The Psychopath Inside


Book Description

“Compelling, essential reading for understanding the underpinnings of psychopathy.” — M. E. Thomas, author of Confessions of a Sociopath For his first fifty-eight years, James Fallon was by all appearances a normal guy. A successful neuroscientist and professor, he’d been raised in a loving family, married his high school sweetheart, and had three kids and lots of friends. Then he learned a shocking truth that would not only disrupt his personal and professional life, but would lead him to question the very nature of his own identity. While researching serial killers, he uncovered a pattern in their brain scans that helped explain their cold and violent behavior. Astonishingly, his own scan matched that pattern. And a few months later he learned that he was descended from a long line of murderers. Fallon set out to reconcile the truth about his own brain with everything he knew as a scientist about the mind, behavior, and personality.




The 10 Worst Psychopaths


Book Description

Often, the term 'psychopath' tends to be equated with violent and deranged criminality, but true psychopaths are very different from the way they are portrayed in film or on television. They are aware of the difference between right and wrong: they simply choose to ignore anything that prevents them getting what they want. Real-life psychopaths are not 'mad' but 'bad', but they appear on the surface to be entirely 'normal'. One of the pioneers of the modern research effort was Dr. Robert Hare, who developed the Psychopathy Check List Revised (PCL-R) in an attempt to describe the degree of psychopathy an individual displays. The clusters of personality traits and socially-deviant behaviours outlined in the check-list are separated into four types: interpersonal, affective, lifestyle and anti-social. The 10 Worst Psychopaths looks at history's most notorious and infamous psychopaths, and seeks to show how their life stories illustrate the classic psychopathic personality traits. Though all morally despicable, many of these individuals were charming, popular and charismatic. This is part of our enduring fascination with the psychopath: they are capable of extraordinary inhuman acts, and yet they appear on the surface to be entirely 'normal'. It is only once you know what to look for that the psychopathy beneath the cunning mask becomes obvious. Chillingly, psychopaths are usually the person you would least suspect.




10 Worst Psychopaths


Book Description




The World's Worst Psychopaths


Book Description

Often, the term 'psychopath' tends to be equated with violent and deranged criminality, but true psychopaths are very different from the way they are portrayed in film or on television. They are aware of the difference between right and wrong: they simply choose to ignore anything that prevents them getting what they want. Real-life psychopaths are not 'mad' but 'bad', but they appear on the surface to be entirely 'normal'. One of the pioneers of the modern research effort was Dr. Robert Hare, who developed the Psychopathy Check List Revised (PCL-R) in an attempt to describe the degree of psychopathy an individual displays. The clusters of personality traits and socially-deviant behaviours outlined in the check-list are separated into four types: interpersonal, affective, lifestyle and anti-social. The 10 Worst Psychopaths looks at history's most notorious and infamous psychopaths, and seeks to show how their life stories illustrate the classic psychopathic personality traits. Though all morally despicable, many of these individuals were charming, popular and charismatic. This is part of our enduring fascination with the psychopath: they are capable of extraordinary inhuman acts, and yet they appear on the surface to be entirely 'normal'. It is only once you know what to look for that the psychopathy beneath the cunning mask becomes obvious. Chillingly, psychopaths are usually the person you would least suspect.




The 10 Worst Serial Killers


Book Description




Without Conscience


Book Description

Most people are both repelled and intrigued by the images of cold-blooded, conscienceless murderers that increasingly populate our movies, television programs, and newspaper headlines. With their flagrant criminal violation of society's rules, serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy are among the most dramatic examples of the psychopath. Individuals with this personality disorder are fully aware of the consequences of their actions and know the difference between right and wrong, yet they are terrifyingly self-centered, remorseless, and unable to care about the feelings of others. Perhaps most frightening, they often seem completely normal to unsuspecting targets--and they do not always ply their trade by killing. Presenting a compelling portrait of these dangerous men and women based on 25 years of distinguished scientific research, Dr. Robert D. Hare vividly describes a world of con artists, hustlers, rapists, and other predators who charm, lie, and manipulate their way through life. Are psychopaths mad, or simply bad? How can they be recognized? And how can we protect ourselves? This book provides solid information and surprising insights for anyone seeking to understand this devastating condition.




