The Jon Ronson Mysteries by Jon Ronson (2013-10-01)

I am an author so probably somewhat more critical than the average reader. I found the subject to be interesting, but not the hilarious page turner it was purported to be. I read it in a couple of days, and found it to be a reasonable selection of first person news stories. This was not David Sedaris, or Tom Robbins by any measure.

Lost At Sea / 9781594631375

I read this book because it was selected for our book club, and I am terribly disappointed with it. I don't recommend this book at any price, for I found it to be very poorly researched and (more importantly) to put forth some really contemptible ideas about marginalized people and victims of abuse.

I initially thought this book to be a collection of journalistic articles on various interesting and zany topics, but I found the "journalism" part to be very lacking. In almost each of the cases presented, Ronson does little-to-no research, and instead just shows up to interviews and/or classes, and merely records what he observes. He doesn't even stick with his subjects over the short term: whenever there is a class that lasts ten weeks, he misses several of the sessions, so the material presented is spotty and incomplete. And whatever is told to him directly in interviews, he makes little attempt to confirm or refute with actual research after the interview is over.

A good example of this is the chapter entitled "A Message From God" where Ronson attends the Alpha Course. He incorrectly states that everyone attending the class is an agnostic ("We are agnostics."), even though it's easy to verify online that the Alpha Course is frequently -- and some contend primarily -- marketed to and attended by new Christians seeking guidance after their initial conversion, and that the marketing of the course as a silver bullet for agnostics is deliberately misleading to make it seem more effective. (Ronson doesn't mention any of this; I had to look it up myself out of curiosity.) He then presents C.S. Lewis' trilemma as an impressive and unassailable logical argument, even though perusal of the Wikipedia article will indicate that the trilemma has had serious argument since it was first presented.

Ronson then presents Gumbel's mention of the Book of Joel as a "message from God" (the chapter title) because Ronson's own son is named Joel, but he does not attempt to point out that he was signed up for the course ahead of time, under his own name, and that his family members' names can be easily discovered online. (An undercover journalist, I feel, would have signed up under a false name.) Despite the fact that he tells us that Gumbel has had significant criticism leveled at him, Ronson only quotes a single complaint that is clearly entirely hearsay. Ronson misses classes, and the entire chapter chattily refers to Gumbel as "Nicky" and ends with the glowing observation that Gumbel is "quite brilliant" and "wonderful".

This is not the first nor the last time Ronson will glowingly condone controversial persons: it seems like the only factor in whether or not people receive a good write-up in this book hinges on whether or not Ronson found them personable or sympathetic. In a chapter about Chris Foster, a man who murdered his wife and daughter before committing suicide, Ronson extols repeatedly how hard it must have been for Chris -- whom he refers to only as "Foster", forgetting that Chris Foster was not the only Foster in residence -- while completely sweeping aside his wife and daughter, the victims.

Ronson sympathetically writes: "As I sit in Ian's kitchen, it suddenly makes sense to me that Chris Foster would choose to shoot Jill and Kirstie in the back of their heads. It was as if he was too ashamed to look at them. Maybe the murders were a type of honor killing, as if Foster simply couldn't bear the idea of losing their respect and the respect of his friends." The rest of the chapter is taken up with interviews with Chris' friends who talk about their empathy for his actions, and also a charming joke about prostitutes. Apparently actual sympathy for the victims, or interviews with *their* friends and family, couldn't have been worked into the chapter. (And it would have been a shame to lose the prostitute joke! Oof.)

The worst chapter in this book, however, is the one innocently titled "The Fall of a Pop Impressario", which deals with the trial of Jonathan King, who was convicted of sexually assaulting several teenage boys. Ronson doesn't tell us how old King was during these assaults, only that the boys were between 14- and 16-years old, but since King was born in 1944 and the assault charges spanned 1982-1987, he must have been between 38 and 45 years old. I can see why Ronson doesn't tell us this, though, because it rather hurts his continual suggestions that the sexual assaults must surely have been consensual and King must really only be guilty of a statutory crime, because King is so very personable.

Or at least, that's how Ronson's words read to me. Ronson notes that "there is no statute of limitations for underage sex--or for sexual assaults" but then candidly tells us: "In one e-mail, [King] asked me if I would consider it fair if, say, Mick Jagger was arrested today for having sex with a fifteen-year-old girl in 1970. I agreed that it wouldn't be." Putting aside for a moment the fact that the witnesses in this case were complaining about sexual assault, and *not* statutory rape, I just want to let it sink in that a supposedly-unbiased journalist decided to take space here to register the opinion that sexual crimes against 15-year-old girls shouldn't be prosecuted in the name of 'fairness'. And he frequently in this chapter uses this opinion to strongly imply that the charges against King are motivated entirely by homophobia (rather than put forth the possibility that perhaps crimes against underage girls are under-prosecuted because of sexism).

The chapter on Jonathan King is astonishingly one-sided. Ronson quotes the defense copiously in large blocks of both direct quotes and paraphrase, yet he can barely make room for any quotes from the prosecution. What is possibly most classy about the court scenes is that Ronson manages to take a statement about King's crimes being the "the tip of the iceberg" and twist it into a joke ("I looked over at the arresting officers. They chuckled wryly at the words "tip of the iceberg.""), because that is obviously something that should be included in any chapter concerning the sexual abuse of underage boys. King's friends are interviewed, and are used as the conduit to read the victim statements, so that we can have the full force of things like: "Deniz reads the statement with mock, burlesque horror." Ronson offers his own view of the victims' horrifying descriptions of their rapes: "I always find it hard to look Jonathan in the eye after hearing some detailed recital of his sexual behavior. But I wonder whether any act of sex, when described with such precision, would sound equally unpleasant."

