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The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the…
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The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry (original 2011; edition 2011)

by Jon Ronson (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,8411593,177 (3.76)124
"In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey through the minds of madness. Jon Ronson's exploration of a potential hoax being played on the world's top neurologists takes him, unexpectedly, into the heart of the madness industry. An influential psychologist who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are, in fact, psychopaths teaches Ronson how to spot these high-flying individuals by looking out for little telltale verbal and nonverbal clues. And so Ronson, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, enters the corridors of power. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud in Coxsackie, New York; a legendary CEO whose psychopathy has been speculated about in the press; and a patient in an asylum for the criminally insane who insists he's sane and certainly not a psychopath. Ronson not only solves the mystery of the hoax but also discovers, disturbingly, that sometimes the personalities at the helm of the madness industry are, with their drives and obsessions, as mad in their own way as those they study. And that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their maddest edges."--Provided by publisher.… (more)
Member:MHanover10
Title:The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
Authors:Jon Ronson (Author)
Info:Tantor Audio (2011), Edition: Library - Unabridged CD
Collections:Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
Rating:***
Tags:audiobooks, nonfiction-read

Work Information

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson (2011)

  1. 10
    Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson (Sandydog1)
  2. 21
    The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: This book also deals with recognizing and dealing with people who lack the ability to empathize with others and who see emotions as a weakness to be exploited. The tone is more scholarly and clinical.
  3. 01
    A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by Augusten Burroughs (WildMaggie)
    WildMaggie: The personal experience of living with one versus the science of finding one.
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» See also 124 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 159 (next | show all)
As one of the blurbs on the endpapers (from Salon, I think) rightly observes, Jon Ronson's clever prose moves this book along at a nice clip but also manifestly engages some of the big epistemological issues related to psychiatric diagnoses. This is a fascinating--and even profound--piece of journalism.
  Mark_Feltskog | Dec 23, 2023 |
I really enjoyed this book. Had some interesting things to say about mental health. I am not going to lie though. The chapter about the over prescribing of drugs to children was my favorite. I have long believed this to be true in my part of the world. ( )
  cdaley | Nov 2, 2023 |
It's a bit difficult to get into at the beginning. But it is very informative and makes you think. ( )
  ElektraBurgos | Oct 23, 2023 |
Liked it. Liked it quite a lot! Not an incredibly in-depth/sciencey look at psychopathy, but very interesting and kept the subject very accessible. It also gave me a little list of other books/journal articles/people in the field to look up, which is wonderful.

Oh, added bonus? If you're a person who takes transit, just having this book in your lap, or held up in front of you when reading on the bus, definitely helps ensure that no one sits beside you. :) Pro tip! ( )
  beentsy | Aug 12, 2023 |
Jon Ronson's style is so breezy it's almost apologetic. If you take him at face value, he bumbles here and bumbles there and then somehow meets so many interesting people that he has no choice but to come to his conclusion. He doesn't purport to be telling any particular story, just relating his own meanderings and the start of the book doesn't even really indicate what he plans to do or why he wrote it. However, I don't believe for a second that's how Ronson actually wrote the book. I imagine he agonised over it, followed endless dead ends and carefully crafted the prose.

Nevertheless, the consequence for me, as a reader, is that this is a very light read. It doesn't make any very grand claims, but then it doesn't take too much of your time and energy, either. If you're eager to learn about the subject matter you will probably find this book disappointing, but if you like the soudn of going on a quirky adventure with a self-conscious, somewhat anxious guide, I'd highly recommend The Psychopath Test. ( )
  robfwalter | Jul 31, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 159 (next | show all)
Mr. Ronson’s latest book has less ballast. Though he retains his own paranormal ability to locate and befriend wing nuts of every stripe, he has to try a little harder than usual to get “The Psychopath Test” going. Chalk up some of that forced quality to the fact that Mr. Ronson’s BBC Radio 4 program, “Jon Ronson on ...,” is considered comedy. Throw in the fact that most psychopaths aren’t really all that funny. Still, his winning style pervades most of “The Psychopath Test,” as when Mr. Ronson wonders whether he will have psychopaths for readers. According to the second characteristic on the 20-item Hare Psychopathy Checklist (from which this book takes its title), some of them will. “Grandiose sense of self-worth” is one of their notable traits. “What should my message to them be?” he asks one Harvard Medical School psychologist. “Turn yourselves in?”
 

» Add other authors (13 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Ronson, Jonprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Dorfman, MattCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Dedication
For Anita Bhoomkar (1996-2009),
a lover of life and all its madness
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This is a story about madness.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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"In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey through the minds of madness. Jon Ronson's exploration of a potential hoax being played on the world's top neurologists takes him, unexpectedly, into the heart of the madness industry. An influential psychologist who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are, in fact, psychopaths teaches Ronson how to spot these high-flying individuals by looking out for little telltale verbal and nonverbal clues. And so Ronson, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, enters the corridors of power. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud in Coxsackie, New York; a legendary CEO whose psychopathy has been speculated about in the press; and a patient in an asylum for the criminally insane who insists he's sane and certainly not a psychopath. Ronson not only solves the mystery of the hoax but also discovers, disturbingly, that sometimes the personalities at the helm of the madness industry are, with their drives and obsessions, as mad in their own way as those they study. And that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their maddest edges."--Provided by publisher.

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