Politics & Government
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Them: Adventures with Extremists
From the bestselling author of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry and So You've Been Publicly Shamed.
A wide variety of extremist groups -- Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis -- share the oddly similar belief that a tiny shadowy elite rule the world from a secret room. In Them, journalist Jon Ronson has joined the extremists to track down the fabled secret room.
As a journalist and a Jew, Ronson was often considered one of "Them" but he had no idea if their meetings actually took place. Was he just not invited? Them takes us across three continents and into the secret room. Along the way he meets Omar Bakri Mohammed, considered one of the most dangerous men in Great Britain, PR-savvy Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Thom Robb, and the survivors of Ruby Ridge. He is chased by men in dark glasses and unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp. In the forests of northern California he even witnesses CEOs and leading politicians -- like Dick Cheney and George Bush -- undertake a bizarre owl ritual.
Ronson's investigations, by turns creepy and comical, reveal some alarming things about the looking-glass world of "us" and "them." Them is a deep and fascinating look at the lives and minds of extremists. Are the extremists onto something? Or is Jon Ronson becoming one of them?
A wide variety of extremist groups -- Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis -- share the oddly similar belief that a tiny shadowy elite rule the world from a secret room. In Them, journalist Jon Ronson has joined the extremists to track down the fabled secret room.
As a journalist and a Jew, Ronson was often considered one of "Them" but he had no idea if their meetings actually took place. Was he just not invited? Them takes us across three continents and into the secret room. Along the way he meets Omar Bakri Mohammed, considered one of the most dangerous men in Great Britain, PR-savvy Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Thom Robb, and the survivors of Ruby Ridge. He is chased by men in dark glasses and unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp. In the forests of northern California he even witnesses CEOs and leading politicians -- like Dick Cheney and George Bush -- undertake a bizarre owl ritual.
Ronson's investigations, by turns creepy and comical, reveal some alarming things about the looking-glass world of "us" and "them." Them is a deep and fascinating look at the lives and minds of extremists. Are the extremists onto something? Or is Jon Ronson becoming one of them?
Editorial Reviews
Jonathan Yardley The Washington Post Unlikely though it certainly will seem to most readers at this difficult hour...Jon Ronson has managed to write a hugely amusing book about the lunatic fringe.
Ron Rosenbaum The New York Times Book Review Often entertaining, more often disturbing...[Ronson] has gotten closer to these people than any journalist I can think of.
The Boston Globe A tremendous and discomfiting achievement.
Esquire A remarkable book.
The Nation I've never read such a delightful book on such a serious and important topic.
The San Diego Union-Tribune It takes a funny man to see the humor in all the conspiracy theories that float hatefully across the land, and Jon Ronson is a funny man. It takes a brave man to chase that humor right into the belly of the beast, and Jon Ronson is a brave man too.
Ron Rosenbaum The New York Times Book Review Often entertaining, more often disturbing...[Ronson] has gotten closer to these people than any journalist I can think of.
The Boston Globe A tremendous and discomfiting achievement.
Esquire A remarkable book.
The Nation I've never read such a delightful book on such a serious and important topic.
The San Diego Union-Tribune It takes a funny man to see the humor in all the conspiracy theories that float hatefully across the land, and Jon Ronson is a funny man. It takes a brave man to chase that humor right into the belly of the beast, and Jon Ronson is a brave man too.
Readers Top Reviews
beckabootooZuky the
This book cracked me up. Having already heard of the subjects he profiles, and having spent some time reading about them already it was very interesting getting his first person account of their lives and inner world. Very funny in some places and also very sad in others. I had forgotten all about Ruby Ridge. The devastating description of that horrible siege made me cry. And Mr. Icke? Just plain weird. A good read. Very entertaining.
M. JEFFREY MCMAHON
Ronson has interviewed several extremists of all persuasions and then has shown the wisdom to weave a common thread of egotism and infantile fantasy among all these grotesque characters. What makes Ronson's book remarkable is that he never condescends to his subjects, he never takes cheap shots, and he never tries to show how cute he is (the way Michael Moore does in his film Roger and Me, for example). Ronson is smart enough to know that his crackpot characters speak loudly enough for themselves. With spare, sometimes droll, prose, Ronson provides an entertaining and piquant picture of the extremist mind. Finally, Ronson should be praised for never promoting any kind of political agenda of his own. We can infer that Ronson is too clever and has too much humanity to be an ideologue. Reading this book is like a cross between a Bill Bryson travel book and an Errol Morris documentary. Very compelling reading.
M. Swanson
This is a great book. The writing is smooth and the content is funny. It is Gonzo journalism of the Hunter S. Thompson type - a journalist inserts himself into the story and let's it ride. Ronson is a Jewish British chap who spent time with various "extremists" who believe that the world is being controlled by a secret group. Ronson hangs out with Big Jim Tucker of The Spotlight as the two try to infiltrate the Bilderburger group and then successfully infiltrates The Bohemian Grove with Alex Jones. For those who don't know what that it is, it is an annual party of some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the United States who gather to let it all hang out - they get drunk and sacrafice an animal. 5 years ago, Alan Greenspan arrived at the grove by stepping off a lear jet with Malcom Forbes. He was wearing a hat with the words capitalist tool on them. Ronson spends time with a KKK self-help guru who says it is time to stop using the N word, Omar Mohammed - the self-proclaimed "Bin Laden's man in Britian who unmasks Ronson as a Jew at a Jihad camp, Harold Ickes who claimes that lizards rule the world, and a man name Mr. Ru Ru. And there is a poignant chapter with Randy Weaver and his family from Ruby Ridge. Ronson lets all of these characters speek for themselves and they hilariously put their egos on display. A fun book. There is a reason why there are so many reviews of it here.
D. Dillon
Intriguing read. I agree with some of the other reviewers that a couple of the chapters didn't seem to belong or go along with the overall theme of the book, but I enjoyed it regardless. I read and reread the chapters regarding the disturbing and incredibly sad Ruby Ridge debacle. I was totally unaware of a lot of the details of the siege and the attempted government cover up. I remembered only what the media presented at the time - a lot of it false and misleading. Like the majority of Americans these days, we tend to grasp only what we are fed through the media and quickly move on to the next story. A terrible injustice to those involved directly. I have read most of Jon Ronson's books and look forward to more.
Gary C. Marfin
Camp-Jihad is but one of the destinations that Jon Ronson visits in his quest to see the world through the eyes of the agitated fringe -- to look at "our world" by moving into theirs, standing alongside "them while they glared back at us." And, exactly, who are they doing the glaring? There is Omar Bakri Mohammed, waging his own "holy war" against Britain, urging a fatwa on Rushdie, and releasing statements on behalf of Osama bin Laden; David Ickes, who may or may not be referring to Jews when he talks about lizards, but who clearly does attract anti-semitic followers; Thom Robb, trying to create his version of a "politically correct," 21st century Klan; Dr. Ian Paisley, screaming in Ronson's ears that "Germany is calling"; Mr. Ru Ru, disappointed at the quality of Ceausecu's goods on auction, but buying them anyway to make Romanians happy....; and so on. Each of the "families" Ronson visits are, like Tolstoy's unhappy families, weird for reasons unique to them, but all are connected by their fear, hatred and obsession with the coming "New World Order," represented by the "Bilderberg group," that select cluster of global elites allegedly conspiring to establish a world mega-state. Jon Ronson's guided tour of some of society's more eccentric sects makes for addictive reading. Them is, with the exception of a few parts (the interviews on Randy Weaver's death are especially disconcerting), a book as entertaining as it is informative. Read Them. Trust me, they're reading about you....