Ronson's flagrant disregard for journalistic research shows up in this chapter as well, as he seems bound and determined to not interview a single expert on sexual abuse, nor to do a moment's worth of research on victim behavior. Ronson asks at least half a dozen times in the chapter why the victims didn't refuse to see King after the assaults, or as Ronson puts it: "why [they] continually went back for more". (Because when a victim of sexual assault doesn't distance themselves from their abuser, they are actively asking for it if it happens again, apparently. Oof.) Any psychologist worth their salt could have easily explained to Ronson that abuse victims are entrained to go back to their abusers, and that this is a common feature of abuse. They could have explained that a 40-year-old man with fantastic amounts of financial and social power, not to mention years of experience in selecting and grooming victims, would have been skilled in manipulation.

But experts are for other journalists; Ronson asks this burning question of only four people: his reader (multiple times), King (who "won't be drawn on the subject"), one of King's friends who admits to helping King ply young boys with whiskey ("How many times do you have to go back before you decide that you don't like being f---ed? Does it take three sexual experiences for you to realize it was bothering you?"), and one of the victims (who was, to his everlasting credit, more polite about the question that I would have been). And that's it. The question of why the boys "went back for more" is repeated over and over again in this chapter, but only as a means to cast doubt on the charges, and never as a genuine question to be explored by actual experts on the complexities of abuse and victimization.

As with the Chris Foster chapter, the chapter on Jonathan King ends not with any kind of sympathetic statement for the victims, but with a sentimental statement on the difficulties faced by people who are attracted to underage boys and who are willing to abuse and sexually assault them for their own gratification: "Chris Denning asked me if I wanted to know the worst thing about being attracted to underage boys. "Sadly," he said, "they grow up. They disappear. The person you were attracted to has gone. He doesn't exist anymore. You can never have a lasting relationship with them. It's very sad."" And then -- lest people complain that Ronson didn't allow the victims an equal voice in this chapter -- he quotes a spiteful email from someone using the name of one of Chris Denning's victims, and who may or may not be who he claims to be.

Possibly the worst line in this book occurs when Ronson interviews a Haitian dishwasher named Frantz. Frantz' daily life is affected strongly by racism: his shoes are thrown in the garbage when he's not looking, he is clocked out of work early by his coworkers while he's still washing dishes, and he won't be promoted because of his skin color. These aren't just inconveniences; the racism that Frantz faces tangibly impoverishes him. But Ronson blithely observes: "Frantz talks a lot about respect and the opposite of respect--humiliation. Like the other day, he says, he was working so hard the busboy told him, "Look at your face. You look like a slave." He says that insult really stung. It's as if he's lowered his ambitions to the level that he can take all sorts of awfulness as long as people talk to him with a little respect. It occurs to me that his life would be better if he spent less time worrying about feeling disrespected and more time actively working to improve his conditions, but then I realize he is doing all he can. Putting his head above the parapet to talk to me is a brave step."

Ronson, who is light-skinned and by his own admission makes $250,000 a year, actually thinks it's appropriate to write that a black man should worry less about trifling things like "respect" and more about "working to improve his conditions" and it does not occur to him that the disrespect Frantz is trying to push back against is the *reason* he lives in poor conditions, because it is disrespect -- i.e., racism -- that drives people to rob him of his hard-earned money and keeps him from being promoted. By pushing back against disrespect and racism, Frantz *is* trying to improve his conditions. But Ronson knows better than Frantz, because how could he not? He himself has copious experience with being black in a racist society... oh wait. But he surely interviewed a number of experts and activists about... oh wait. Well, I'm sure Ronson has spoken to a lot of black people at any rate, and therefore is very well equipped to tell the world in his books what men like Frantz should and should not be worried about. Oof.

I just know that someone is going to pop up in the comments to ask why I bothered reviewing this book if I disliked it so much, so let me head that off at the pass: my book club selected this book, I read it to the final page, and I'm leaving this review here so that the next book club to consider this book will have fair warning that this book contains almost no research, is a meandering "day in the life of a journalist who throws soft-ball questions to interview subjects", and contains copious amounts of victim-blaming of murdered women, molested boys, and Haitian dishwashers while constantly reminding the reader that the real people to be sympathized with are the white, rich, powerful men. And I didn't receive a lot of enjoyment from reading that.

~ Ana Mardoll

I literally thought to myself upon finishing this book, "What did I just read?" It felt like Ronson himself was lost at sea...

The stories are very interesting, and I *do* feel like I came away with some random tidbits of information that I can spew forth, however, there was absoluately no congruiency or "point."

It's only now, after reading other reviews, that I realize he just took articles he wrote for The Guardian and recycled them into a book. I'm really glad I didn't pay any money to read this. Just take the time to search his articles and you'll learn just as much as I did without spending anything.

While I understand the appeal of putting his articles into one binding, it would have been more spectacular had he taken the time to elaborate on the bigger picture of some of the stories, and actually did some work. The first chapter on ICP is VERY intriguing, and leaves you wanting to know more, yet there isn't anything else. Almost every story is like that...you get intrigued and interested and are let down by his jump to the next "chapter."

Terrific collection of magazine articles, mostly about oodd people and situations, ranging from the Insane Clown Posse (which had just announced they were evangelical Christians), to a Swede who tried to split the atom in his kitchen. The best essay was about supbrime lending, written two years before subprime mortgages crashed the world economy, in which he traced every possible connection to a man who committed suicide after receiving dozens of credit card applications - despite being underwater in debt. (His widow kept getting them months later, because she was on the coveted subprime lists.) One remarkable thing about Ronson is how he puts in quotations that seem to challenge his main thesis. It gives the impression he is trying hard to be fair. Fascinating work.

