Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries

Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries

  • by Jon Ronson
  • Narrated by Jon Ronson
  • 15 hrs and 22 mins
  • Unabridged Audiobook
4.27 (1642
Ratings.
)

Publisher's Summary

Jon Ronson is fascinated by madness, extraordinary behaviour and the human mind. He has spent his life investigating crazy events, following fascinating people and unearthing unusual stories. Collected here from various sources (including The Guardian and GQ America) are the best of his adventures. Always intrigued by our ability to believe the unbelievable, Jon meets the man preparing to welcome the aliens to Earth, the woman trying to build a fully conscious robotic replica of the love of her life and the Deal or No Deal contestants with a foolproof system to beat the Banker.
Jon realizes that it's possible for our madness to be a force for good when he meets America's real-life superheroes or a force for evil when he meets the Reverend 'Death' George Exoo, who has dubiously assisted in more than a hundred mercy killings. He goes to a UFO convention in the Nevada desert with Robbie Williams, asks Insane Clown Posse (who are possibly America's nastiest rappers) whether it's true they've actually been evangelical Christians all along and rummages through the extensive archives of Stanley Kubrick. Frequently hilarious, sometimes disturbing, always entertaining, these compelling encounters with people on the edge of madness will have you wondering just what we're capable of.
This is an updated edition with new afterword, written and narrated by Jon Ronson.

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Most Helpful

Like a Collection of TAL Episodes

Ronson's journalistic style and various narrative journeys remind me of the weekly podcast episodes of This American Life, with Ira Glass. I particularly related to the stories of the credit/bank clusterfluck of 2008 - and Ronson was writing way before this crisis started to peak - and the missing cruise ship staff member. Ronson has a signature method of starting small, with an individual or seemingly low impact situation, and then developing the larger picture with expanded implications.

His narrative voice is good, but takes some getting used to. Initially he sounds slightly hoarse, with little projection at a very low volume, but once I became more familiar with his auditory style, it was all good.

Compilations of stories and episodic collections used to be exactly what I would avoid purchasing on audible, but now I find myself enjoying the varied range of perspectives and story lines afforded by edited groupings of shorter pieces. I think this is partly due to looking at why I listen - I'm not always seeking a 9-to-21-hour plot line and buildup to a specific result; nor is "how it all ends" my predominant purpose in listening to books rather than reading the print versions. I just like the explorations of emotional landscape and inner dialogue and it's not that relevant for me to have a specific factual ending. Another aspect of listening for me is that I can read books while doing other things - working, walking, running, driving, so listening to one full-length story is not a huge factor.

This is a superb collection and well-suited to the investigative journalist's voice of Jon Ronson.
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- Pamela Harvey

One of my favorite audiobooks

This has to be one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. Ronson is insightful, funny, and most importantly picks really interesting topics to write about. I do not want to list all the topics or chapters but there are not too many dull moments (even stories I have heard before are given an interesting twist by Ronson. A great listen for anyone that wants something funny and somewhat topical/non-fiction but not 'silly'
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- Robert

Book Details

  • Release Date: 10-11-2012
  • Publisher: Audible Studios
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