![]() He's after the really bad guys, the ones who look normal and get 4.0 GPAs at the best universities and go on to run corporations, the military and governments. The diagnosis: psychopathy, the absence of conscience, empathy and love, which is estimated to affect 2.5 percent of the human population, 25 percent of prisoners and up to 70 percent of those who commit violent crimes.īut the psychopaths who interest Ronson aren't the bad guys the word evokes. ![]() ![]() The book: the "DSM-IV-TR," the 943-page diagnostic manual published by the American Psychiatry Association. Making a comedy about war, it seems, was good practice for writing a romp about the worst psychological diagnosis in the book. But we'd expect no less from a guy who could humble any overachiever. His latest book, "The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry," is no ordinary piece of investigative journalism. ![]() He hosts a popular BBC radio show and contributes to "This American Life." Oh, and he's written seven books - one of which, "The Men Who Stare at Goats," was made into a 2009 movie described as "a comedy war film." Jon Ronson was a columnist for Britain's Guardian, a keyboard player in a band and has made 16 documentary films. Q: Who could write a rollicking, page-turner of a book about madness? Q: How many psychopaths does it take to change a lightbulb?Ī: Who wants to know? And what's his address? By Jon Ronson (Riverhead 275 pages $25.95) ![]()
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