Jon Ronson's books are perfect for anyone who may be concerned about their sanity. Trust me, once you read a few pieces by this best-selling journalist (author of "Men Who Stare at Goats," which was made into a movie starring George Clooney), you'll feel like the most well-adjusted person around. Armed with deadpan humor and a broad tolerance for even the most horrifying of world views, Ronson interviews such subjects as the members of the band Insane Clown Posse, the world's supposedly most advanced robot, a UFO expert, a man who's been attempting to make contacts with extra-terrestrial life for years, and community members of an Alaskan town in which schoolkids answer letters to Santa in the guise of elves. He also looks at the darker side of humanity with interviews with Robbie Williams, the pop impressario indicted for child molestation; Major Charles Ingram and his wife Diana, who cheated on the British show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"; and neighbors of Robert Hall, a Brit living in the French countryside who murdered his wife and entombed her in a block of concrete. Psychics, cult leaders and gurus are also represented in this collection. Occasionally, Ronson himself is the main subject, as in "The Name's Ronson, Jon Ronson," (in which he impersonates James Bond for a day), but even when he's not, his irrelevance often gets him in trouble with those he interviews and their followers. In one, an irate psychic lambasts him, calling him a "little worm." Other subjects are more circumspect in their attempts to obscure the real story, such as the employees of the Disney cruise ship, from which an employee went missing and has never been found.

In several pieces, Ronson employs rather original ways of handling the subject. In "Who Killed Richard Cullen," which looks at a man who committed suicide after running up credit card debt, he adopts multiple personas to see which gets the most credit card junk mail solicitations. In "Amber Waves of Green," he includes himself in examining the lifestyles of people in "six degrees of economic separation." Once content with his own lot, he becomes envious when interviewing a woman several rungs above him. "A very small amount of money," the woman explains when asked how much she pays her business manager. "A hundred thousand dollars a year....The trick is not to be too rich."

Real heroes emerge, as well, such as the two men who donate a kidney to strangers in "Blood Sacrifice." Ronson's usual skepticism is even overcome a few times, in his travels, too. Some of the subjects will amuse you, others baffle you, while others will likely make your skin crawl. While some ramble on and display a lack of empathy, others are more tuned in and even have a sense of humor. Fans of Ronson's books will definitely enjoy "Lost at Sea."

Fun Reading: I like short story and essay writing in general; it moves right along without a lot of filler material or descriptions of minutia.
In the Alpha Course story starting on page 42, Ronson describes the strong-arm tactics of the assistants to the leader Nicky, and many examples of the things people will believe. But then he gives one sentence at the very end, where he infers that he buys into it. It felt to me this was an offering to keep from getting some kind of retribution from the assistants.
The tenor and content of the Alpha Course isn't much different than the psychic seminar on a cruise ship, which Ronson totally debunks (pg 297).
If you watch the evening news on TV, shorter versions of weirdness are on every night; but Ronson gives more detailed and interesting reports.

Not everyone gets to interview a robot, retrace James Bond’s steps in Goldfinger, and investigate a death on a Disney cruise. But we might get the impression that such things are ordinary in the glamorous life of Jon Ronson. The Guardian journalist known for The Men Who Stare at Goats, which later became a movie, has had some strange assignments over the years, leaving him with many stories to tell…some that will probably raise your eyebrows as they did mine.

You see, Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries tackles some heavy and controversial topics – celebrity sex offenders, assisted suicides, religious cults, the SETI program. But oddly enough, Ronson still comes across as insightful and fresh, even when I’m not inclined to agree with his perspective. The author’s engaging mix of investigative and “gonzo” journalism makes for a great bedside read that might end up keeping you up longer than expected. I had to read it twice before finally settling down to review it. I also got a great deal of unexpected laughs out the book. And although there’s a bit of language – as would be expected these days – the author, I’m happy to say, isn’t the type who resorts to crude humor. His interviewees provide him with enough real material for the readers to laugh at.

Although I enjoyed the book (and now take a peek at Ronson’s articles online now and then), I have to wonder: What was he trying to accomplish with Lost at Sea? It’s not his final book, but feels a bit like a memoir, a sort of “best of” collection of articles. When googling Ronson, I half expected to find him retired, but he’s still writing for The Guardian, interviewing some rather unusual characters, and planning his next big journalistic adventure as a passenger aboard a Virgin Galactic’s space ship. If Lost at Sea wasn’t some sort of farewell, it starts looking like an attempt to cash in on one’s popularity. I really hope not. I would hate to see Ronson’s great writing cheapened that way.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary uncorrected proof copy of Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries from the Penguin Group. A favorable review was not required.

Jon Ronson is a frequent contributor to the radio show "This American Life," and I have grown used to his voice from hearing it on that program. It was almost impossible to read these stories without hearing them in his particular, high-pitched English accent. I think this helped the essays, as the humor landed with less ambiguity than it might for a reader who was unfamiliar with Ronson's cadence.

That said, the collection is excellent. Most of the pieces originally appeared in the Guardian newspaper, and I had seen only a couple of them previously. Basically all of them share in common Ronson's fascination with people living in extremis. He doesn't just visit an odd place, he visits in order to talk with the odd people living there. He doesn't experiment with living like a poor person (as Barbara Ehrenreich might), he talks with poor people. Though these essays are all written in first person, and Ronson is a character in every one, he is never the main character and he seems legitimately fascinated with the people whom he discusses, torn at times by his sympathies for them individually but ultimately willing to judge them, if they have been foolish or evil.

The book is split into five sections, representing different sorts of subjects. Section Three, "Everyday Difficulties," is about people who had run out of money, or committed terrible crimes, or at least considered doing so, or had a loved one do so. Basically, seemingly(?) normal people for whom things have gone terribly wrong. This section was hard to read. Life isn't easy enough to take any sort of pleasure in reading about the misfortune of others, however sympathetically portrayed.

