So You've Been Publicly Shamed
4.75/5 This review refers to the audiobook version. Jon Ronson is amazing. So You've Been Publicly Shamed isn't amazing, but it is pretty darn good. As is typical with Ronson -- and if you haven't read him, you really should -- he mixes humor and journalism and social science theories and factoids (in this instance, social psychology) to report on an unusual topic. In the past, we have gotten the lowdown on psychopaths (The Psychopath Test), secret US Army research departments (The Men Who Stare at Goats), extremists and just those who are a bit out there (Them and Lost at Sea -- the latter worth reading for the piece on the Insane Clown Posse if nothing else). Here we get an examination of public shaming from its historical context to present day twitter feeding frenzies and a look at the industries built around public shaming and the effect shaming has on people when all the buzz dies down. I have to say that despite my training in social psych I was not intrigued at first glance, but Jon Ronson handles the topic deftly and adds dimension to an issue that I thought was fairly dimensionless -- I mean, so you were called-out on Twitter and feel bad, so what? Of course there is a lot more to it and we find out what in So You've Been Publicly Shamed. Ronson seems more serious here than he has in his previous books and his research appears a bit more robust. While I regret that there were fewer lol moments, I did like his more serious, but still Ronson-esque, approach. Ronson reads the book and as far as I am concerned when it comes to any of Ronson's work, you have to listen to the audiobook. He is an outstanding narrator and he can tell his own stories perfectly, which as you may know from listening to other authors reading their own books, this is not guaranteed. Definitely his narration gives extra points to the overall enjoyment of So You've Been Publicly Shamed. Recommended.
