Kevin Dutton

I've long been intrigued by the human mind and what shapes our personalities and decision-making and, as such, found this a compelling read. Kevin Dutton's research approach is far from the typical morbid fascination in the violent crimes of psychopaths. Instead, we look at what makes the psychopathic mind different from the average person's, and how some of those differences make them quite successful in certain careers.

Dutton's writing style is easy to fall into. While I wouldn't call this show more light reading (I can't imagine anything on this topic that would be), it doesn't read like a text book. The research is well explained without being overly detailed.

Dutton stresses that not all psychopaths are evil or murderers. We spend a lot of time looking at "functional" psychopaths who are nonviolent and quite successful. My one problem here is that, while we're treated to all the reasons they can be beneficial to society, Dutton doesn't examine the disastrous effects these "functional" psychopaths can have on families or even work environments.

This book brings up the entire concept of free will, which is perhaps a side effect of the exploration. While only touched on lightly here, after reading this it's impossible not to question how many of our decisions are truly free will, and how many are simply a product of our genetic makeup. show less

I loved this book! So, what kind of a miserable expletive am I to only award it four stars?

The reason for the missing astral body, is that it doesn't do what the cover purports: the art of split-second persuasion, "So mind-alteringly brilliant that I'm amazed that it hasn't been made illegal." Fairly standard self-help fair. Except, the book is far more honest, well written and interesting than that.

This book examines the how techniques work, rather than giving a list of 'must do' rules for show more earning a million before breakfast. Kevin Dutton gives an in-depth view of modern thinking upon the subject of how we react to certain stimuli and what kind of brain one needs to give off those stimuli. He does this, not in a dry, professorial style, but in a deceptively chatty, humorous fashion. One finds oneself smiling and enjoying a trip to places that can blow your mind.

Mr Dutton does not promise anything, let alone the power to sell snow to Eskimos; he does, however, give insights into areas whereby even a poor salesman, such as I, can improve both business and personal communication skills.

This book is absolutely fascinating and well worth reading - just don't believe the cover! show less

The phenomena of the world don't come prepackaged into categories. The classic example, used in this book, is colors. Between red and orange there is an infinite number of intermediate hues. But we don't have an infinite number of words to talk about these, we can't distinguish them, and we don't use them. Similarly with most everything. How psychopathic must a person be before they cross the line into clinical diagnosis - or any other psychological dimension that becomes pathological when show more present in an extreme.

How coarsely or finely we should judge or describe a given situation, that depends on our purpose. Sometimes a major decision must be made in a very short time. Other times it is better to analyze things more precisely.

That's pretty much the message of the book. It turns into 330 pages in a few ways. Yeah, sheer repetition. Plus a bunch of examples. And then there is a lot of a kind of banter, a kind of coarse poetic amplification that is mostly quite sloppy. Alliteration, imagery, kind of a rap rhythm. Maybe for some readers, this will make the book less dull and give a kind of cool hip flavor. Dutton gives us three deeply embedded categories: fight or flight, us or them, right or wrong. So maybe the cool factor is a way of framing the book as being "one of us" for his intended audience - not college professors, that's for sure! Or anyway, only very hip college professors. I must admit, he maps a lot of slogans into those three deeply embedded categories, in ways that don't make much sense to me. Rather than looking deeply into the mapping, he gives us more rap poetry, to get us to sign the contract. Well, he walks his talk, I'll say that!

I'd give the book a lower score because the way it is written... well, it's not for me! But the subject is really important, and Dutton does share some valuable insights. Boil this book down to the maybe 10% that has real meaning, then take that 10% and go deeper with it. Dutton does mention George Lakoff. Maybe I should have read Lakoff instead. Is there anything here that Lakoff hasn't said better? I don't know! Lakoff is kinda more professorial than I can handle! And then here I am complaining!

The most absurd thing - I'm reading the first American edition, FSG 2021, first printing. I presume the 2020 Bantam UK edition had color plates, but my book doesn't. There are a few illustrations where the colors are the whole point. The B&W images show identical shaded blocks, with different color labels below them. Well, I have an imagination! Kind of a waste of paper though. show less

**Disclaimer: The publisher provided a free digital ARC of this book for review purposes.

“The Wisdom of Psychopaths” is nonfiction, and I rarely review nonfiction, but this book is one I highly recommend to writers tackling tales about the complexities of a disturbed mind. The author creates a compelling study of psychopaths. I know you’re thinking psychology is a boring read, but Dutton provides fascinating insights without bogging the reader down in technical jargon. It’s actually show more an enjoyable read.

The reader enters the mind of those folks we try to avoid. We’re shown that while we might not like the idea, psychopaths are all around us, and many are productive members of society. You see, the psychopathic mind is not limited to criminals. You can find psychopaths in high levels of society. Basically, they’re more successful than many “normals.” We don’t recognize them because, as Dutton points out, psychopaths have

“…the consummate ability to pass themselves off as normal everyday folk, while behind the façade—the brutal brilliant disguise—beats the refrigerated heart of a ruthless, glacial predator.”

Aside from the valuable information this book provided me as a writer, I found the author's writing style very easy to slip into. Dutton uses descriptive and sometimes surprising language to carry you along on what could be a very technical and mind-numbing journey. In doing so, he creates imagery that makes the information easy to digest and to remember.

Dutton has a distinct talent for teaching without lecturing, and the information in the pages of this book is fascinating and though-provoking. Also, you know you’re wondering if you’re “normal.”

Full review to come at www.onfictionwriting.com show less