That said, the strengths of the other parts of the book outshined that section. The parents who think their kids have magic powers, the pop stars obsessed with UFOs, the billionaires convinced that society is out to get them. These pieces were all worth reading, and I think will remain so for many years. Even after the particular psychics, pederasts, religious cult leaders, and dotcom millionaires of whom Ronson writes fade from our memory, similar characters will surely arise. Ronson writes about particular people but his theme is always the human condition.

I first learned about this book on the Daily Show, from an interview with Jon Ronson. His energy, clumsy mannerisms, and seemingly childlike naivete for self preservation lingered several days in the back of my head. Apparently he goes out of his way to find interesting people, and situations, just to ask, "What's this all about?" Preferring non-fiction in general, having severely damaged my suspension-of-disbelief bone as a child, I ordered the book up and gave it a go. I was hoping for interesting stories about people and places, some familiar, some I had never heard, nor thought out. I was not disappointed!

The book consists of several stories from Jon Ronson's first hand experience in embedding himself temporarily in the lives of interesting people. Most of them alive, some of them dead or incarcerated, maybe a couple fictional, however, they are interesting. He doesn't try to solve problems, he doesn't try to preach or convert, he simply tries to understand these people, from their perspective, in their circumstances. Sometimes he succeeds, and we feel much the wiser, sometimes he fails, in that the mystery remains unsolved, however, he takes us with him for the adventure.

I particularly like his writing style, with just the right amount of humor to keep our interest, but not so much as to make the ridiculous that much more so. Often, himself, remarking at his own loss of understanding of what the hell is really going on, like Ferris Beuller looking into the camera with a grin, and the best possible rational he can find.

I'm typically a slow, somewhat stunted reader, however, I read a story or two a night, finding it difficult to put the book down. Each story was like present, I couldn't wait to breach the first paragraph and see what Uncle Ronson brought me.

Several of the stories are in thralling, some where interesting, however, there were a couple of stories I simply putted through, remarking on facts and curiosities, however feeling I could have done without. Not being from the same country as Jon, one or two stories weren't culturally relevant to myself, however still interesting as a whole.

In the end I feel this is a five star read. Mostly as every since I finished it, I've been longing for more of the same! I just got a copy of "Them - Adventures with Extremists", by Jon Ronson, and am hoping for the same experience as this read. The only regret here is that Mr Ronson has created a new tasty flavor from which my palette can't seem to get enough of, with so few trees, however, bearing similar fruit. I've made more copies gifts for family.

Jon covered the waterfront in this piece with stories on everything from Indigo Children to the pandemic of folks missing from Cruises and the lack of investigations into these cases. I'm sad I've read all of his books now, but am grateful to add another mandated author to my short list. Quick aside: While I think the Indigo Children phenom is probably bravo sierra, I am convinced my hilarious daughter, Betty is slightly psychic on top of all her other awesome qualities. I became convinced of this when she looked at me out of the blue one day and said, "You have a little mental illness." Just a little honey.

In nearly every article of the book, journalist Jon Ronson is able to pick an extraordinary subject to write about in an interesting and engaging way. I loved reading about real life "superhero" Phoenix Jones as he patrols the streets of Chicago, trying to make drunk drivers eat tacos before getting behind the wheel, or discovering that the rap duo Insane Clown Posse have been covert Christians their entire careers, believing they were making converts of their listeners subliminally for 20 years. Other subjects are equally fascinating such as finding out pop star Robbie Williams is a UFO enthusiast and that Stanley Kubrick was a hoarder of everything related to his film career.

There are some really funny pieces included such as Ronson's recreation of James Bond's car journey from Ian Fleming's "Goldfinger", eating and drinking everything Bond did on the journey and making himself very sick (Bond, it turns out, was a glutton alcoholic chain smoker who rarely exercised). Ronson also goes on a cruise to meet psychic Sylvia Browne, a woman who goes on TV to tell parents of missing children (often incorrectly) their kids are dead, and finds out, surprise surprise, she's not just a fake but an unpleasant old bag as well.

Religion and pseudo-religious beliefs play a big part in the articles where Ronson meets the Jesus Christians, a fringe Christian group with a membership of 24 people worldwide, most of whom have decided that as well as giving away most of their possessions that they will give away a kidney as well! He meets the UK's biggest atheist-converter Nicky Gumbel, meets TV hypnotist Paul McKenna and his colleague Richard Bandler who admits to being a sociopath and has a sketchy past involving murder but who now makes millions teaching people something called neurolinguistic programming (NLP) which promises to make you a better salesperson.

The other side of the book take a sobering look at the dark side of humanity. They include a couple of murder/suicide cases, the economic class issues in America, and the sad story of Richard Cullen who committed suicide after becoming hopelessly in debt. Richard Cullen took out numerous credit cards which gave him money with crippling interest rates and was approved for various loans different banks approved, leaving Richard with a six figure debt and no way out. From this one man, Ronson follows the trail back to the banks and exposes the fiasco that was the sub-prime market. This article came out 2 years before the sub-prime crash of 2007.

My favourite piece in the book, "Santa's Little Conspirators", is the story of a group of 13 year old high-school students in the town of North Pole, Alaska, accused of conspiring to commit a Columbine-style massacre at their school (they were stopped before anyone was hurt). North Pole is unique as a town where it is Christmas 365 days of the year and everything in the town is Christmas themed. The would-be killers, like all students in North Pole high school, answered letters from children all over the world addressed to "Santa, North Pole" under elfish pseudonyms. Some of the letters written by small children and given to them to answer are heart breaking like "please make mummy and daddy stop fighting" and "I would like to wear more clothes this year".

