate under history, military history, or even politics).

In a nutshell, this book is about some of the insane things that our government and military have sponsored and paid for over the years. At times it is a riot, and at other times it manages to be profoundly sad. The real atrocities that take place are juxtaposed with the ridiculous, and it puts everything into a different perspective. This book skips around between different themes and timelines, but here is run down of what to expect:

The story of the FBI and CIA flying in a Russian psychic to subliminally influence David Koresh in Waco.

The story of the military sponsored document that outlines New Earth Battalion procedures, such as carrying lambs into combat and speakers that play soothing music worn on soldier's necks. You can also find this on Amazon now - First Earth Battalion Operations Manual: Reprint of Original Manual from the 70's.

The story of a army psychic spy who stopped the heart of a goat by staring at it.

The government recruitment of a dance instructor from Florida who now practices staring at hampsters.

The sad backstory behind the Hale-Bopp comet cult, and how a former government agent who taught remote viewing classes was connected to it.

And much more. Many of the stories are insane and ridiculous, but also ring true. Whether they really happened or not is hard to say, but there are certainly people high up in the military and government who believe they happened. This is a better read than most fiction books, and if it was not backed up by real sources and documents would be classified as science fiction. Read it for entertainment purposes and to see how a great journalist and author can turn facts into political satire, humor, and a great read. Highly Recommended.

Also - book is much better than the movie, which fictionalizes way too much of this story. What makes the book so great is that its true, and that's lost in the movie.

The writer has put together an intelligent and well integrated narrative in his story telling way. I'm aware of quite a lot of the content, previously published in many other books and videotaped documentation from first person testimony. The conclusion that the deterioration of American life and leadership lies in the many secret areas of our government rings true. It is sickening.

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