The Men Who Stare At Goats (pub. 2004; rel. 2009)

I haven't seen the movie yet, so my thoughts on adaptation come strictly from the trailer.

The Men Who Stare At Goats is a non-fiction piece of first person journalism by Jon Ronson. Ronson has written some great books in this style, including Them: Adventures with Extremists (excellent and recommended!), Clubbed Class (not as recommended, and less excellent) and Out of the Ordinary (a collection of columns so an easy way to get into his voice; recommended if you like that voice, but grating if you don't). He also contributes to the radio program This American Life. You might notice that I've read a bunch of Ronson and enjoy his writing.

Goats follows Ronson as he travels around learning about some odd projects financed by the American military. The origin of these projects seems to be the First Earth Battalion Operations Manual. As Ronson follows various leads, he meets lots of odd people that you would not expect to be in the military and they describe lots of odd projects. The title project refers to a man who killed a goat by staring at it. There is a weird science fiction vibe and the men involved sometimes refer to themselves as "Jedis" and talk about walking through walls.

The book is very funny and goofy and then the ending packs a punch [SPOILER!]: the First Earth Battalion Operations Manual turns out to have planted the seeds of all sorts of activities that were used at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Not waterboarding, but psychological torture like sleep deprivation and playing Barney the Dinosaur's theme song over and over again.

At that point all the hilarity drains and you realize that the lovable kooks who wanted to remake the US military into a New Age force are not so lovable but still kooks, and still have an effect on our military. Then it becomes scary.

The overall arc of the tone and story makes this my favorite of Ronson's book (Them is awesome but consists of short pieces connected by theme rather than a sustained look at a weird phenomenon).

From the trailers to the film it looks like Ewan MacGregor (Jedi! Ha!) is playing an American journalist based on Ronson. This would seem to work against the Woody Allen-esque, meek British Jew persona Ronson writes in. The movie also looks like it's played for more slapstick laughs rather than the uncomfortable recognition the book plies.

What you will find in the book that wasn't in the movie:
Lots of details and a connection with contemporary events that makes the proceedings seem less laughable and more scary. Some of the programs instigated are so bizarre that you won't believe that this is how your tax dollars were spent. On the other hand, some of the characters have such good hearts, it's amazing they were ever soldiers.

Links:
Jon Ronson was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered about his book becoming a movie.

Bottom line:
Judging from box office reports, not that many people liked the movie. However, this book is recommended as both entertainment and information.