While parts of "Lost at Sea" have been published in Ronson's other books - more than half have been printed in "Out of the Ordinary" and all but one have been printed in "What I Do" - and numerous other articles have appeared in GQ magazine and the Guardian newspaper, for those who've not read Jon Ronson extensively, this is an excellent collection of his journalism in one handy volume. Like most of Ronson's journalism, the articles feel too strange to be real, this mixture of strangeness and truth adding to the readability of the articles and lending them an air of surreal-ness. "Lost at Sea" is a fascinating collection of oddball human stories that offers hours of riveting reading pleasure and is a must-read for all readers looking for extraordinary and entertaining non-fiction stories written in an accessible and compelling style.

I first learned about this book on the Daily Show, from an interview with Jon Ronson. His energy, clumsy mannerisms, and seemingly childlike naivete for self preservation lingered several days in the back of my head. Apparently he goes out of his way to find interesting people, and situations, just to ask, "What's this all about?" Preferring non-fiction in general, having severely damaged my suspension-of-disbelief bone as a child, I ordered the book up and gave it a go. I was hoping for interesting stories about people and places, some familiar, some I had never heard, nor thought out. I was not disappointed!

The book consists of several stories from Jon Ronson's first hand experience in embedding himself temporarily in the lives of interesting people. Most of them alive, some of them dead or incarcerated, maybe a couple fictional, however, they are interesting. He doesn't try to solve problems, he doesn't try to preach or convert, he simply tries to understand these people, from their perspective, in their circumstances. Sometimes he succeeds, and we feel much the wiser, sometimes he fails, in that the mystery remains unsolved, however, he takes us with him for the adventure.

I particularly like his writing style, with just the right amount of humor to keep our interest, but not so much as to make the ridiculous that much more so. Often, himself, remarking at his own loss of understanding of what the hell is really going on, like Ferris Beuller looking into the camera with a grin, and the best possible rational he can find.

I'm typically a slow, somewhat stunted reader, however, I read a story or two a night, finding it difficult to put the book down. Each story was like present, I couldn't wait to breach the first paragraph and see what Uncle Ronson brought me.

Several of the stories are in thralling, some where interesting, however, there were a couple of stories I simply putted through, remarking on facts and curiosities, however feeling I could have done without. Not being from the same country as Jon, one or two stories weren't culturally relevant to myself, however still interesting as a whole.

In the end I feel this is a five star read. Mostly as every since I finished it, I've been longing for more of the same! I just got a copy of "Them - Adventures with Extremists", by Jon Ronson, and am hoping for the same experience as this read. The only regret here is that Mr Ronson has created a new tasty flavor from which my palette can't seem to get enough of, with so few trees, however, bearing similar fruit. I've made more copies gifts for family.

Jon covered the waterfront in this piece with stories on everything from Indigo Children to the pandemic of folks missing from Cruises and the lack of investigations into these cases. I'm sad I've read all of his books now, but am grateful to add another mandated author to my short list. Quick aside: While I think the Indigo Children phenom is probably bravo sierra, I am convinced my hilarious daughter, Betty is slightly psychic on top of all her other awesome qualities. I became convinced of this when she looked at me out of the blue one day and said, "You have a little mental illness." Just a little honey.

In nearly every article of the book, journalist Jon Ronson is able to pick an extraordinary subject to write about in an interesting and engaging way. I loved reading about real life "superhero" Phoenix Jones as he patrols the streets of Chicago, trying to make drunk drivers eat tacos before getting behind the wheel, or discovering that the rap duo Insane Clown Posse have been covert Christians their entire careers, believing they were making converts of their listeners subliminally for 20 years. Other subjects are equally fascinating such as finding out pop star Robbie Williams is a UFO enthusiast and that Stanley Kubrick was a hoarder of everything related to his film career.

There are some really funny pieces included such as Ronson's recreation of James Bond's car journey from Ian Fleming's "Goldfinger", eating and drinking everything Bond did on the journey and making himself very sick (Bond, it turns out, was a glutton alcoholic chain smoker who rarely exercised). Ronson also goes on a cruise to meet psychic Sylvia Browne, a woman who goes on TV to tell parents of missing children (often incorrectly) their kids are dead, and finds out, surprise surprise, she's not just a fake but an unpleasant old bag as well.

Religion and pseudo-religious beliefs play a big part in the articles where Ronson meets the Jesus Christians, a fringe Christian group with a membership of 24 people worldwide, most of whom have decided that as well as giving away most of their possessions that they will give away a kidney as well! He meets the UK's biggest atheist-converter Nicky Gumbel, meets TV hypnotist Paul McKenna and his colleague Richard Bandler who admits to being a sociopath and has a sketchy past involving murder but who now makes millions teaching people something called neurolinguistic programming (NLP) which promises to make you a better salesperson.

The other side of the book take a sobering look at the dark side of humanity. They include a couple of murder/suicide cases, the economic class issues in America, and the sad story of Richard Cullen who committed suicide after becoming hopelessly in debt. Richard Cullen took out numerous credit cards which gave him money with crippling interest rates and was approved for various loans different banks approved, leaving Richard with a six figure debt and no way out. From this one man, Ronson follows the trail back to the banks and exposes the fiasco that was the sub-prime market. This article came out 2 years before the sub-prime crash of 2007.

My favourite piece in the book, "Santa's Little Conspirators", is the story of a group of 13 year old high-school students in the town of North Pole, Alaska, accused of conspiring to commit a Columbine-style massacre at their school (they were stopped before anyone was hurt). North Pole is unique as a town where it is Christmas 365 days of the year and everything in the town is Christmas themed. The would-be killers, like all students in North Pole high school, answered letters from children all over the world addressed to "Santa, North Pole" under elfish pseudonyms. Some of the letters written by small children and given to them to answer are heart breaking like "please make mummy and daddy stop fighting" and "I would like to wear more clothes this year".

