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 - PAGE TURNERIt's not a question of WHO I know to be a psychopath, but HOW MANY I know. This book explains everything about a person I'm dealing with. I'm hoping that many people will understand me better and see that I'M NOT the one at fault. Thank you, Dr. Hare Rating:  - Good InsightThis book gives a good insight to the mind of a psychopath. My favorite parts of the book was a look at the different cases of Dr. Hare. Rating: - A classicThis was one of the earliest books I read on psychopaths. I've since read many more on the topic and this is still a classic. In fact, I return to it every so often. Hare's extensive research into psychopathy has resulted in his psychopath's checklist- a useful tool or clinicians and forensic psychologists. In this particular book he doesn't exactly spell it out in a "checklist", but he describes psychopaths behavior by behavior, using cases he has worked with while a prison psychologist. His work is presented in easy to read laymen terms that suggest psychopathy is not the result of poor upbringing, harsh, abusive or even overindulgent childhood, although those things may play a role. Hare's research points to a strong biological, possibly genetic component to this costly (from society's point of view) disorder. He also cites' Hervey Cleckley, an early authority on the topic. I suspect a few people became interested in this particular area of research because of both Ceckley and Hare's work. It was such an easy read that I was done before I knew it. The ease of reading also says a lot about a book, considering that at the end, you've gained a good amount of knowledge about a heavy and often contentious issue. Rating: - Great intro to psychpathy!Hare's book, along with Martha Stout's (The Sociopath Next Door), are probably the most accessible, easy-to-read introductions to the reality of psychopathy. Without Conscience is loaded with entertaining and disturbing accounts of researchers' experiences with psychopaths. You can see almost first-hand the psychopath's strange use of language, his total disregard for the truth, his absolute lack of guilt or conscience. Hare debunks some of the myths of psychopathy, like the idea that it is the result of poor child rearing, and that it is the same as 'antisocial personality disorder'. If you enjoyed this book, a more advanced work is James Blair et al.'s The Psychopath: Emotion and the Brain. It gets more into the actual neuroscience, and is more up to date. Also, probably the best book on the importance of the problem of psychopathy on society and culture is Andrew Lobaczewski's Political Ponerology. It is an analysis of the effect of psychopathic individuals on political processes (particularly Nazism and Communism, but equally applicable to modern systems like Neoconservatism). I consider all of the above books to be essential reading. What you don't know CAN hurt you. Rating: - Educate yourself and read this book!Highly recommended to read. Hare deals with the serious subject of psychopathy in a thorough way and covers all the essentials. Throughout the text the subject matter is illustrated by many examples from real life, which makes it easier to understand. The disturbing fact is that about 1 out of 25 people is a psychopath and most of them do not end up in jail or mental institutions. On the contrary they climb the corporate ladder, become politicians or just simply con or defraud ordinary people without getting caught. Best protection is to understand about psychopathy and how psychopaths operates in our midst. Read it along with these other complimentary books on the subject: "In sheeps clothing", "The sociopath next door", "Political Ponerology" and "The Mask of Sanity". In association with Amazon.com | |