"The Men Who Stare at Goats" by Jon Ronson
My grade: B+
I'm sure a lot of you have heard of the movie, by the same name, which is based on the book. I have personally not seen the movie, but enjoyed the book (in a kind of way). For those of you entirely unfamiliar, this book is about special agent units within the U.S. army, who have supernatural inclinations. The army attempted, and according to this book, still continues to use supernatural means to fight the enemy and attain information from them (through special types of torture). I found the book quite interesting because I was previously unaware of such tendencies within the army. It is, however, rather disturbing at times, particularly when torture is the subject.
Although the writing is clear in itself, somehow the structure of the book is confusing (if not altogether lacking). I was completely lost during parts of the book and couldn't remember all of the different 'characters' that appeared and disappeared throughout. Overall, a good read though.
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I haven't read the book but might give it a whirl after reading your review. The movie was interesting mostly, I think, because the basic premise itself is interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if this were (and still is!) an actual government-sponsored unit.
ReplyDeleteBTW, love your new profile pic. The B&W graphic came out well!
Thanks for the compliment, Mohamed!
ReplyDeleteIf we are to trust Ronson and the people he interviewed, it seems these sorts of units and operations very much are government-sponsored. I definitely recommend the book to you; with your background, I think you would find it quite interesting.
Inna :)