Book description
Often funny, sometimes chilling and always thought-provoking, journalist Jon Ronson's Sunday Times bestseller The Men Who Stare at Goats is a story so unbelievable it has to be true.
In 1979 a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known military practice…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Men Who Stare at Goats as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Set in the height of the Cold War, The Men Who Stare at Goats is the story of the US Army’s psychic warfare unit, the First Earth Battalion. These self-declared “warrior monks” trained in remote viewing and aspired to psychic slay capra with the force of their concentration.
Unlike the rest of the books on my list, The Men Who Stare at Goats is non-fiction. The bulk of the material in these pages are interviews with people in the First Earth Battalion.
Reading this book made me question the reality of psychic phenomena. Is there something to it? Or was…
From Tone's list on spies in strange places.
When I picked up this book from a yard sale for a quarter, I had no idea that Ronson was such a master of the absurd. I still marvel at how he went into one of the most staid, tightly-run organizations in the world, the US military, and found a story that was so off-the-wall bananas. I don’t know whether it made me more hysterical with laughter, or hysterical with fear, but I appreciate his ability to employ both subtle and broad humor to keep me turning pages.
From Matthew's list on stranger – and funnier – than fiction.
If you love The Men Who Stare at Goats...
Aggressor
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Want books like The Men Who Stare at Goats?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 99 books like The Men Who Stare at Goats.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,276
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Men Who Stare at Goats, you might also like...
The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More
The coastal tourist town of Great Wharf, Maine, boasts a crime rate so low you might suspect someone’s lying.
Nevertheless, jobless empty nester Mallory Cooper has become increasingly reclusive and fearful. Careful to keep the red wine handy and loath to leave the house, Mallory misses her happier self—and so…
That First Heady Burn
Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of…
