(Originally published 2011, Paperback edition 272 pages)
Mr. Ronson's "The Psychopath Test" is more about his adventures in
learning about psychopathy. The book jumps about as he follows one piece
of information to another. Add to this his intelligence, investigative
skills as a reporter of the abnormal, his own personal anxiety's, and a
sharp sense of humor and you wind up with a delicious, quirky story that
is informative, sometimes scary and other times balls out funny.
"The Psychopath Test" gives you a general overview of how it's determined if someone is plagued with the condition. I cannot stress enough that this is not some in-depth, academic dissection of the condition. The author describes the Robert Hare Checklist that is used as the diagnostic test and takes a course taught by Mr. Hare about how to detect psychopaths. Needless to say, armed with this new information, Mr. Ronson takes his new-found knowledge out for a spin by interviewing such people as Sunbeam's ex-CEO Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap; an ex-British agent; conspiracy theorists obsessed with 9/11 and a British terrorist attack known as 7/7; an ex-Haitian leader of a paramilitary group who murdered oodles of Aristide supporters; how producers select contestants for reality TV shows and an extremely odd bird named David Shayler. The author also describes the creation of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders currently known as DSM-IV which is the reference book used by the medical community.
Some of this stuff sounds like it would be quite dry reading, but due to Mr. Ronson's self-deprecating, witty delivery, I found myself completely captivated by this easy-to-read book. I finished it a little better informed about psychopathy and the murky world of mental illness as well as with a smile on my face.
"The Psychopath Test" gives you a general overview of how it's determined if someone is plagued with the condition. I cannot stress enough that this is not some in-depth, academic dissection of the condition. The author describes the Robert Hare Checklist that is used as the diagnostic test and takes a course taught by Mr. Hare about how to detect psychopaths. Needless to say, armed with this new information, Mr. Ronson takes his new-found knowledge out for a spin by interviewing such people as Sunbeam's ex-CEO Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap; an ex-British agent; conspiracy theorists obsessed with 9/11 and a British terrorist attack known as 7/7; an ex-Haitian leader of a paramilitary group who murdered oodles of Aristide supporters; how producers select contestants for reality TV shows and an extremely odd bird named David Shayler. The author also describes the creation of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders currently known as DSM-IV which is the reference book used by the medical community.
Some of this stuff sounds like it would be quite dry reading, but due to Mr. Ronson's self-deprecating, witty delivery, I found myself completely captivated by this easy-to-read book. I finished it a little better informed about psychopathy and the murky world of mental illness as well as with a smile on my face.
Meyers - A few years ago, I
started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short
reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #318)
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