Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries

By: Jon Ronson

Narrated by: Jon Ronson

Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Jon Ronson is fascinated by madness, extraordinary behaviour and the human mind. He has spent his life investigating crazy events, following fascinating people and unearthing unusual stories. Collected here from various sources (including The Guardian and GQ America) are the best of his adventures. Always intrigued by our ability to believe the unbelievable, Jon meets the man preparing to welcome the aliens to Earth, the woman trying to build a fully conscious robotic replica of the love of her life and the Deal or No Deal contestants with a foolproof system to beat the Banker.

Jon realizes that it's possible for our madness to be a force for good when he meets America's real-life superheroes or a force for evil when he meets the Reverend 'Death' George Exoo, who has dubiously assisted in more than a hundred mercy killings. He goes to a UFO convention in the Nevada desert with Robbie Williams, asks Insane Clown Posse (who are possibly America's nastiest rappers) whether it's true they've actually been evangelical Christians all along and rummages through the extensive archives of Stanley Kubrick. Frequently hilarious, sometimes disturbing, always entertaining, these compelling encounters with people on the edge of madness will have you wondering just what we're capable of.

This is an updated edition with new afterword, written and narrated by Jon Ronson.

©2012 Jon Ronson (P)2012 Audible Ltd

Quirky Journalism ... Loved It

Jon Ronson is a British journalist who has made a career of finding weird and crazy stories/people and writing about them in a heartfelt but snarky way. I found him very enjoyable, and I liked his somewhat subtle and sly sense of humor. The stories are just amazingly odd and intriguing (Robbie Williams and his obsession with UFOs, the hidden Christian message of Insane Clown Posse, the archives of Stanley Kubrick, the quest of the Jesus Christians to donate their kidneys, real-life superheroes). I never knew what Ronson would be writing about next, and it was fun to see what oddities he unearthed for each story. I particularly enjoyed how he inserted himself into the stories (whether he is flagging down a taxi to avoid a gun fight in Seattle or interviewing a robot). He brings a healthy sense of curiosity, skepticism and personality to his writing, which I enjoyed a great deal. If you like hearing about people who live on the fringes of “normal,” this would be a great read or listen. I definitely plan on reading more of Ronson’s stuff.

Excellent and fascinating.

I want his job. What a fascinating life he has! Even handed and honest, I can honestly say my eyes were opened.

No regrets. Get this book!

Even if you know nothing of Jon Ronson you will not regret getting this book, it is entertaining from start to finish with a story that will appease everyone ... eventually.

gets the mind going

it is a great book for curious people. I found myself looking into stories in this book to go on my own rabbit hole adventure

More insight from Jon Ronson

This is a collection of short writings. As such, it lacks the compelling nature of the other books here, in my humble opinion. Still excellent, however, since Ronson narrates.

Something Different

Thought I would hate this book. Ended up loving it. Author became my best friend on our early morning walks. Just lovely spending time with Jon Ronston and his stories.

Great collection of stories

A very entertaining and engaging listen. Another hit by the author and he does a wonderful job reading it

Like a Collection of TAL Episodes

Ronson's journalistic style and various narrative journeys remind me of the weekly podcast episodes of This American Life, with Ira Glass. I particularly related to the stories of the credit/bank clusterfluck of 2008 - and Ronson was writing way before this crisis started to peak - and the missing cruise ship staff member. Ronson has a signature method of starting small, with an individual or seemingly low impact situation, and then developing the larger picture with expanded implications.

His narrative voice is good, but takes some getting used to. Initially he sounds slightly hoarse, with little projection at a very low volume, but once I became more familiar with his auditory style, it was all good.

Compilations of stories and episodic collections used to be exactly what I would avoid purchasing on audible, but now I find myself enjoying the varied range of perspectives and story lines afforded by edited groupings of shorter pieces. I think this is partly due to looking at why I listen - I'm not always seeking a 9-to-21-hour plot line and buildup to a specific result; nor is "how it all ends" my predominant purpose in listening to books rather than reading the print versions. I just like the explorations of emotional landscape and inner dialogue and it's not that relevant for me to have a specific factual ending. Another aspect of listening for me is that I can read books while doing other things - working, walking, running, driving, so listening to one full-length story is not a huge factor.

This is a superb collection and well-suited to the investigative journalist's voice of Jon Ronson.

I enjoyed this more than I originally thought

Jon Ronson is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. His wry self deprecating wit along with his penchant for the bizarre make for curious and interesting reads. I especially like this audio book since he's also got a strange yet curiously pleasing voice.

The least helpful Lost At Sea review.

Any additional comments?

Jon Ronson is EXTREMELY British!

I'm talking about jolly good show, have a spot of tea, God save the queen British. I was taken aback at first by his accent, but the shock didn't last long. The articles in this collection are so compelling that after a few minutes I didn't mind his accent. In fact, I got to where I kind of enjoyed it. I don't believe anyone else should have read this book.

Wow, these stories were awesome. They ranged from big credit companies taking advantage of the working class to the darkest side of assisted suicides. There was even one about Stanley Kubrick's estate and the huge collection of strangeness that was stored there.

He tells them all with an unbiased voice. It's a strange thing to explain. Once I understood what a particular article was about I would immediately have an opinion (and often an emotional reaction), but as the article progressed Mr. Ronson would have me sympathizing with the opposite view.

The one about SETI inspired me to read Paul Davies' book "The Eerie Silence." The one where he interviewed the father of a highschool student arrested for conspiracy to commit mass murder at his Alaskan school made me want to cry. The one where he patrolled the streets with real life superheroes made me laugh while at the same time scared the crap out of me.

Listening to this book was kind of like watching a documentary news program like 20/20 or Dateline, albeit a very British version of these shows. Did I mention how British Jon Ronson is? Sometimes the britishness was confusing. Like, when he talked about the English court system. What's a barrister?

If I haven't made it clear, I'm now a HUGE Jon Ronson fan. As soon as I get more credits I'll be purchasing more of his books.