While parts of "Lost at Sea" have been published in Ronson's other books - more than half have been printed in "Out of the Ordinary" and all but one have been printed in "What I Do" - and numerous other articles have appeared in GQ magazine and the Guardian newspaper, for those who've not read Jon Ronson extensively, this is an excellent collection of his journalism in one handy volume. Like most of Ronson's journalism, the articles feel too strange to be real, this mixture of strangeness and truth adding to the readability of the articles and lending them an air of surreal-ness. "Lost at Sea" is a fascinating collection of oddball human stories that offers hours of riveting reading pleasure and is a must-read for all readers looking for extraordinary and entertaining non-fiction stories written in an accessible and compelling style.

Another surpassingly strange, devastating wry, and bizarrely engrossing set of encounters via Jon Ronson. Here, he has collected various essays, articles, and the like from a wide range of topics, all circling around the oddities of the human condition (generally, being outside the mainstream in belief, action, or accident of circumstance). As always, Ronson's unique voice comes through with humanity, humor, and emotion. Some chapters leave you chuckling, some inspire pity, others are disomfiting, all are revealing. Recommended.

In this collection, mostly consisting of articles he wrote for The Guardian, journalist Jon Ronson investigates many things a lot of us have wondered about, as well as some things we never even thought to wonder about. A short list includes celebrity psychics, credit card offers, Juggalos, Stanley Kubrick's house, Indigo children, AI robotics, NLP, and people who go missing from cruise ships.
The chapters are brief, just long enough to skim the surface of the topic at hand, but Ronson asks his interviewees some very pertinent questions. Almost all the articles left me more curious about each issue. I believe several of these would warrant a full-length book (which I would totally buy, by the way). Ronson's style is cheekily British; a few of his turns of phrase had me literally laughing aloud, particularly when he recreates James Bond's journey from London to Geneva in an Aston Martin. He also seems to want to believe the best of his subjects, from celebrity pedophiles to cult leaders. His treatments of subjects many would shy away from is humorous and compassionate. A very entertaining read. I will be tracking down more of his work.

This is my first Jon Ronson book, but it certainly won't be my last. I'm not even quite finished with the book yet, but he has pulled me right in. Good reportage isn't uncommon, but fantastic reportage is, and this is the Real Thing. Most of the people Ronson has interviewed are people I would never, NEVER want to meet, but reading about them has been an education in squirreliness. He knows just what questions to ask, how to get his interviewees to open up and spill details that a lesser journalist could never elicit. Most of these pieces appeared in The Guardian, so I shouldn't have been surprised at the high quality. It's the best newspaper in the world that isn't the New York Times, and here's ample evidence. I look forward keenly to the next book of Ronson's.

Jon Ronson is a UK reporter and author who specializes in eccentrics, kooks, and controversial figures. In spite of the sometimes bleak subject matter, the author manages to remain good-natured throughout, trying to empathize with the point of view of the people concerned. There's humor throughout, but it's dry and understated.

The book begins lightheartedly enough, with a look at Juggalos and the Insane Clown Posse. The new age parents convinced their children have special mental powers seem harmless enough, but by the time Ronson gets to the town of North Pole, Alaska (the most Christmassy place in the world), things begin to take a darker turn. Before long it's the story of a man who can only be described as an assisted suicide enthusiast. It's towards the end of the book that we read about celebrity BBC pedophiles Jonathan King and Chris Denning, stories which are even more disturbing following the revelations about Sir Jimmy Savile. The final story is the one which gives the book its title, an investigation of cruise ships and how people can simply disappear, without police being able to do much about it.

Many of the stories have previously been published in The Guardian newspaper, so if you read that publication regularly, there might not be much new here. If not, it's an excellent introduction to Ronson's style of journalism. If you like reading about weird stuff on the Internet, you'll probably enjoy it a lot.

This is a fascinating collection of stories that don't always have any obvious connections to each other, other than the strangeness of life in this world.

Each of these articles were previously published in The Guardian newspaper and the author Jon Ronson covers an impressively diverse series of topics from the Insane Clown Posse to unusual religious groups, a Christmas themed town to the economic disparity in this country, Stanley Kubrick's Boxes to assisted suicide.
Not all of the topics are ones I would have chosen to read separately on my own and yet I was fascinated by and am glad that I read each one.
I felt that each topic was covered seriously and respectfully no matter how quirky or sometimes even unpleasant it was and some of them made me uncomfortable but they all made me think or exposed me to a segment of society I was unaware of or just hadn't previously paid attention to.

He doesn't always wrap up each story with an opinion or even a real conclusion, sometimes they just end, or at least his involvement in the story ends, which is sort of how life is. Real life doesn't always end neatly or conveniently and sometimes there really isn't any sense to be made from what happens, sometimes its just worthwhile to know that the story happened at all.

This book made me thing and question and exposed me to people and experiences I never knew existed and for that alone it was very worth reading.

With the possible exception of Marco Polo, I trust no one but Jon Ronson to penetrate the deranged world of the Insane Clown Posse and report back to me, with wry precision. He's the only ethnographer I will have. And he has only Errol Morris as his equal in the ingenuous master stroke of letting people hang themselves. His self deprecation allows him an extraordinary intimacy with his subjects and if they just happen to damn themselves while he is sheepishly just - present - what is he to do but write it up?

That said, the sea of human credulity presents rather a huge subject for Ronson (not his fault, I suppose for we are a race of fools ) and in this collection it is a too-big umbrella catchall for pieces, some of which have been in his other collections. Specifically, we've seen "The Fall of a Pop Impresario," "Phoning a Friend," "Stanley Kubrik's Boxes" and at least one other in recent anthologies of Ronson's work. It's not much of a beef, I suppose. I enjoyed reading them again. But more new pieces, please!

