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A review by shanehawk
The Elephant in the Room: A Journey into the Trump Campaign and the Alt-Right by Jon Ronson
3.0
[a:Jon Ronson|1218|Jon Ronson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1428023511p2/1218.jpg] came into my radar once he was on the Joe Rogan Experience this year. I had not heard of him despite being responsible for [b:The Men Who Stare at Goats|1824|The Men Who Stare at Goats|Jon Ronson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437183381s/1824.jpg|819599]. He's somewhat of a gonzo journalist and relies on emotion and personality to tell his narrative instead of hard facts. His writing here is relatively informal and easy to read. It's only about 45 digital pages and worth a read if you're unfamiliar with events surrounding the alt-right movement.
I've closely followed politics for the past two years and even more so since Trump got elected. This Kindle single was published more than a month before Election Day 2016 so it does not have the benefit of being aware that Trump and his team actually won the presidency. Near the end of the book he was a tad alarmist like a typical journalist, but it's forgivable because most, if not all, journalists have no idea how to handle the reality of Trump.
Throughout this short piece Ronson gives background on Alex Jones and Roger Stone most of all. He retells his personal experience with both of these men in the earliest reaches of the 2016 election cycle. What surprised me was him sharing his involvement with Alex Jones in the late 90s when they went to Bohemian Grove to try and expose the rituals held there by elitists.
Overall, I did not gain much of anything from this read because I am fairly cognizant when it comes to modern politics. I wouldn't exactly recommend it to anyone I know, but they're free to give it a spin. Won't hurt much with it being less than fifty pages.
I'll leave you with the hilariously ironic ending (spoiler alert):
I've closely followed politics for the past two years and even more so since Trump got elected. This Kindle single was published more than a month before Election Day 2016 so it does not have the benefit of being aware that Trump and his team actually won the presidency. Near the end of the book he was a tad alarmist like a typical journalist, but it's forgivable because most, if not all, journalists have no idea how to handle the reality of Trump.
Throughout this short piece Ronson gives background on Alex Jones and Roger Stone most of all. He retells his personal experience with both of these men in the earliest reaches of the 2016 election cycle. What surprised me was him sharing his involvement with Alex Jones in the late 90s when they went to Bohemian Grove to try and expose the rituals held there by elitists.
Overall, I did not gain much of anything from this read because I am fairly cognizant when it comes to modern politics. I wouldn't exactly recommend it to anyone I know, but they're free to give it a spin. Won't hurt much with it being less than fifty pages.
I'll leave you with the hilariously ironic ending (spoiler alert):
"The idea of Donald Trump and Alex Jones and Roger Stone and Stephen Bannon having power over us--that is terrifying."