Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries
Ratings20
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings20
Average rating4.2
Frequently hilarious, sometimes disturbing, always entertaining, these fascinating stories of the chaos that lies on the fringe of our daily lives will have you wondering just what we're capable of. This updated edition of Lost at Sea includes the complete text of Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie. Jon Ronson has been on patrol with America's real-life superheroes and to a UFO convention in the Nevada desert with Robbie Williams. He's met a man who tried to split the atom in his kitchen and asked a conscious robot if she's got a soul. Fascinated by madness, strange behaviour and the human mind, Jon has spent his life exploring mysterious events and meeting extraordinary people. Collected from various sources (including the Guardian and GQ) Lost at Sea features the very best of his adventures. Portions of this book have appeared previously, in slightly different form, in Out of the Ordinary, What I Do, the Guardian and GQ.
Reviews with the most likes.
Jon Ronson doing what he does best–interacting with crazy people and then writing charming, quirky essays about the encounter
I'm usually more interested in fiction unless I'm researching a specific topic, but I found Lost at Sea to be hugely entertaining and thoughtful. Ronson is frequently hilarious (the opening chapter, an interview of Insane Clown Posse, had me cackling), and the book often feels like you're hearing someone tell a great story at a party.
On a more serious note, Ronson has two chapters about economic issues that everyone should read: “Who Killed Richard Cullen?,” about a man who committed suicide after his credit card debt spiraled out of control, and “Amber Waves of Green,” about economic inequality in America. They were published before the crash in 2008/09 and capture some of the absurdity of our economic system.
Slow to start, but I found the later articles a lot more interesting. I especially liked the articles about Robbie Williams and Stanley Kubrick
