Lately I've been on a bit of a Jon Ronson binge. I first read his book, So You've Been Publicly Shamed, and then worked through The Psychopath Test. Going back through his bibliography I've now gotten to Them: Adventures with Extremists.
I really like Ronson's style. I was a huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson and although it might seem a bizarre comparison, I like Ronson for the same reasons. He may be timid and neurotic and full of self-doubt - the very opposite of Thompson - but their penchant for adventure and ability to weave a narrative is inspiring.
In this outing, Ronson goes, as the title suggests, on adventures with extremists. And he's not being liberal with his use of the word "adventure." He is outed as a Jew at a jihadi training center, followed by security agents for the world's most secretive elite, and infiltrates the Bilderberg group with a pre-fame Alex Jones.
What I love about Ronson is his ability to humanize the weirdos. Not just weirdos, but people that you really, really want to hate. In this book he tackles Islamic fundamentalists, the Ku Klux Klan, and conspiracy theorists. He paints them in a sympathetic light, causing the reader to laugh gently and perhaps wonder what went wrong to make these people the way they now are.
Ronson also weaves his stories well - connecting seemingly disparate strands. In this book he connects all these extremists not by the fact that they're seemingly crazy or evil, but rather by seeing similarities in their viewpoints and following that story to its logical and, frankly, exciting finale.
I really like Ronson's style. I was a huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson and although it might seem a bizarre comparison, I like Ronson for the same reasons. He may be timid and neurotic and full of self-doubt - the very opposite of Thompson - but their penchant for adventure and ability to weave a narrative is inspiring.
In this outing, Ronson goes, as the title suggests, on adventures with extremists. And he's not being liberal with his use of the word "adventure." He is outed as a Jew at a jihadi training center, followed by security agents for the world's most secretive elite, and infiltrates the Bilderberg group with a pre-fame Alex Jones.
What I love about Ronson is his ability to humanize the weirdos. Not just weirdos, but people that you really, really want to hate. In this book he tackles Islamic fundamentalists, the Ku Klux Klan, and conspiracy theorists. He paints them in a sympathetic light, causing the reader to laugh gently and perhaps wonder what went wrong to make these people the way they now are.
Ronson also weaves his stories well - connecting seemingly disparate strands. In this book he connects all these extremists not by the fact that they're seemingly crazy or evil, but rather by seeing similarities in their viewpoints and following that story to its logical and, frankly, exciting finale.
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