Jon Ronson is a British journalist who has made a career of finding weird and crazy stories/people and writing about them in a heartfelt but snarky way. I found him very enjoyable, and I liked his somewhat subtle and sly sense of humor. The stories are just amazingly odd and intriguing (Robbie Williams and his obsession with UFOs, the hidden Christian message of Insane Clown Posse, the archives of Stanley Kubrick, the quest of the Jesus Christians to donate their kidneys, real-life superheroes). I never knew what Ronson would be writing about next, and it was fun to see what oddities he unearthed for each story. I particularly enjoyed how he inserted himself into the stories (whether he is flagging down a taxi to avoid a gun fight in Seattle or interviewing a robot). He brings a healthy sense of curiosity, skepticism and personality to his writing, which I enjoyed a great deal. If you like hearing about people who live on the fringes of "normal," this would be a great read or listen. I definitely plan on reading more of Ronson's stuff.

When I started reading this book I was expecting a mystery as after all that is what it says on the cover (The Jon Ronson Mysteries). So about half way through the book I am thinking 4 stars for bait and switch as this is not a traditional mystery in any sense of the word. But, then Mr. Ronson won me over with his great writing and his totally off the wall subject material. It is actually a more non fiction based on a series of interviews with some of the most unusual people in the world. Where else can you find a book with chapters on Sylvia Brown (psychic), mercy killing, North Pole, Alaska, the Insane Clown Posse and Indigo children (Look it up) just to name a few. The book blew my mind.

How have I missed reading Jon Ronson for so long? I read the newspapers where his articles usually appear, I have seen his books in the stores and libraries, I heard about the George Clooney movie based on one of his books. And yet this is the first book I have read by Ronson. There is no excuse.

Knowing only what the blurb said, about Ronson investigating the strange things we are willing to believe in, I started reading. When I finished the book, uncharacteristically having read every page (except for the last few pages about the trial of a pedophile), I immediately started looking for more of Ronson's books, and was pleased to find there are enough to keep me going for a while.

I expected, from the description, this to be a collection of articles about the kooky people who believe they've been abducted by aliens or are receiving transmissions from the CIA through the fillings in their teeth. There are a lot of people in those groups and poking fun at them seems cruel, not funny. Jon Ronson doesn't poke fun, he keeps an open mind, while still being a skeptical journalist. It's a skill not many have, and to top it off, he writes beautifully.

Many of the essays in Lost at Sea are indeed about those who believe in psychics, aliens from outer space, and mind control, but my favorites were about credit card debt, the wealth gap in America, and Stanley Kubrick's storage boxes.

I think Ronson must be especially disarming for so many people to open up to him. Maybe he gives off a vibe that he's a bit on the strange side himself. Whatever he has, it is working and I'm off to find more of his books and articles.

Interesting exploration into the human condition. The stories/essays were compelling and interesting, ranging from the wildly idealistic and fringe side of humanity, to the exploration of our economic and social conditions we find ourselves in. This was my first experience reading Ronson. I enjoyed it and will likely give some of his other work a chance.

I like books that celebrate our oddities and individuality. Lost at Sea zeros in on some key strangenesses in the world and digs deeply into the sub-culture below. The essays are all good, and some are great. Overall, a good book for anyone with a sense of irony.

On a recent "Daily Show", Jon Stewart described Jon Rosson as an "investigative satirist".

As this collection of essays shows, that was nothing more nor less than the absolute truth.

But it was not the whole truth, and truth is important in this context.

Because Rosson shows us the truth of the world around us.

Hilariously.

Pointedly.

And in brilliant depth and detail.

Whether it's "Inasane Clown Posse" (whose name, we discover, is NOT just a glib reference, but a fact)

Or class warfare in the US.

Or any one of a dozen other subjects of life on this small ball we call Earth, Rosson offers insight; he offers profundity; he offers, most importantly, fall on the floor hilarity, as he examines the madness that is life in the 21st century.

So that, by the end of the book, we are likely to paraphrase that OTHER great philosopher, Pogo, and state:
We have met the nutcases, and they is us.

An entertaining read, great for weekends, traveling, by the pool - the short story / article format shouldn't put anyone off, each story is thought provoking, charming, and a little off centre. Just like their subject matter.

Highly recommended.

Hi everybody, here's what the book description doesn't tell you, and what the author didn't tell you when he was on the Daily Show recently: the chapters in this book are just repackaged magazine articles. So save yourself ten bucks and read for free. Once I found this out, I got a refund on the store and spent the money on "The Psychopath Test" by the same author instead. It was excellent and I will be looking at his other books.

Go ahead and use the hints given in the other reviews to Google the original articles. For example, if you put in "Jon Ronson ICP" you'll be directed to the article that appears in the book. I prefer to read on my Kindle than on a computer screen, but I personally don't like giving someone my hard-earned cash for a collection that I can view for free online.

This isn't journalism, and somewhere the founder of modern investigative journalism is weeping in his grave. Frankly, I'm starting to get the impression that journalism teachers are utterly failing their students.

Listen. There is an unspoken agreement between a person who writes a piece and a person who reads a piece of writing. The length gives us a hint at what we're in for...or at least it should.

If I read news on Twitter, I am expecting nothing but the highlight, the conclusion, the story in 140 characters. There will be no context, no history, no meaning. Just 140 rapid-fire characters telling me something happened.

If I read a story on an internet news source, I'm expecting something that is around 500 words, has a (far too brief) summary of the situation, and some relevant details about what is going on. Naturally, the big picture is likely to be absent or just the broad strokes.

