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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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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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- 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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- 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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- martin
- 01-08-13
Funny and troubling.
Another fantastic piece of journalism. Witty and entertaining but most of all it is relevant and very troubling.
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- SUPERDAN1116
- 04-09-18
Good Book
Not much to say its just a good book, I mean if you want you can be interested by the title and don't get me wrong it ds go through the test in one chapter, that is it.
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- Laurence graham
- 18-05-20
Superb!!!!!
I really enjoyed this audiobook. It’s was superb. So interesting from beginning to end. I also love Jon’s narration.
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- jonath
- 15-06-20
thought evoking
struggled through chapter 1 then completely taken in and emerged in this intriguing story and continually challenged
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- Canterbury
- 25-11-23
Very Thorough
Fascinating to look at this from an investigative journalist’s point of view. Appreciate Ronson catching up with Hare for his opinions, and with the other specialists in this field. Loved hearing Ronson narrate his own work
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- Ms. G. Forrest
- 16-07-22
Interesting & Enjoyable
It gets you thinking about everyone you know, celebrities & historical figures, evaluating psychopath potential.
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