Psychopaths: Inside the Minds of the World's Most Wicked Men

by John Clarke, Andy Shea

It is estimated that for every serial killer and more extreme form of psychopath, there are 20,000 others out there in society, living and working alongside you...They are the most warped, troubled people on the planet. Their sinister imaginations are a mystery to everyone but themselves. And yet these twisted individuals have infiltrated the highest echelons of our society. This book shows how. Criminal psychologist John Clarke and London police officer turned writer Andy Shea delve deep into the minds of psychopathic killers, rapists and white collar criminals. With a wealth of first-hand knowledge at their fingertips, they analyse the motives, the methods and the devastating impact that psychopaths have on their victims.

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information. This is John^Clarke.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

In dire need of a proofreader/editor. Somewhat alarmist tone - suggestive that psychopaths are lurking around every corner, and repeats itself far too often. A potentially interesting read somewhat spoiled by poor writing. Rather disappointing.

[lily ☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Outdated view on psychopaths. It repeats itself so much, making the same point over and over again and barely delving into any detail. I also think that this view of psychopaths is hypocritical: to claim that their lack of empathy makes them not even count as human and then to refuse to empathise at all even after saying that most psychopaths have been abused themselves is a cruel stance to take. In chapter 1, when talking about Sam (a psychopath who has not offended), they say, "On the face of it, he lives a normal effective life... Deep down, Sam is a chilling and manipulative, dishonest, and self-serving coward who doesn't have the capacity or desire to care about anyone but himself."
This seems a bit harsh for someone who has barely done anything. Viewing these people as incapable of change makes them less likely to try. They also describe him as "on the hunt" and say that they "believe he has potential to kill" but that supposedly "there's nothing we can do to stop this." If you know he will kill, you can stop him. Why wait for someone to die first to confirm your suspicions? Get him the help he needs now. The writers act like they had no influence while interviewing these psychopaths which is a really inflexible point of view and once again doesn’t encourage change and does not benefit society. Additionally, when contradictory evidence presents, it is skipped over. For example, after therapy James says, "I knew what I did was wrong," and the author then claims, "He sees nothing wrong with his core being." Also describes psychopaths as insecure with themselves and simultaneously with a god complex. What point are we making here? We all know assault, murder and rape are wrong - tell us something we don't know. The tone of this book sounds like alarmist war propaganda but psychopaths do not need to be eliminated, they need to be helped and managed. I read 5 chapters and then gave up. Maybe I'm just too woke 😭