If I read a story in a printed newspaper, I am looking for some insight, some detail, and some thought. I want context, maybe even a little bit of history. There should be a little introspection, some conclusions drawn, maybe a related phenomenon mentioned or described.

When I read a book about something, I've agreed to get a level of detail that is extreme. I want to know the history of the subject. I want to know details. I want to know things. That's why I am reading a book.

What I DON'T want is to read a book and feel like I read thirty-seven stories on CNN. That leaves me feeling annoyed (to put it mildly).

There's no context here. There's no conclusion. Half of the time, there's barely any story. For example, there is a chapter on Indigo children in the beginning of the book. It makes allusion to the fact that many of these children merely suffer from ADHD. It doesn't talk about differences in ADHD rates over the years. Nowhere does the author speak with a clinical developmental psychiatrist. Nothing.

For something this long, it's woefully deficient in a lot of details. And woefully deficient in context. And in conclusions. And exposition. And...commitment.

For example, the author at one point signs up for a ten week seminar on Alpha (a faith development camp that uses shoddy logic and charismatic teachers to get people to believe in God). The author, however, cannot attend all ten meetings, because he misses meetings on TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS to go research other stories.

I took two important facts away from that.

FIrst, he researches his stories in such an abbreviated amount of time that I am not surprised that he lacks details, a complete picture, or any thought about the greater implications of the phenomena he describes. A real investigative journalist isn't likely to finish a whole story in ten weeks, let alone three of them.

Second, he lacks commitment to any of his stories. If you really want to investigate something, if you really want to understand it, if you are sincere about your desire to uncover the facts, it takes commitment. Almost the level of commitment that would be called obsessive by people who don't know any better.

When you work on a story, you eat, drink, breathe, and LIVE that story. You don't walk away from it unless someone is dying back at home. And then you ask yourself, "Hrmm...do I really love Aunt Kathy that much? I'm close to something here..."

Jon Ronson doesn't really care. And that apathy shines through, blazingly, in his inept, incomplete, and blase "journalism". I'd say that he gives investigative journalism a bad name, but surely no one is foolish enough to think that he really is an investigative journalist, right? Right?

Don't bother with this. You'd be better served reading Wikipedia pages about the subjects that are covered here. Seriously. It's that inane.

Harkius

Hi everybody, here's what the book description doesn't tell you, and what the author didn't tell you when he was on the Daily Show recently: the chapters in this book are just repackaged magazine articles. So save yourself ten bucks and read for free. Once I found this out, I got a refund on the store and spent the money on "The Psychopath Test" by the same author instead. It was excellent and I will be looking at his other books.

Go ahead and use the hints given in the other reviews to Google the original articles. For example, if you put in "Jon Ronson ICP" you'll be directed to the article that appears in the book. I prefer to read on my Kindle than on a computer screen, but I personally don't like giving someone my hard-earned cash for a collection that I can view for free online.

This isn't journalism, and somewhere the founder of modern investigative journalism is weeping in his grave. Frankly, I'm starting to get the impression that journalism teachers are utterly failing their students.

Listen. There is an unspoken agreement between a person who writes a piece and a person who reads a piece of writing. The length gives us a hint at what we're in for...or at least it should.

If I read news on Twitter, I am expecting nothing but the highlight, the conclusion, the story in 140 characters. There will be no context, no history, no meaning. Just 140 rapid-fire characters telling me something happened.

If I read a story on an internet news source, I'm expecting something that is around 500 words, has a (far too brief) summary of the situation, and some relevant details about what is going on. Naturally, the big picture is likely to be absent or just the broad strokes.

If I read a story in a printed newspaper, I am looking for some insight, some detail, and some thought. I want context, maybe even a little bit of history. There should be a little introspection, some conclusions drawn, maybe a related phenomenon mentioned or described.

When I read a book about something, I've agreed to get a level of detail that is extreme. I want to know the history of the subject. I want to know details. I want to know things. That's why I am reading a book.

What I DON'T want is to read a book and feel like I read thirty-seven stories on CNN. That leaves me feeling annoyed (to put it mildly).

There's no context here. There's no conclusion. Half of the time, there's barely any story. For example, there is a chapter on Indigo children in the beginning of the book. It makes allusion to the fact that many of these children merely suffer from ADHD. It doesn't talk about differences in ADHD rates over the years. Nowhere does the author speak with a clinical developmental psychiatrist. Nothing.

For something this long, it's woefully deficient in a lot of details. And woefully deficient in context. And in conclusions. And exposition. And...commitment.

For example, the author at one point signs up for a ten week seminar on Alpha (a faith development camp that uses shoddy logic and charismatic teachers to get people to believe in God). The author, however, cannot attend all ten meetings, because he misses meetings on TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS to go research other stories.

I took two important facts away from that.

FIrst, he researches his stories in such an abbreviated amount of time that I am not surprised that he lacks details, a complete picture, or any thought about the greater implications of the phenomena he describes. A real investigative journalist isn't likely to finish a whole story in ten weeks, let alone three of them.

Second, he lacks commitment to any of his stories. If you really want to investigate something, if you really want to understand it, if you are sincere about your desire to uncover the facts, it takes commitment. Almost the level of commitment that would be called obsessive by people who don't know any better.

When you work on a story, you eat, drink, breathe, and LIVE that story. You don't walk away from it unless someone is dying back at home. And then you ask yourself, "Hrmm...do I really love Aunt Kathy that much? I'm close to something here..."

Jon Ronson doesn't really care. And that apathy shines through, blazingly, in his inept, incomplete, and blase "journalism". I'd say that he gives investigative journalism a bad name, but surely no one is foolish enough to think that he really is an investigative journalist, right? Right?

Don't bother with this. You'd be better served reading Wikipedia pages about the subjects that are covered here. Seriously. It's that inane.

Harkius