Rating: 
Summary: Pushes the bounds of believability, hilariously.
Review: This is a humorous account of Ronson's several years spent with various extremist groups, from Islamic radicals to the KKK. Ronson's a British journalist, and he plays it so straight that at times I couldn't tell if he was making fun of a person, agreeing with them, or just getting out of the way to let them hang themselves. I was expecting more laughs from this book. There were some hilarious parts, particularly when the logistics of extremism come into play-At a cross burning, KKK novices wonder if they should douse the cross, then raise it, or raise it then douse it? And an Islamic Fundamentalist hatches a plot to release thousands of mice into the U.N. But for the most part, it was just a well-written account of the personal side of extremism. There's a pretty moving bit about the standoff and subsequent shooting of a mother and her son by the FBI at Ruby Ridge.
It was interesting to see the politics of extremism, how people whose views aren't that radical are lumped in with other radicals and labeled extremist by the media in an effort to sensationalize and polarize. It was also interesting how Ronson thematically tied the book together-all these extremists, from different parts of the world, all believe in a ruling elite that pulls the strings that make things happen. They don't necessarily agree on who this elite is-politicians, Jews, or a race of 12-foot lizard people (seriously)-but they agree that these secret rulers exist. I've got to hand it to Ronson-he's got some balls. Not only does he, a Jew, hang out with Muslim extremists and the KKK, he infiltrates a neo-nazi skinhead group and sneaks into a secret ceremony of the world's elite in which they hold a mock sacrifice and dance around in druidic robes. This last part is so bizarre but is delivered in such a straight way that I began to question if the whole book wasn't a hoax. A sort of mockumentary. But it's not.
Rating: 
Summary: Ignorance is Bliss
Review: With an open mind and some charming naivete, Ronson went on an expedition to find not only those who obsess about the secret masters of the world but, just maybe, the masters themselves. Like others who have actually done honest fieldwork amongst these political exotica, Ronson meets a lot of kind, polite, and charming people -- as long as you happen to be the right race or creed. Many are reasonable and tolerant too -- at least when they don't have any power to realize their visions. From the vast zoo of modern conspiracy theory, Ronson mostly concentrates on the ZOG/Bilderberg/Trilateralist/Satanist clade which is usually associated with the right wing. But his years of research turn up some surprises. In pre-September 11th London, Ronson hangs out with Omar Bakri, self-described as Osama bin Laden's man in London. In America, we meet Thom Robb, Grand Wizard of some Klan sect in a world rife with internecine sniping, egomaniacs, and FBI informers. His claim to fame? He wants his disciples to follow his self-help program -- oh, and stop using the "N-word". With Jim Tucker, reporter for the notorious and defunct _Spotlight_ newspaper, he attempts to infiltrate the annual meeting of the legendary Bilderberg Group. Then there's ex-British sportscaster David Icke who insists that, when he talks about a conspiracy of world ruling reptilian space alien Illuminati, he really means space aliens and not Jews. And Ronson doesn't find extremism just among the conspiracy mongerers. The infamous actions of the U.S. government at Ruby Ridge are recounted as well as the press' general inability to see a distinction important to the Weavers and their supporters -- racial separatism as opposed to racial supremacy. The Anti-Defamation League comes across as far too ready to see anti-Semitism and pass its faulty judgements to a gullible media. Canadian activists try to stop Icke from public speaking -- all in the name of racial tolerance. And when Ronson actually interviews a founding member, Denis Healey, of the Bilderbergs on their history and activities, suspicions are not entirely allayed. Ronson makes few outright comments and judgements on his subjects, provides no grand summing up of his findings and that may be the book's biggest flaw. The closest he gets is the concluding statement that nobody really controls anything. The book is more reportage than analysis. But that reporting is done with a sharp eye for the humorous and sinister. Bakri tells of what a future Islamic London will be like -- and is chided at a meeting of fellow jihadists about his inept fishing. Who is the man following Tucker and Ronson in Portugal during the Bilderberg meeting? Hollywood, a claimed nexus of the Grand Jewish Conspiracy, comes off as petty, apolitical, and a place of insincere boutique faith as Ronson follows Tony Kaye, director of _American History X_, around. Klansmen argue the merits of silk or cotton robes. Ronson infiltrates the Bohemian Grove -- attended by U. S. presidents and vice-presidents -- and finds a rather silly, decades old frat boy ritual that just doesn't have the same drawing power it used to among the up-and-coming junior world ruler set. And more than once, Ronson, a Jew, finds himself guiltily associating with anti-Semites. To be sure, some of the books chapters seem extraneous. An auction of Nicolae Ceausescu's relics adds nothing. Neither does a chapter on Ian Paisley taken from an early newspaper article. Ronson's book reminded me of Phillip Finch's _God, Guts, and Guns_ which went among the American radical right and the works of Laird Wilcox about American political extremists. Its humor and willingness to consider outre theories like David Icke's reminded me of Alex Heard's _Apocalypse Pretty Soon_, the work of Ronson's fellow Englishman Louis Theroux, and the pages of _The Fortean Times_. Anybody interested in strange beliefs, conspiracy theories, or political extremism should read this book.
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