Listen free for 30 days

  • The Men Who Stare at Goats

  • Written by: Jon Ronson
  • Narrated by: Jon Ronson
  • Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (55 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Men Who Stare at Goats cover art

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Written by: Jon Ronson
Narrated by: Jon Ronson
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $20.48

Buy Now for $20.48

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

In 1979, a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known accepted military practice - and indeed, the laws of physics - they believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them.

Entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries, they were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren't joking. What's more, they're back and fighting the War on Terror.

The Men Who Stare at Goats reveals extraordinary - and very nutty - national secrets at the core of George W. Bush's War on Terror. With first-hand access to the leading players in the story, Ronson traces the evolution of these bizarre activities over the past three decades, and sees how it is alive today within US Homeland Security and post-war Iraq.

Why are they blasting Iraqi prisoners-of-war with the theme tune to Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Why have 100 de-bleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces command centre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina? How was the US Military associated with the mysterious mass-suicide of a strange cult from San Diego? The Men Who Stare At Goats answers these, and many more, questions.

Jon Ronson is an award-winning writer and documentary maker. He is the author of many best-selling books, including Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie, Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries, The Psychopath Test, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Them: Adventures with Extremists. His first fictional screenplay, Frank, co-written with Peter Straughan, starred Michael Fassbender. He lives in London and New York City.

©2012 Jon Ronson (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

What the critics say

"Few more earnest investigative journalists would have had the brilliant bloody-mindedness to get what he has got and hardly any would have the wit to present it with as much clarity." ( The Observer)
"Simultaneously frightening and hilarious." ( The Times)"

What listeners say about The Men Who Stare at Goats

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Far out, man

I like spy stories, and I like laughing at new-agey nonsense. This combination of the two took it to the next level and I was engaged the whole time.

Jon could work on his voice acting, but he was entertaining nonetheless.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Weird all around

Sooo... I picked up this audiobook because I remembered seeing the trailer for the movie by the same name, and assumed it was a comedy. To my surprise, the original book is neither a comedy nor fiction - it's a completely serious and slightly horrifying true story of an English journalist very persistently attempting to uncover the history of the US military trying to create "psychic warriors" who can use mind powers to fight.

It's horrifying BECAUSE it's true, and so incredibly stupid in so many ways that it's mind-boggling that so much time, money, effort, and belief were spent on some of the things the author described. And in light of that, it's quite the opposite of a comedy, although there are obviously some humorous elements because the entire topic is so absurd. Clearly, the movie by the same name took elements of the story and put a set of fictional characters and a fictional story on top; still haven't seen the movie but no doubt it's more amusing.

The audiobook is actually read by the author himself, Jon Ronson, and while I appreciate him authentically telling his own story, his slightly lisping English accent just seemed a little bit mismatched for a book mainly about the American military, and made it even harder not to take seriously.

Overall not what I was expecting at all, so I guess read it if this kind of history interests you, but if not then probably give this one a miss.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!