So You've Been Publicly Shamed (Ronson) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—May 10, 1967
• Where—Cardiff, Wales, UK
• Education—University of Westminster (London)
• Currently—lives in London, England, and New York City, New York


Jon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, author, documentary filmmaker, and radio presenter, whose works include the best-selling The Men Who Stare at Goats (2004), The Psychopath Test (2011), and So You've Been Publicly Shamed (2015).

He has been described as a "gonzo journalist" (a first-person style of journalism in which the reporter is part of the story) and is known for his informal, but skeptical, investigations of controversial fringe politics and science.

As the author of nine books, Jonson's work has appeared in British publications such as The Guardian, City Life and Time Out. He has made several BBC Television documentary films and two documentary series for Channel 4. He is also a regular contributor to public radio's This American Life.

Personal life
Ronson was born in Cardiff, Wales, and studied for a degree in Media Studies at the University of Westminster. Ronson is a distinguished supporter of the British Humanist Association. He is married to Elaine Patterson, and the couple has a son, Joel.

Writing career
Ronson's first book, Clubbed Class, was published in 1994. The book is a travelogue in which Ronson bluffs his way into a jet set lifestyle, in search of the world's finest holiday.[8]

His second book, Them: Adventures with Extremists, was published in 2001 and chronicles his experiences with people labelled as extremists. Subjects in the book include David Icke, Randy Weaver, Omar Bakri Muhammad, Ian Paisley, Alex Jones, and Thom Robb. Ronson also follows independent investigators of secretive groups such as the Bilderberg Group. The narrative tells of Ronson's attempts to infiltrate the "shadowy cabal" fabled, by these conspiracy theorists, to rule the world. The book, a bestseller, was described by Louis Theroux as "funny and compulsively readable picaresque adventure through a paranoid shadow world."

Ronson's 2004 book, The Men Who Stare at Goats, deals with the secret New Age unit within the United States Army called the First Earth Battalion. Ronson investigated people who believed that, with the right mental preparation, people can walk through walls and goats can be killed simply by staring at them. A film adaptation was released in 2009, in which Ronson's investigations were fictionalised and structured around a journey to Iraq. Ronson is played by the actor Ewan McGregor in the film.

Ronson's fourth book, Out of the Ordinary: True Tales of Everyday Craziness, was published in 2006. It is a collection of Ronson's Guardian articles, mostly those concerning his domestic life. A companion volume, What I Do: More True Tales of Everyday Craziness, was published in 2007.

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry is Ronson's fifth book, published in 2011. In it, he explores the nature of psychopathic behaviour, investigating the  reliability of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist and learning how to apply it. He interviews people in facilities for the criminally insane as well as potential psychopaths in corporate boardrooms. The book has been criticized by Robert D. Hare, creator of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, who called it "frivolous, shallow, and professionally disconcerting."

Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries is Ronson's sixth book, published in 2012. So You've Been Publicly Shamed, a book about public shaming, came out in 2015. It considers social media's role in escalating high-profile public scandals. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 4/15/2015.)