 Word On Books
with Jeremy Fenton
 Them: Adventures with Extremists
By Jon Ronson, Published by Picador
We certainly live in interesting times. All over the world there are people who believe that all is not what it seems.
Whether you are a fundamentalist Muslim, a neo-Nazi, Dr Ian Paisley, New World Order conspiracy theorist, a Hollywood movie producer or, to enter the world of the truly bizarre and outlandish, David Icke, you can arguably be classed as someone with extreme views in life.
The common thread between many of these groups and people (and their followers, of whom there are untold millions) is that they believe the world is controlled by a secret group of elites for their own nefarious purposes.
Journalist-by-day Jon Ronson has linked the dots together to come up with a startling and humorous - and not completely unsympathetic - picture of these extremists and their beliefs in his new extended piece of journalism, Them.
At times falling into step with the paranoia of his subjects, Ronson keeps the moralising to a minimum and lets the most incredible story unfold. Crossing from one side of the Atlantic to the other, he unearths a steady stream of people willing to talk about their often-absurd, if not disturbing, views.
We learn about the Klan's new publicity conscious image (never use the 'N' word in public), Muslim fundamentalists who collect money for Hamas in Coke-bottle moneyboxes, the undercover lizard people of former BBC sports broadcaster, Icke, and, repeatedly, the secretive Bilderberg Group of world leaders, where many conspiracy theories seem to begin and end.
What makes Them a compulsive page-turner is the fact that there really is a Bilderberg Group, of the world's (debatably) most wealthy and influential people (it has to be said, mainly men). And yes, they do have a remarkable track record for 'nurturing' future world leaders and influencing world affairs.
In the final chapters of Them, Ronson manages to infiltrate the secret yearly gathering of the 'rulers of the world' at the ironically named Bohemian Grove. Inside the surprisingly poorly guarded grounds he does indeed witness an extremist's worst nightmare - the world's elite engaging in a ritualistic ceremony that revolves around a giant owl.
Some will claim that this is just the type of conspiracy that many extremists describe, while others will agree with Ronson's analysis that this is just innocuous - if very strange and secretive - fun (and certainly no stranger than what often goes on in the hills around the North Coast).
Ultimately, Ronson deflates the building tension in Them by rationalising that the secret conspiracy his extremists have been describing is really just capitalism at work, albeit in a way that journalists don't usually highlight (a fact that will always be interpreted in certain hands as being part of the plot).
Ronson's final point that both 'sides' are prone to paranoia and exaggeration is convincingly made. Whatever the case, Them has something for everyone. Make your own mind up and laugh along the way.
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