Summary of The Men who Stare at Goats

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a non-fiction book by journalist Jon Ronson which examines the U.S. Military's exploration into New Age concepts and the potential military applications of the paranormal. The book follows Ronson's investigations into the U.S. Military's secret "First Earth Battalion" experiments to create a "New Age Army" by attempting to tap into psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, and the power of prayer. The book showcases extraordinary true stories such as the origin of the fabled "goat lab" in which soldiers attempt to kill animals simply by staring at them, and the experimental, 70s-era "psyops" teams which attempted to wage psychological warfare on the enemy. The book also explores the idea of self-sacrifice and near-immortality, as well as the stories of some of the failed experiments and the visions of their glorious successes that kept the project alive.