There are some tales so bizarre, so firmly planted on the extremest fringe, that they become difficult to define. Is this a genuine attempt at uncovering the whackjobs who occupy our world, or are we in the hands of an author who is just as whacky as the whackjobs he seeks to expose? The blurred line is, if intentional, a credit to Mr. Ronson's distinctly British humor which delights in each of the interviews included in this piece of rewarding, laugh-out-loud journalism.
Chiefly, The Men Who Stare At Goats concerns Mr. Ronson's investigation into an US military program's attempts to channel the controversial powers of the paranormal into a stable, coherent, tangible doctrine which would allow the paranormal's various disciplines to be used as weapons against America's enemies. This investigation takes Mr. Ronson from California to Ohio, to Washington D.C., where army generals, cult leaders and hermit mystics are interviewed and their knowledge digested. Mr. Ronson deliberately withholds judgement on his subjects which is a wonderful choice. It allows the insanity to hang out there, alone, naked to the world.
Though it's fairly safe to conclude that the paranormal won't be troubling us in the near future, a disturbing trend emerges in Mr. Ronson's tale, the power that belief in the supernatural has over American society. He chronicles a popular, overnight talk show, Coast to Coast AM which regularly entertains notion of the weird and has, at times in the past, done harm as a result of not shooting down the theories of its guests, theories which, when disseminated, do real damage to real people. It's a strange thing to read a book about figures on the fringe, only to discover that the millions of people who believe them must also be fringe. At this point, can the fringe be considered fringe? It seems unlikely.
The Men Who Stare At Goats is a concise and laugh-filled riot which, unless you are on that growing fringe, is sure to entertain. (3/5 Stars)
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