THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

I just finished the newest book by another This American Life contributor, Jon Ronson, The Men Who Stare At Goats, and amusing, yet scary and mind-blowing examination of some of the more bizarre pursuits of the U.S. military—including trying to train soldiers to be “psychic spies,” walk through walls, and kill goats just by looking at them. Everything in the book sounds totally crazy, but then it’s corroborated by other sources and becomes downright disturbing—especially when Ronson details how a lot of these new-agey enterprisies, begun in the ‘70s, are now reemerging in the War on Terror. It’s a disturbing prospect, but, like Sarah Vowell in Assassination Vacation, Ronson focuses more on his own experiences tracking down the story, which still keeps everything somewhat humorous and entertaining. I wouldn’t ordinarily be attracted to the topic, but it’s all in the way Ronson handles it.