The Men Who Stare at Goats

By: Jon Ronson

Narrated by: Jon Ronson

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1979, a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known accepted military practice - and indeed, the laws of physics - they believed that a soldier could adopt the 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.

The Men Who Stare at Goats reveals extraordinary - and very nutty - national secrets at the core of George W. Bush's War on Terror. With first-hand access to the leading players in the story, Ronson traces the evolution of these bizarre activities over the past three decades, and sees how it is alive today within US Homeland Security and post-war Iraq.

Why are they blasting Iraqi prisoners-of-war with the theme tune to Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Why have 100 de-bleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces command centre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina? How was the US 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.

Jon Ronson is an award-winning writer and documentary maker. He is the author of many best-selling books, including Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie, Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries, The Psychopath Test, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Them: Adventures with Extremists. His first fictional screenplay, Frank, co-written with Peter Straughan, starred Michael Fassbender. He lives in London and New York City.

©2012 Jon Ronson (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"Few more earnest investigative journalists would have had the brilliant bloody-mindedness to get what he has got and hardly any would have the wit to present it with as much clarity." ( The Observer)
"Simultaneously frightening and hilarious." ( The Times)"

Government Black Budget Groups try What Now?

What is real and and isn't real? Each country has its interesting characters and their ideas, America had and may still have, these soldiers. have they accomplished their field? Who knows but it is interesting what kind of programs were run during the Cold War and how they are still used today.
This isn't just about the government's goat starting program. It talking about terrorist prison camps and some of the inhuman events that occurred there and how the American public reacted to the leaked details.
The mind is a complex thing and it can do stuff that sends impossible (placebo treatments, false pregnancies,etc.) so is this possible. You research and find your own answers.

Bat Sh*t Crazy

Truth is stranger than fiction. Notsure how I feel about Ronson's voice. Could be speakers.

Not as interesting as I would have liked

This was okay, picked it up when it was on sale for $6. And it was short. But I was expecting more. Of course, it's nothing like the movie, and I expected that. his book The Psychopath Test is much better than this.

Just as fascinating as the movie

This book goes much deeper than the dramatized movie and explores mostly unknown areas of military operations.

Listener Beware - An Atrocious Narrator

Save your time and audible credit and purchase the book instead. The content of the book appears interesting but gets sabotaged by the author’s very own attempt at narration. The voice and delivery of the narration seems to sabotage the credibility of the already implausible premise of the story which is a shame because this could have all been avoided if the producers or audio engineer heard the narrator sing happy birthday or order a meal at a restaurant they would immediately know it would be a bad idea for a narrator with an annoying voice like Edith from the show ‘All In The Family’, only with a slightly more posh flourish with the way he chews through the narration..ugh

Good but a bit dated

This was very enjoyable, but the information is a bit dated when compared to the current situation.

Interesting insights

Jon Ronson has a knack for getting close to interesting people and their stories, no matter how odd. I especially enjoy listening to him narrating his own work, though but by this point I would probably hear his voice in my head while reading his work anyway!

Maybe I'd be better off reading it

Two chapters in and we've gone through three decades, countless military men, and way too many different new age military "techniques". I honestly can't keep up with all of this, I have no idea where Jon is, himself, as he is writing, and he speaks too fast for me to get my bearings. I usually find myself having no troubles keeping up or staying engrossed, but strangely his most well known book is the most boring listen told the least-sensibly.

I feel like he came a long way as a writer by the time he wrote The Psychopath Test, and perfected his storytelling-nonfiction style with So You've Been Publicly Shamed.

The movie does the story no justice.

The book is very much unlike the movie. While it animates many of the stories told to Jon, it in no way tells the whole story behind the military and their psychic unit, and the twists and turns Jon takes in obtaining this story that defies credibility. All in all, very well done!

Eye opening

Bizzare and interesting. I loved it!!! Ronson has earned my favorite author badge. Get it !