The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

Jon Ronson

May 2011 · Sold by Penguin

About this eBook

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.

Ratings and reviews

The book was greatly interesting, and the author's enthusiasm was evident. Although it starts off with a mystery it shifts into some very interesting stories about mental illness and then into psychopaths. All of the interviews are well done, and the subjects made for the perfect additions. I wish it went into more depth for the corporate portions, but all in all it was still an enjoyable book.

I consider this a true "must read" book. It gives the definition and characteristics of your average psychopath and how and why they are so dangerous. Considering that studies suggest that approx. 40% of prison inmates are psychopaths, that about 700,000 right off the bat. It's also been suggested that a large number of corporations are run by psychopaths. So if you really want to understand at least some of the problems we are facing it's a must to understand the mind of a psychopath.

I enjoyed every page of this book. The author seemed to spend the right amount of time with each interviewee and did not inject teasers and mundane fillers. Time well spent reading this and plenty to ponder afterwards regarding the classifiers and the classified. Rigorous and honest research with the right moments of humor.

About the author

Jon Ronson’s works include New York Times bestseller So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, Lost at Sea, The Amazing Adventures of Phoenix Jones, and international bestsellers: Them: Adventures with Extremists and The Men Who Stare at Goats. Ronson lives in New York.