When Jon Ronson gets his hands on a mysterious package, he sets out on a wild goose chase to figure out who sent it and to solve the riddle posed in the package itself. Â Turns out it wasn’t really solveable and was more of a trick played on some of the world’s premier scientists. Â Noting the power play in something like that, Â one of Ronson’s colleagues said the man who sent it seemed like a psychopath. Â That got Ronson thinking…what exactly determines if someone is a psychopath?
Apparently there’s an actual test. Â Based on the subject’s answers to a 20-item checklist, they may be deemed a psychopath. Â The checklist analyzes lack of empathy, parasitic lifestyle, superficial charm, grandiose sense of self worth, and other personality traits. Â In the Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, Ronson learns how to read the test and identify potential psychopaths. Â While the logical first stop is a prison, Ronson also meets with highly successful businessmen and learns that true psychopaths may be all around us.
This is actually a particularly interesting read right now. Â A main point of the book is to show that many of the world’s most important leaders may actually be high-functioning psychopaths, just of a non-violent sort (or who have at least learned to control the violent tendencies). Â For example, it is due to these psychopathic tendencies that a business man may rise to the top of the corporate ladder because his lack of empathy allows him to fire employees for the good of the company. Â Or worse, this lack of empathy combined with another trait, manipulative behavior, allows him to embezzle funds. Â So why is this particularly interesting now? Â Many believe Donald Trump would score off the charts on this checklist.
The book gave me a new perspective on human behavior. Â Though it’s based on a science, it’s very easy to digest. Â If you’re looking for a nonfiction read, this is a good one to pick up.
4 out of 5 stars. Â Lost a point because it’s missing the “what next” factor.
FYI: This book meets the requirement to read “a book with a cat on the cover” for my 2017 PopSugar Reading Challenge. Â It may not be a typical cat, but a cheetah (I think that’s what it is?) is a jungle cat, so I think it still counts.