Them: Adventures with Extremists

‘Funny and compulsively readable’ Louis TherouxWhat if a tiny, shadowy elite rule the world from a secret room? In Them Jon Ronson sets out to find this room, with the help of the extremists – Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen – that believe in it. Along the way, he is chased by men in dark glasses, unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp, and witnesses international CEOs and politicians participate in a bizarre pagan ritual in the forests of northern California.A Sunday Times bestseller and the book that launched Jon Ronson’s inimitable career, Them is an eye-opening outrageously funny exploration of extremism, which makes both author and reader think twice about the looking-glass world of ‘us’ and ‘them’ . . .Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature. ‘Chilling and hilarious . . . Ronson’s trademark laid-back attitude is a delight’ – The Independent

A funny, superbly controlled account of Ronson's wanderings through the wonderland of fanaticism and delusion . . . The result is high comedy., Often entertaining, more often disturbing . . . Ronson has gotten closer to these people than any journalist I can think of., Ronson has a deft, ironic touch and a brilliant way with scene-setting and direct speech., The strength of Ronson's book is that it reminds us not only that extremists are weird but also that their fantasies take sustenance from the real world., Made me laugh out loud, as well as shudder.

Jon Ronson is an award-winning writer and documentary maker. He is the author of many bestselling books, including So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, The Psychopath Test, Lost at Sea, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Them: Adventures with Extremists. His acclaimed podcasts include Things Fell Apart and The Butterfly Effect, and he co-wrote the screenplays for the movies Okja and Frank. He lives in New York.