Lost at Sea (edição: 2013)

I liked it but the random assortment of stories doesn't really have any common narrative and individual cases just don't get enough pages or attention. Just a few callous snarky comments and off we go to the next tragedy. ( )

Ronson is an investigative journalist of some note. He has always sought to engage those at the very periphery of society, and his sympathetic form of interviewing enable him to get the best out of his subjects.

This book is a collection of his writings on meeting all sorts of people, from Robbie Williams at an alien abductees conference to correspondence with the despicable Jonathan King at his trial for child abuse. He talks to families who have lost sons and daughters working on cruise ships and joins and Alpha course. He accompanies super heroes in America trying to rid their streets of crime and rifles through the files and photos of Stanley Kubrick, and meets the elves at the North Pole.

He writes the way he thinks; he probes and is unafraid of asking the difficult questions, and following it up with further questions when the answer is not adequate. He is very sympathetic to those on the fringes of society, but bold enough to know when he has to ask the tough questions to those who seek to evade telling the truth.

Great book, makes me want to read the psychopath test. ( )

I won this book through the first-reads program.

Once more, [a:Jon Ronson|1218|Jon Ronson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1321593258p2/1218.jpg] delivers a well-researched, entertaining look at the world around us. This time around the topics range from Indigo Children, to celebrities accused of pedophilia. There are essays on alien encounters, as well as people driven to murder-suicide, and the disparity between those in the highest economic bracket and those in the lowest. It's truly an amazing mix.

I found the ending of the book a bit abrupt, but aside from that the book was marvelous. [a:Jon Ronson|1218|Jon Ronson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1321593258p2/1218.jpg] is a journalist, and a master at his craft. He makes the reader think, and question, and that is the most anyone could ever ask. ( )

I loved this book. A series of essays and articles. Full of laughter, sadness, horror and strange things people believe. ( )

Ronson is compelling and interesting but sometimes his writing seems creepy and harmful and his judgment poor. Were the police called when he interviewed the sex offender who had his victim present? Why are 15 year old girls as opposed to 15 year old boys less entitled to justice?
The best review of this book can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/510363904 ( )