Lost Boys

An Irish Independent book of the year.

The fascinating true story of one of the most controversial psychological experiments of the modern era — a real-life Lord of the Flies.

Competition. Prejudice. Discrimination. Conflict.

In 1954, a group of boys attended a remote summer camp where they were split into two groups, and encouraged to bully, harass, and demonise each other. The results would make history as one of social psychology’s classic — and most controversial — studies: the Robbers Cave experiment.

Conducted at the height of the Cold War, officially the experiment had a happy ending: the boys reconciled, and psychologist Muzafer Sherif demonstrated that while hatred and violence are powerful forces, so too are cooperation and harmony. Today it is proffered as proof that under the right conditions warring groups can make peace. Yet the true story of the experiments is far more complex, and more chilling.

In The Lost Boys, Gina Perry explores the experiment and its consequences, tracing the story of Sherif, a troubled outsider who struggled to craft an experiment that would vanquish his personal demons. Drawing on archival material and new interviews, Perry pieces together a story of drama, mutiny, and intrigue that has never been told before.

‘[A] fascinating study.’

-- PD Smith The Guardian

‘[F]ascinating.’

The Times

‘[Gina Perry’s] central point never loses its shock value: ‘How many psychological wounds were caused in pursuit of scientific and historical understanding?’

-- Frances Ween The Mail on Sunday

‘Touching and horrifying.’

-- Barnaby Crowcroft Times Literary Supplement

‘Mesmerising … Perry is a deeply thoughtful and empathetic writer.’

Spectator

‘[F]ascinating and not a little chilling.’

Esquire

‘In The Lost Boys, Gina Perry puts these extraordinary experiments under the microscope. As in her 2013 book Behind the Shock Machine, which probed psychologist Stanley Milgram’s 1960s research on obedience, she is unsatisfied with the half-truths lazily handed down in textbooks … The result is an enlightening read, and a ripping yarn.’

Nature

‘This is a wonderful book; I couldn't stop reading once I started. Gina Perry is not only a thorough researcher, she's also a great writer. A lot of psychology textbooks will have to updated after her groundbreaking research.’

-- Rutger Bregman, author of The Sunday Times bestseller Utopia for Realists

‘When the first punch is thrown in the opening chapter, you know you're in for a wild ride. In The Lost Boys, academic sleuth Gina Perry investigates the back story of a real-life Lord of the Flies study of human behaviour at a summer camp. The fascinating journey — which takes us through the history of psychology, Turkey, and even American summer camps — reads more like a detective novel than a psychological history book.’

-- Susannah Cahalan, author of the New York Times bestseller Brain on Fire

‘In The Lost Boys, Gina Perry has created a meticulously-researched, skilfully crafted account of a decades-old experiment that still casts a shadow over the lives of its subjects. This is a fascinating, disturbing and utterly compelling cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific obsession.’

-- Michael Brooks, author of The Quantum Astrologer's Handbook

‘A fascinating and finely written study of one of the best-known social experiments of the twentieth century. Through archive research and interviews with participants, Gina Perry uses her investigative flair to reconstruct the context, characters and stakes of this strange piece of history.’

-- Darian Leader, author of What Is Madness?

‘[A]s engrossing as a thriller.’

-- Des Breen Irish Examiner

‘Intriguing ... Written in an engaging style, it will fascinate both academics and casual readers alike.’

Canberra Weekly

‘In The Lost Boys, Gina Perry returns to the terrain of morally dubious and manipulative psychological experiments.’

The Saturday Age

‘Enthralling.’

Australian Book Review

‘[An] excellent piece of non-fiction interrogating one of the most celebrated pieces of psychological research of the mid-20th century.’

Herald Sun

‘Fascinating … excellent.’

Weekend Australian

‘An engrossing expose of the Robbers Cave experiment, a classic study in social psychology, was also a fine historical recreation.’

-- Gideon Haigh ABR’s ‘Books of the Year 2018’

‘A clear-eyed assessment of a significant chapter in the history of psychology and social science.’

Kirkus Reviews

‘Perry writes about Sherif’s complicated past, why he was able to carry out the test, and how the boys banded against each other at the camp. But she also digs into the theory behind it, which feels spookily relevant now: the idea that we easily pick sides based on arbitrary circumstances, and that can lead to violence.’

Outside Magazine, ‘The Best New Books of March’

‘[Perry’s] analysis of Sherif’s scientific process benefits from a distance, seeing revelations that Sherif and his staff were too close to see. It was enthralling and appalling at the same time.’

-- RuthAlice Anderson Tonstant Weader

‘This brilliant reexamination of a study that resonates today should interest scholars as well as undergraduate and graduate psychology students.’ STARRED REVIEW

Library Journal

‘In assessing the ostensible success of the experiment and the work of Sherif, who emerges as an extremely difficult man, arrogant and conceited, Perry has done prodigious research.’

Booklist

‘[This] long profile of him [Sherif], and description of his experiment, will likely remain unsurpassed.’

Publishers Weekly
Praise for Behind the Shock Machine

'A remarkable example of how good creative non-fiction is researched and written ... a compelling true story that fascinates and informs at the same time.'

-- Lee Gutkind, editor of Creative Nonfiction
Praise for Behind the Shock Machine

'A necessary and gripping book.'

-- Maria Tumarkin
Praise for Behind the Shock Machine

'Fine, thought-provoking science writing.'

-- Rick Sullivan Adelaide Advertiser

Gina Perry is an Australian writer. Her feature articles, columns, and essays have been published in The Age and The Australian, and her short fiction has been published in a number of literary magazines, including Meanjin, Westerly, and Island. Her first book, Behind the Shock Machine, was about Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiences, and her co-production of the ABC Radio National documentary on the experiments won the Silver World Medal for a history documentary in the 2009 New York Festivals radio award. In 2013 she was a finalist in the UNSW Bragg Prize for Science Writing.

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