Beyond the Fringe: A review of Them: Adventures With Extremists

By Jon Ronson:

Ronson, a writer and documentary filmmaker in Britain, insinuated himself into the homes and graces of a variety of conspiracy theorists and ”extremists,” whom he defines as those who ”have been called extremists by others.” The project began with Omar Bakri Mohammed, who is said to be Osama bin Laden’s ”man in London.” Ronson went on to ingratiate himself with American Klansmen, neo-Nazis and the New World Order conspiracy theorists, some of whom he joins in the quest for the one ”secret room” where a conclave of rulers supposedly plots the conspiracies that control the world.

There is a lively account of Ronson’s attempts to penetrate the meeting of the Bilderberg Group, a publicity-averse conclave of globalists — and recent focus of ”secret room” theorists. Then there is his more successful attempt to sneak into the annual Bohemian Grove encampment in Northern California, where the rich and powerful cavort, cross-dress and enact rituals like the ”cremation of care,” in which an allegorical figure representing the tedium of everyday life is set ablaze. A conspiracy theorist radio host who accompanies Ronson insists this is proof the Bohemians practice human sacrifice. NY Times