Лучшие книги Джона Ронсона

Уэльский журналист Джон Ронсон берется за расследование мистификации, связавшей ведущих ученых по всему миру, и это решение становится отправной точкой для путешествия в мир безумия.

Пытаясь понять, на чьей стороне истина, журналист реконструирует историю изучения психопатов. Он встречается сайентолагами, убежденными в безнравственности психиатров и занимающимися их дискредитацией. Переписывается с участниками и организаторами экспериментальны лечебных программ. Изучает историю взлёта и падения основателя судебной психологии. Проходит курс у Боба Хаэра, создавшего опросник для выявления психопатов. И, конечно же, общается с психопатами разного толка: от "симулянта", который застрял в психиатрической клинике на двенадцать лет после того, как притворялся безумным, используя клише из старых фильмов, до легендарного генерального директора, который сотнями увольнял сотрудников крупнейших производств.

Несколько лет Джон Ронсон изучал феномен "публичного шейминга", встречаясь с его жертвами, оскандалившимися по-крупному. Всего одно прегрешение — и волна народной ярости накатывала подобно мощному цунами, снося все на своем пути. Что это: новый вид правосудия или превышение полномочий? "Итак, вас публично опозорили" — это исследование Ронсона, одновременно обескураживающее и невероятно смешное, о том, как люди под прикрытием восстановления справедливости порой буквально разрушают жизни других людей.

1979 год. В армии США формируется новое секретное подразделение. Состоящим в нем военнослужащим предстоит забыть не только обо всех традиционных способах ведения боевых действий, но даже о законах физики. Солдаты, умеющие по приказу становиться невидимыми, проходить сквозь стены и даже - самое невероятное - убивать животных взглядом. Это не шутка и не вымысел, а реальная история таинственного первого земного батальона, о котором до сих пор ходит множество слухов и легенд.

AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD OF FRINGE-DWELLERS
Islamic fundamentalists, Ku Klux Klansmen, Christian separatists, and certain members of British Parliament would seem to have very little in common, but they do in fact share one crucial belief: that the world is secretly controlled by an elite group -- in a word, Them. This shadowy elite starts the wars, elects heads of state, sets the price of oil and the flow of capital, conducts bizarre secret rituals, and controls the media. This group is incredibly powerful and will destroy any investigator who gets too close to the truth. Does this shadowy elite really exist? Jon Ronson wondered. As a journalist and a Jew, Ronson was often considered one of "Them," but he had no idea if their meetings actually took place and, if so, where. Was he the only one not invited? Ronson decided to settle the matter himself, seeking out the supposed secret rulers of the world by way of those who seem to know most about them: the extremists. The result is a riveting journey around the globe. Along the way Ronson meets Omar Bakri Mohammed, once considered to be the most dangerous man in Great Britain. This powerful Muslim fundamentalist -- who tricks Jon into chauffeuring him around town because he doesn't have a car -- seems harmless enough until he takes Jon to Jihad training camp where Ronson is unmasked as a Jew. Jon shoots guns with Ruby Ridge survivor Rachel Weaver and learns about black helicopters and the New World Order. While trying to monitor a meeting of the famous Bilderberg Group in Portugal, he is chased by men in dark glasses. With a group of other true believers, he breaks into the fabled Bohemian Grovein California and witnesses CEOs and politicians engaged in a bizarre pagan ritual. When he attends a KKK rally to interview a PR-conscious Grand Wizard who forbids use of the "N-word," Jon watches as Klan members confront a perpetual cross-burning problem: Do you raise it and then soak it or soak it and then raise it? But the more Ronson tries to expose the emptiness of these conspiracies, the less and less he's certain that the extremists are crazy. In the end, "Them" is an eye-opening narrative of the looking-glass world of "us" and "them." Funny, chilling, and seamlessly told, it is an unforgettable glimpse into lives on the fringe.

In the late 1980s Jon Ronson was the keyboard player in the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band. Frank wore a big fake head. Nobody outside his inner circle knew his true identity. This became the subject of feverish speculation during his zenith years. Together, they rode relatively high. Then it all went wrong. Twenty-five years later and Jon has co-written a movie, Frank, inspired by his time in this great and bizarre band. Frank premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won many prizes, including Best Screenplay (for Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan) at the 2014 British Independent Film Awards; it starred Michael Fassbender, Maggie…

In the second volume of his collected Guardian journalism, Jon hilariously demonstrates how our everyday lives are determined by the craziest thoughts and obsessions; how we spend our time believing in and getting worked up by complete nonsense. But also, as he chillingly demonstrates, there are clever people working in the highest echelons of business who are employed to spot, nurture and exploit the irrationalities of those among us who can barely cope as it is.

Updated edition including two extra stories. Jon Ronson has been on patrol with America's real-life superheroes and to a UFO convention in the Nevada desert with Robbie Williams. He's met a man who tried to split the atom in his kitchen and asked a conscious robot if she's got a soul. Fascinated by madness, strange behaviour and the human mind, Jon has spent his life exploring mysterious events and meeting extraordinary people. Collected from various sources (including the Guardian and GQ) Lost at Sea features the very best of his adventures. Frequently hilarious, sometimes disturbing, always entertaining, these fascinating stories of the chaos that lies on the fringe of our daily lives will have you wondering just what we're capable of.Portions of this book have appeared previously, in slightly different form, in Out of the Ordinary, What I Do, the Guardian and GQ (USA).