Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries

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Published two years before the financial crisis, this investigation (obviously couched in the most accessible and human terms possible) of subprime lending and credit culture was extremely perspicacious. They include a couple of murder/suicide cases, the economic class issues in America, and the sad story of Richard Cullen who committed suicide after becoming hopelessly in debt. I've been a fan of Ronson's written work since coming across Them some years ago, his style of writing always seems to bring the subject alive without indulging in any deep seated judgement. I can only imagine him blushing while writing things like, "When I was a child and I imagined my future life, there were definitely talking robots living in my house, helping with the chores and having sex with me. This book reveals the influences that shaped his life and career and looks at his strengths and weaknesses.

But I wonder whether any act of sex, when described with such precision, would sound equally unpleasant. Ronson quotes the defense copiously in large blocks of both direct quotes and paraphrase, yet he can barely make room for any quotes from the prosecution. Some of the letters written by small children and given to them to answer are heart breaking like "please make mummy and daddy stop fighting" and "I would like to wear more clothes this year".

Each mystery unfolds with a perfect balance of humor and depth, making it an enjoyable read that prompts reflection on the quirks of society. Jon meets the man preparing to welcome the aliens to Earth, the woman trying to build a fully conscious robotic replica of the love of her life, and the Deal or No Deal contestants with a fool proof system to beat the Banker.

Here he celebrates the centenary month of Ian Flemming's birth - by travelling in James Bond's footsteps, from London to Geneva, driving a vintage Aston Martin. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Frustrating as all get go too, because it's written so well it's as if we, the reader, were actually taking part in these extraordinary events and conversations, and I want to ask. The humour and Jon's sly takes on the observed situations were fine at first, bringing on the odd chuckle, but began to grate on me as time went on. The would-be killers, like all students in North Pole high school, answered letters from children all over the world addressed to "Santa, North Pole" under elfish pseudonyms.

But experts are for other journalists; Ronson asks this burning question of only four people: his reader (multiple times), King (who "won't be drawn on the subject"), one of King's friends who admits to helping King ply young boys with whiskey ("How many times do you have to go back before you decide that you don't like being fucked? He seems to find special people and special circumstances and tells the story in around 15 pages which makes the book easy to drop in and out of. I listened to the audio version because it's narrated by Ronson - he's one of those authors whose voice is so distinctive that you'll try to picture the words in his cadence anyway, so you might as well have him do the honors.

Ronson doesn't tell us how old King was during these assaults, only that the boys were between 14- and 16-years old, but since King was born in 1944 and the assault charges spanned 1982-1987, he must have been between 38 and 45 years old. Born into colonial Trinidad in 1922, he emerged in the 1950s, at the forefront of multicultural Britain, acting as an intermediary between the growing Caribbean community, the islands they had left behind, and the often hostile conditions of life in post War Britain. Perhaps it is this willingness to believe or at least try to believe that means he gets to know some of life's stranger characters. I saw the film version of The Men Who Stared at Goats, though it was awful, but the writing in Lost at Sea is so good, I might change my mind about reading Goats. Portions of this book have appeared previously, in slightly different form, in Out of the Ordinary, What I Do, the Guardian and GQ (USA).

An enjoyable and informative read that's given me a taste to find out more about a number of topics.