Snakes in Suits


Book Description

Revised and updated with the latest scientific research and updated case studies, the business classic that offers a revealing look at psychopaths in the workplace—how to spot their destructive behavior and stop them from creating chaos in the modern corporate organization. Over the past decade, Snakes in Suits has become the definitive book on how to discover and defend yourself against psychopaths in the office. Now, Dr. Paul Babiak and Dr. Robert D. Hare return with a revised and updated edition of their essential guide. All of us at some point have—or will—come into contact with psychopathic individuals. The danger they present may not be readily apparent because of their ability to charm, deceive, and manipulate. Although not necessarily criminal, their self-serving nature frequently is destructive to the organizations that employ them. So how can we protect ourselves and our organizations in a business climate that offers the perfect conditions for psychopaths to thrive? In Snakes in Suits, Hare, an expert on the scientific study of psychopathy, and Babiak, an industrial and organizational psychologist and a leading authority on the corporate psychopath, examine the role of psychopaths in modern corporations and provide the tools employers can use to avoid and deal with them. Together, they have developed the B-Scan 360, a research tool designed specifically for business professionals. Dr. Babiak and Dr. Hare reveal the secret lives of psychopaths, explain the ways in which they manipulate and deceive, and help you to see through their games. The rapid pace of today’s corporate environment provides the perfect breeding ground for these "snakes in suits" and this newly revised and updated classic gives you the insight, information, and power to protect yourself and your company before it’s too late.




The World's Most Evil Serial Killers


Book Description

There are few people alive who are so cruel, so heartless and so undeniably evil that they will kill again and again. Yet at any one time, there are between 25 and 50 active serial killers in the USA, and their chilling crimes have fascinated us since the days of Jack the Ripper. Here you will discover how these heartless killers committed their gruesome deeds, what motivated them to kill and how, eventually, they were caught. This collection features more than 50 compelling stories, including: • Ed Kemper, who dismembered the bodies of his victims once he had finished with them; • Ted Bundy, who abducted, raped and brutally killed more than 30 women; • Charles Manson, who led a cult of mayhem and murder; • Jeffrey Dahmer, who stored a human head in his freezer; • Randy Kraft, who was pulled over for drunk driving with a body in the trunk of his car; • Alexander Pichushkin, who aimed to kill a person for every square on the chessboard.




The Wisdom of Psychopaths


Book Description

Psychopath. The word conjurs up images of serial killers, rapists, suicide bombers, gangsters. But think again: you could probably benefit from being a little more psychopathic yourself. Psychologist Kevin Dutton has made a speciality of psychopathy, and is on first-name terms with many notorious killers. But unlike those incarcerated psychopaths, and all those depicted in movies and crime fiction, most are not violent, he explains. In fact, says Prof Dutton, they have a lot of good things going for them. Psychopaths are fearless, confident, charismatic and focused--qualities tailor-made for success in today's society. The Wisdom of Psychopaths is an intellectual rollercoaster ride that combines lightning-hot science with unprecedented access to secret monasteries, Special Forces training camps, and high-security hospitals. In it, you will meet serial killers, war heroes, financiers, movie stars and attorneys--and discover that beneath the hype and popular characterization, psychopaths have something to teach us. Like the knobs on a mixing deck, psychopathy is graded. And finding the right combination of psychopathic traits, sampled and mixed at carefully calibrated volumes, can put us ahead of the game.




The Psychopath Test


Book Description

What if society wasn't fundamentally rational, but was motivated by insanity? This thought sets Jon Ronson on an utterly compelling adventure into the world of madness. Along the way, Jon meets psychopaths, those whose lives have been touched by madness and those whose job it is to diagnose it, including the influential psychologist who developed the Psychopath Test, from whom Jon learns the art of psychopath-spotting. A skill which seemingly reveals that madness could indeed be at the heart of everything . . . Combining Jon Ronson's trademark humour, charm and investigative incision, The Psychopath Test is both entertaining and honest, unearthing dangerous truths and asking serious questions about how we define normality in a world where we are increasingly judged by our maddest edges. 'The belly laughs come thick and fast – my God, he is funny . . . provocative and interesting' – Observer