Psychopath Test - Hardcover

Jon Ronson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0330492268 ISBN 13: 9780330492263

Publisher: Picador USA, 2011

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Jon Ronson is an award-winning writer and documentary maker. He is the author of two bestsellers: Them: Adventures with Extremists and The Men Who Stare at Goats, and two collections, Out of the Ordinary: True Tales of Everyday Craziness and What I Do: More True Tales. He lives in London.

Review

"Because of Ronson's relentless self-deprecation and goofy, British humor, it's easy to tag along without fully realizing the rigor of his reporting, which is itself frenzied with compulsive questioning and obsessive research." -- "The Boston Globe" "A rollicking, page-turner of a book... no ordinary piece of investigative journalism... Ronson's storytelling skills are strong enough to enliven even the necessary reflections that would be one yawn after another if entrusted to a lesser writer." -- "San Francisco Chronicle" ."..A book that manages to be as cheerily kooky as it is well-researched." -- "Los Angeles Times" "Engagingly irreverent..." -- "New York Times " "[A] fascinating and humane book..." -- "Washington Post Book World" ."..Both terrifying and hilarious." -- "O, The Oprah Magazine"

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador USA
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0330492268
• ISBN 13: 9780330492263
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240