The Elephant in the Room

A Journey into the Trump Campaign and the "Alt-Right"

By: Jon Ronson

Narrated by: Jon Ronson

Length: 1 hr and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

'But Hillary is a known Luciferian,' he tried.
'She's not a known Luciferian,' I said.
'Well, yes and no,' he said.

In The Elephant in the Room, Jon Ronson, the New York Times best-selling author of The Psychopath Test, Them and So You've Been Publicly Shamed, travels to Cleveland at the height of summer to witness the Republican National Convention. Along the way he reunites with an old acquaintance - the influential provocateur and conspiracy talk-show host Alex Jones - who draws him, unexpectedly, into one of the most bizarre presidential campaigns in American history.

From the private Winnebago where conspiracy theorists and fearmongers discuss key campaign decisions to a chance encounter with notorious political operative Roger Stone, Ronson's picaresque journey into Donald Trump's atmosphere introduces us to the people who orbit the campaign machine and discovers what makes them tick - and what ticks them off.

Whimsical, hilarious and often downright terrifying, The Elephant in the Room captures a defining moment in our time as only Jon Ronson could see it.

©2016 Jon Ronson (P)2016 Audible, Ltd.

Another incredible journey with Jon

Jon Ronson is so insightful and takes the reader right into the heart of whatever he researches.

In this case, it was more of a frightening experience, because Ronson, himself, did not realize how big the issue was.

Now, we're sadly living the results.

Ronson does it again

The author takes on Alex Jones and his influence on Trump’s election and on society as a whole: misogyny, racism, outrageous lies and bullying have been cultivated and normalized in the USA. Ronson manages to make the story interesting and funny without trivializing events.

Prophetic and important

I read this a little bit before the election and fully assumed it would be an account of a little quirk of history when a man like Trump ran for president and got further than anyone thought possible before the status quo returned... then he became president.

This fact turns this piece into an interesting little thought piece to basically essential listening to anyone interested in Trump and specifically his connection with the Alt-Right movement.

Another fantastic Jon Ronson dispatch!!

What can you do? He's the best at what he does! Here he goes into the heart of the Alt-right media and uses empathy, humor and careful observation to send us back something true and important. Thank you, Mr. Ronson, keep up the brilliant work!

Ronson in his element

The curiosity of Ronson is interesting and inspires me to view and observe without judging.

Great Voice

Jon has such a great voice, love this guy! His adventures outlined in this book are fascinating and enlightening. Great listen!

Compelling Story, Great Narrator

This is a really compelling story. Jon Ronson is a great storyteller regardless of the subject matter. In this case he's weaving gold into even more gold. For those expecting outrage journalism and shock reporting, you're going to be deeply disappointed. His main subject, Alex Jones, points out that Ronson is likely writing an elaborate hit piece on him but Ronson is always so tasteful and diplomatic in how he does it that Jones doesn't mind granting him exclusive access and interviews. Jones is right. Ronson is very tasteful.

The narration as always is spectacular. You can hear him reliving the story in his voice, but he never step away from his role as observer of history. I think if Ronson read an encyclopedia I'd even listen to that.

One criticism is that this book focuses more on Alex Jones than Trump. It felt like the central goal shifted from meeting and understanding Trump to reuniting with and interviewing Alex Jones.

great writing, scary subject

In this book Ronson revisits Alex Jones and examines the cords that tie the alt-right to the 2016 US election. Fascinating material.

The Men Behind The Curtain

I loved this. It's the best reveal of a smoke filled backroom that we have today. The Trump machine has an ethical bank balance of zero. Disturbing.

An interesting window into the new Trump world.

For those of us confounded by Trumps election, a funny little education. A short listen, a brief window.