The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

Jon Ronson

Jun 2011 · Pan Macmillan

About this ebook

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

Ratings and reviews

Built a level of intrique early on and proceeded to do little with it. Attempted to blend science, medicine and fiction with limited understanding and sometimes poor accuracy. I remain unsure of what this book set out to achieve but it seems to have created an initial level of interest that went nowhere other than adding to mental health stigma and a sense of "aprehension/fear" of the unknown. Disappointing.

It's easy to warm to Ronson's narrative style as he takes you with him on his journey from London to Sweden to Florida and back, examining the issue of defining psychopathy and what it means to be a psychopath. The people he encounters on his journey are varied in their ideas, giving you a wide range of opinions to mull over as you double-check the Psychopath Checklist for evidence of your neighbour or co-worker's psychopathy. In all seriousness, I loved this book, and will return to it in the future.

A friend recommended I read this book, and I'll admit, I was incredibly cynical of the author beforehand. I've never read any of Ronson's previous work, nor have I seen the documentaries he's featured in or the film based on a previous book of his. My cynicism was based entirely on his Wikipedia entry. The second I discovered he was a journalist who had written a book about psychopathy, I started to worry. As a psychology graduate, my fears aren't without just cause. All too often books and articles are published based largely on junk-science, with references to pseudo-psychologists who give the discipline a bad name. Jon, however, manages to differentiate between actual science and the ridiculous stuff so often published in the media. I guess my main concern was that Jon Ronson lacked the qualifications and/or experience I deemed necessary to tackle a subject as complex as psychopathy. And perhaps he does? (Or did?), but his obsessive need to understand makes him qualified enough for me. He seeks both sides of every argument, recognises the pitfalls into which he's fallen and makes a complex subject palatable to a wider audience. For that, the book scores top marks.

About the author

Jon Ronson is an award-winning writer and documentary maker. He is the author of many bestselling books, including Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie, Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries, The Psychopath Test, The Men Who Stare at Goats,Them: Adventures with Extremists and So You've Been Publicly Shamed. His first fictional screenplay, Frank, co-written with Peter Straughan, starred Michael Fassbender. He lives in London and New York City.