What Kind Of Person Do You Think The Author Is?

I think the author of The Men Who Stare At Goats is a sarcastic individual that is also curious about the history of the U.S. Military. The author, Jon Ronson, is a reporter who is originally from the U.K. He seems to be interested in odd individuals because in The Men Who Stare At Goats he interviews and talks to some very strange people. While talking about these strange people in the book, he uses hints of humor to describe the people and events that happen, which show that he has a humorous personality. Jon Ronson's curiosity definitely shows in the book because he is always asking questions and trying to find answers. He also wrote another book about extremists called Them Adventures With Extremists, which shows that he likes to learn about different people and share their story.

Jon Ronson's Purpose of writing "The Men Who Stare At Goats"

The purpose of Jon Ronson writing The Men Who Stare At Goats was to inform and entertain. This is because Ronson uses sarcasm to inform the audience of a classified group of people in the U.S. Military that have done strange events for several years. He talks about the history of this weird group of individuals and where they are today. This topic of technology and military science is entertaining to the audience because this department of the military has been unknown to the public for quite some time. The Men Who Stare At Goats is an exciting book that informs and entertains the audience with the twisted history of an eventful group of people in the military.

MLA Documentation of "The Men Who Stare At Goats"

Ronson, Jon. The Men Who Stare At Goats. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.

FCA's
1. Identify a position
2. Explain your criteria, application, reasoning for your position with quoted evidence as support. Please indicate the page number of your quote in parentheses following the quote.
3. Explain the position of the opposition and provide counterargument.

          For the first two years of one book one school at Allen Park High School, the books were basically the same, dystopian novels. To say I am sick of dystopian novels is an understatement, I dispise dystopian novels! So this year's one book one school book Life As We Knew It was almost a relief to read after reading the other two books. Life As We Knew It was an action packed book that kept me reading until the end.
          Life As We Knew It was a great book, especially because it's set up like a diary, which makes reading go by faster. This set up also gives any reader an almost personal experience of the natural disaster that took place. The way Miranda, the teenage girl who writes the journal, describes her and her family waiting and watching the news to see why the moon came so close to the Earth makes the reader wait with anticipation like they were actually watching the TV with her family. "The TV connection went in and out, but we never got cable back (pg.22)." When Miranda said this, I had to go check and see if my TV still had cable. The action of Life As We Knew It seemed so real that the reader feels like this disaster is actually happening for real.
         Life As We Knew It was also an interesting book because of how Susan Pfeffer used a plausible natural disaster for the plot line. I happen to be a big fan of sciency disasters, so reading about an asteroid hitting the moon and the moon causing a lot of disasters made the book scary and interesting. The fact that this event could actually happen causes any reader to become terrified of the moon and asteroids. When Miranda says, "...the moon wasn't a half moon anymore. It was tilted and wrong and a three-quarter moon and it got larger, way larger...(pg.19)," I began to fear the moon. Her explanation would make any reader begin to watch the moon with suspicion or go looking through a telescope to see if there are any asteroids heading for the moon.
        Although some people may think of this book as too much of an easy read or too generic, there is so much more to this book even though it is a fast read.People that didn't like Life As We Knew It may have their reasons for disliking the book, but they need to realize that there can be other reasons to like the book. It has action, romance, science, family experiences, and so much more. One can't look at something they don't like in the book and disregard other parts of the book that they may like. Life As We Knew It was an amazing book and I would recommend to anyone that is looking for a scary, science and action filled book that will keep the reader hooked until the very end.

Why I chose "The Men Who Stare At Goats"

The non-fiction book I picked for my project was The Men Who Stare At Goats. I thought this would be a good choice because I love the movie and it seems like an interesting topic to look into. It never occurred to me that the movie was based off a book until my brother told me about it. I then realized that the book was non-fiction and immediately decided that that would be my book for this quarters project. It also caught my attention because it is a very ridiculous topic and I happen to like idiotic subjects that are surprisingly true. This book will be interesting and teach me about the crazy events in the military in the 1960s-2000s.

Recommendation of I Me Mine to AP Students

I would recommend I Me Mine to anyone who is a Beatles fan or anyone who is looking for something inspirational to read. I think the book should have been a little longer, but it is full of events and information. In addition, it might be a little hard to comprehend at some parts, but AP students are suppose to read challenging literature. Overall it is a good book that is very interesting.

Summary of I Me Mine

The book starts out with Derek Taylor talking about how he met George Harrison and how they became good friends when he became the Beatles press officer. Then it goes into George's life. He was born February 25, 1943 in a small house in Liverpool. Then, he talks about how he had an interest in rock and roll music and when he met Paul McCartney at school. He then drops out of school and joins the Quarrymen after an audition on a double decker bus with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Soon Brian Epstein becomes their manger and Ringo Starr joins, and they become the Beatles. They become famous for their song "Love Me Do". The Beatles rise to fame, but George Harrison mentions that he dislikes all the attention. He then recalls a time when they had to go to Manila to perform and how it ended up in fear, but they managed to get out of there.

George Harrison then talks about going to India, getting a sitar, and converting to the Hindu faith. Ravi Shankar is mentioned and other big influences of George Harrison's life. The marriage of George Harrison and Pattie Boyd is another event that he talks about, and how they both go to India several times

The drug LSD is also mentioned and how his dentist slipped it into John Lennon's and George Harrison's coffee. This leads to George Harrison talking about how the Beatles took the drug other times, and how it influenced their music. Then he talks about the Beatles breaking up and how he had several benefit concerts, like the Concert for Bangla Desh. He also talks about how he bought Friar Park, and how he started making more music there.

George Harrison also mentions how he became friends with Eric Idle from the show Monty Python. In addition he mentions how he became fond of Motor Racing and his love of cars. The other parts of the book are pictures and all the songs he wrote along with his notes and a descriptions of each song.