Who is the devil you know?

Is it your lying, cheating ex-husband?
Your sadistic high school gym teacher?
Your boss who loves to humiliate people in meetings?
The colleague who stole your idea and passed it off as her own?

In the pages of The Sociopath Next Door, you will realize that your ex was not just misunderstood. He’s a sociopath. And your boss, teacher, and colleague? They may be sociopaths too.

We are accustomed to think of sociopaths as violent criminals, but in The Sociopath Next Door, Harvard psychologist Martha Stout reveals that a shocking 4 percent of ordinary people—one in twenty-five—has an often undetected mental disorder, the chief symptom of which is that that person possesses no conscience. He or she has no ability whatsoever to feel shame, guilt, or remorse. One in twenty-five everyday Americans, therefore, is secretly a sociopath. They could be your colleague, your neighbor, even family. And they can do literally anything at all and feel absolutely no guilt.

How do we recognize the remorseless? One of their chief characteristics is a kind of glow or charisma that makes sociopaths more charming or interesting than the other people around them. They’re more spontaneous, more intense, more complex, or even sexier than everyone else, making them tricky to identify and leaving us easily seduced. Fundamentally, sociopaths are different because they cannot love. Sociopaths learn early on to show sham emotion, but underneath they are indifferent to others’ suffering. They live to dominate and thrill to win.

The fact is, we all almost certainly know at least one or more sociopaths already. Part of the urgency in reading The Sociopath Next Door is the moment when we suddenly recognize that someone we know—someone we worked for, or were involved with, or voted for—is a sociopath. But what do we do with that knowledge? To arm us against the sociopath, Dr. Stout teaches us to question authority, suspect flattery, and beware the pity play. Above all, she writes, when a sociopath is beckoning, do not join the game.

It is the ruthless versus the rest of us, and The Sociopath Next Door will show you how to recognize and defeat the devil you know.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 215 reviews)

Essential Reading

In the world of today, especially in the so-called "first world" societies, conscience ranks as one of the most important, yet undervalued qualities of humanity. The idea that all people possess some natural quality of inner morality that restrains their behaviour towards others is taken as a de facto understanding by most. This naturalistic world view suffices for most relationships but can cause serious problems when dealing with those whose personalities formed with either inherited or acquired pathology. Sociopaths (the subject of Martha Stout's excellent book), exist within the spectrum of psychopathology that includes many other types of disorders (narcissism, BPD, psychopathy etc), and thus the book will interest anyone who has questions about relationships with egotistical, manipulative and vindictive people.

Ex-Harvard psychologist Martha Stout writes in a style pleasing and accessible to the layperson. One may feel a sense of her years of hard-won experience and understanding having structured the book in a way that anticipates unformed questions and provides answers in an easily-readable flow. Never dry, overly academic or condescending, Stout examines the philosophical and societal implications of the conscienceless with a sense of gentle yet serious gravity, and invites the reader to do the same.

The composite case studies convey effectively a range of traits and characteristics that a pathological personality can express. The reader may recognise many of these traits in others (and also oneself) - some might even appear as an "exact match" for a friend or partner! Most importantly, the composite cases provide a good example of how subtly sinister a sociopath can act. Much sociopathic and antisocial behaviour takes place "under the radar" of general social and legal conventions, with the consequences chiefly felt as some undefined sense of emotional or psychological violation by the victim.

As well as providing some warning signs and techniques for use in dealing with sociopaths, Stout devotes a good part of the book to an examination of conscience, morality and reasoning, concluding that following one's conscience shows the path to human happiness - a way that many religions and spiritual cultures have in common. Her synthesis and depth of thought in this area makes for refreshing reading.

In short - VERY highly recommended.

Those interested in further reading on the subject should also check out Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us, Political Ponerology (A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes) and Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. These books provide excellent further reading on a subject that people really need to know more about - for their own protection.
September 22, 2008

i see the light

great book-married one i got out alive but not unscathed. I would advise many people to read however I worry that those that are will read and continue to use our goodness against us .Remember to believe a person's actions not their words if they are inconsistent more than 3 times get out-read this book
September 20, 2008

all people should read & heed

The book 'The Sociopath next Door' by Marths stout is a must read for everyone. I only wish I had had this book 30 years ago. She describes the Sociopath and the means to avoid them.
dblaine@sbcglobal.net
September 07, 2008

the sociopath next door

We need to protect ourselves better from the 'human predators' among us and this book gives us sound and easy to understand advice on how to do just that. It is surprising though that the author is able to give this advice in a manner which still demonstrates a depth of care and compassion for our fellow human beings and for the 'human condition'.
August 14, 2008

The Psychopath Next Door

Awesome book, very close to reality. I have seen many of these individuals in my life, professional and military, and they really exist and they are expert manipulators. Dr. Stout gave us a master piece. I will recommend this book to any mental health therapist and to school administrators.
August 02, 2008

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Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us
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In Sheep's Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People
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Emotional Vampires: Dealing With People Who Drain You Dry
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Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work
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Why Is It Always About You? : The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism
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