The Men Who Stare At Goats, By Jon Ronson; Published by Simon & Schuster Publishing, 2004. 256 pages and a few photographs.
I found this book at the airport. I was looking for something for the coming flight, and there it was: a book featuring a white Saanen goat very similar to one of my own, except that this one is being threatened by a half dozen M-16s. I thought, “What the f**k?”, and looked at title: The Men Who Stare at Goats.
Fair enough, I thought; I stare at goats sometimes. This is usually when they’re out grazing and I want to ensure they’re not chomping on a tree. But apparently there were, and maybe still are, guys who stare at goats because they believe they can kill the goat in this way.
So the book turns out to be a convoluted examination of purportedly genuine military and intelligence projects that, frankly, sound insane: killing by staring at the target and willing them to be dead, walking through walls, remote viewing, turning one’s self invisible. Other projects sound less insane, such as the use of LSD, subliminal messages, and pop music as interrogation tools. Case in point: the Barney the Purple Dinosaur theme song (“I love you, you love me, etc.”). When the media caught wind of American forces in the Middle East using it as an interrogation tool, it came off as a joke - but really, after hearing it at 120 decibels for the two hundredth consecutive time, don’t you think you’d spill your guts?
Another chapter deals with a guy who demonstrates, on the author, a little yellow doo-hickey he’s created. It looks perfectly harmless - a misshapen lump of plastic and rubber - but it can be used in all manner of ways to inflict pain if the user knows the human body well enough. This chapter happens to be Val’s favorite; it cracks her right up - plus we agree that her older brother would probably have a great time with one of the little yellow things.
Is this for real? Do I believe it’s factual and correct? I’m not certain - governments can do very strange things when they’re desperate and have a lot of cash to throw around. What I can say is that, whether you believe any of it or not, the book itself is frickin’ hilarous. Heartily endorsed by both Valerie and myself.