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The Psychopath Test
- A Journey Through the Madness Industry
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
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The Psychopath Test
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Editor reviews
Summary
Shortlisted for: Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year – Specsavers National Book Awards 2012
This is a story about madness. It all starts when journalist Jon Ronson is contacted by a leading neurologist. She and several colleagues have recently received a cryptically puzzling book in the mail, and Jon is challenged to solve the mystery behind it. As he searches for the answer, Jon soon finds himself, unexpectedly, on an utterly compelling and often unbelievable adventure into the world of madness.
Jon meets a Broadmoor inmate who swears he faked a mental disorder to get a lighter sentence but is now stuck there, with nobody believing he’s sane. He meets some of the people who catalogue mental illness, and those who vehemently oppose them. He meets the influential psychologist who developed the industry standard Psychopath Test and who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are in fact psychopaths.
Jon learns from him how to ferret out these high-flying psychopaths and, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, heads into the corridors of power...Combining Jon’s trademark humour, charm and investigative incision, The Psychopath Test is a deeply honest book unearthing dangerous truths and asking serious questions about how we define normality in a world where we are increasingly judged by our maddest edges.
Critic reviews
“Ronson’s gift is his ability to illuminate impenetrable worlds. Hare’s checklist is already the subject of criticism, but Ronson details many studies showing how bad psychiatry has been at diagnosing mental illness.”(Nature Magazine)
"In case you get really worried about a member of your party, then we’d suggest packing Jon Ronson’s The Psychopath Test, a compelling adventure into the world of madness. Funny and revealing this book will change the way you look at your boss, boyfriend or bank manager forever." (The Guardian)
"Ronson’s gift is his ability to illuminate impenetrable worlds. Hare’s checklist is already the subject of criticism, but Ronson details many studies showing how bad psychiatry has been at diagnosing mental illness." (Nature Magazine)
What listeners say about The Psychopath Test
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Elizabeth
- 25-09-11
Very enjoyable
When I initially read the blurb for this book I thought it was a novel, as it sounds a lot like one of those books by Carlos Ruiz, with important books at the centre of a mystery, It's not a novel, although it contains plenty of material that would make a good one.
I looked forward to hearing about who he was going to talk to next, and whether they would turn out to be an actual psychopath. I would have liked to have heard more about psychopaths in industry, and whether David Icke might be onto something. It is a little bit superficial, but I wasn't looking for an academic text, I like audio books in particular with a bit of a lighter tone.
The book is about the author's encounters with people who might or might not be psychopaths, how he interacts with them, and how he feels about them. There is a a little bit of history and background, but most of the time he refrains from any exposition, relying on straightforward accounts of what happened when he met these people, and leaving you to draw your own conclusions.
There is, as another reviewer said, a certain amount of repetition. There is also an awful lot of "I said", "he said", which I think is the author's writing style, and didn't annoy me, but I did notice it. I thought it lost focus towards the end, and became more about madness in general that psychopaths in particular.
However, none of the negatives spoiled it for me, I enjoyed listening to the author read his own book, I wish more would.
If you are interested in this, look out for the Horizon program "Are you good or Evil", on BBC. It's not available at the moment, (Sept 2011), but I am sure it will be repeated.
I found the subject interesting, and the book was engagingly written and told, and I am coming to believe that the narrator can make or break an audio book.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- matthew frey
- 13-03-19
Fascinating!! Ronson produces fine work yet again!
Great story and absolutely fascinating. I've read the book and listened to it. Great listen !
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mary Claire O'Sullivan
- 14-01-19
Every minute enjoyable
Just what you'd expect from Jon Ronson. Extremely interesting and insightful from start to finish.
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- Joan, London
- 03-04-21
Great book
Great book, I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it. The narration was excellent.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 22-02-21
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Claire Kelly
- 05-09-19
An interesting and Absorbing read.
l just really enjoyed this book. It was interesting and held my attention from start to finish.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 27-11-19
mesmerized
great book, well read and written, fascinating subject! makes you look very introspectively at yourself!
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- Andy Smith
- 14-02-17
Very Interesting!
I really enjoyed this, fascinating story and a cautionary tale about using tools blindly or in isolation.
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- souljackerr
- 05-10-16
Another excellent Jon Ronson book
I've always enjoyed Jon Ronson's writing and after hearing an extract from this book in an episode of This American Life I wanted to hear the rest. His approach to the people he interviewed was really objective and he let them tell their own stories, while ultimately all pointed to similar conclusions. Very interesting stuff.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 23-12-12
Great book
A fascinating book with excellent audio track. This book does have serious I ration but it is by no means academic - light hearted and interesting throughout
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