I buoni lo sognano i cattivi lo fanno: Psicopatici, stupratori, serial killer

by Robert I. Simon

Nel raccontare gli efferati delitti che si è soliti attribuire ai "pazzi psicopatici", sentendosi virtuosi e immuni da cattivi pensieri, Simon non svela soltanto i misteri delle menti criminali, ma anche il lato oscuro presente in tutti gli esseri umani, uomini e donne, buoni e cattivi. Chi sono allora quei "pazzi", l'assassino di John Lennon, gli stupratori di Central Park, i serial killer sadici, gli adepti di sette apocalittiche e sataniche, ma anche i più "ordinari" genitori che picchiano e violentano i propri bambini, i preti molestatori, i professionisti che abusano delle clienti? L'autore racconta le loro storie, i loro demoni interiori, la sofferenza delle loro vittime, ma anche il modo in cui il crimine si può prevenire.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Psychiatry, Crime, Philosophy, Illness

424 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Bad Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. As a forensic psychologist, I found this really basic and oversimplified, and unfortunately, full of inaccurate information. It's an interesting topic, but I don't recommend this book.

[paper0r0ss0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

In ogni persona, per quanto buona essa sia, alberga il male. Vi risiede in potenza, come una belva pronta a scattare e colpire. La maggior parte degli individui riesce a gestire questa parte oscura di se', a ricondurla a sbocchi e sublimazioni come ad esempio i sogni, ma non tutti lo fanno o possono farlo. Un combinato disposto di predisposizione, educazione e ambiente, porta alcuni a diventare dei veri e propri predatori dei propri simili. Concordi o meno con le tesi esposte, il dato piu' raccapricciante che emerge dal libro (tralasciando le truculenze) e' la concezione strumentale del prossimo che hanno queste mentalita' psicopatiche, il vedere letteralmente i propri simili, conoscenti o perfetti sconosciuti, come meri oggetti disponibili alle proprie pulsioni. Tra ripetizioni, lungaggini e qualche fissazione classificatoria di troppo (stile USA) emerge il vero fulcro del problema: il destino di un individuo si gioca in maniera drammaticamente decisiva nei primi anni di vita. Il maltrattato, l'umiliato, il molestato di ieri avra' strada libera per diventare, se non individuato e aiutato, il molestatore di domani, e comunque i danni inferti a una giovane mente difficilmente non lasciano una traccia profonda e dolorosa.

[erigibbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penso che questo libro possa risultare molto interessante a chi è incuriosito dall'argomento, ma ancora non ha letto nulla a riguardo o molto poco. Personalmente, tra una laurea in psicologia, e libri letti per conto mio, non ci ho trovato nulla di nuovo.
L'ho anche trovato un libro molto americano: si basa tutto sull'America e su dati basati sulla popolazione americana. Se da un lato lo capisco, dall'altro non impazzisco, ecco.
C'è poi da dire che si basa su manuali diagnostici (come il dsm - non nella versione aggiornata) dove tutto sembra o bianco o nero, dimenticandosi non solo l'esistenza del grigio, ma anche di tutte le tonalità di questo colore. Pure qua: se da un lato lo capisco, dall'altro non impazzisco proprio, ecco.
La parte finale è forse quella che mi è piaciuta meno. Mosso da un quesito postogli da un collega - quindi quali sono le caratteristiche di un buono, di una persona sana? - l'autore dà tutta una serie di risposte, una sorta di elenco puntato mascherato da testo di narrativa. I requisiti sono questi, questi e questi.
Inutile dire che basandomi su quel capitolo io non sono una persona sana LOL. Sto ancora pensando al punto in cui l'autore dice che una persona sana ricerca gli altri, il rapporto con gli altri, uscire con gli altri, l'amicizia con gli altri. Signore mio, io preferisco starmene a casa a leggere con la copertina e un animale che mi fa compagnia, non scherziamo.
Ok, l'ho buttata in caciara, però questo rende bene il senso di quello che ho detto poco prima: l'autore mi ha dato l'impressione di vedere - e ha scritto un libro in cui si vede - tutto bianco o nero, dimenticandosi dei grigi.

[Jaq {Gwen} · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il Club del Libro
Libro del mese di Aprile 2021

[Amal Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

You pick up this when you’re craving a warm sense of existential dread and an indifferent outlook into humanity’s basement. Each page is brimming with overwhelming proof that monsters don't hide under beds—they balance checkbooks and wave to neighbors. The author clearly wants us to “understand evil,” which is a noble goal if your idea of peace of mind involves serial killers, cult leaders, and therapists gone rogue. By the end, you're left wondering if introspection is even worth it, or if you'd rather avoid mirrors altogether. Truly an enlightening read, if you're into sleeping with the lights on for the rest of your life.

[Max Getuba · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read book for anyone who wants to understand the concept of evil from a psychological and scientific perspective. Understanding the dark sides of humanity as a whole, will help you recognize harmful patterns in other people that may cause you or your loved ones harm. It also helps reconcile the differences between the identities of good and bad people based on their actions and thoughts. It presents the best scientific model I’ve read for thinking about morality from an objective perspective.

[Zuhaib Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oversimplified. Abundant religious references not otherwise expected in a book like this, such as him making a point from the Bible every now and then.

Poorly written. Text keeps running in circles.

Maybe a good read for someone who still sees the good and bad as black and white.... which is a rare thought these days anyway thanks to Hollywood highlighting the good in villains and the bad in heroes.

For most people, however, I recommend AGAINST it.

[Kim Wells Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book in psychiatry residency and found it interesting and helpful in my foresnsic psychiatry elective. Someone borrowed it and I never got it back. Just recently ordered it to reread, and it doesn't stand up too well after 20+ years (surprise).

[Dana Loomis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just OK. Very outdated.

[Zuzana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not enough new information for me. Didn't dig the "textbook" format.

[Ayush Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book 10 years ago and found it thoroughly illuminating. I have since recommended it to a few people. Re-reading it now, having gained a little bit of knowledge on theoretical psych, I have had to revise my opinion.

Some of the reviews here have claimed that the book contains a variety of inaccuracies - I'll take those reviews to be true since I don't know enough to contradict them, but I do remember being a little skeptical about some of the author's claims.

The author, being a therapist as well as a forensic psychologist, chooses to not bring in any of his personal experiences or expertise, and instead chooses to write what is essentially an impersonal textbook with a few half-baked anecdotes that have been covered in-depth in other books and are basically well-known to anyone who'd want to read this book in the first place.

It's a good read for anyone with no knowledge on the subject, but don't read it as a definitive work.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, but the book is definitely a little outdated. The author also likes to insert Bible quotes here and there, which I did not expect. But overall very interesting

[Patty 🐈‍⬛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante, a tratti ripetitivo e spesso sembra essere rivolto agli esperti del settore.

[Christine Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating case study of the depths of humanity

[Harlever · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about this book and makes it so important to read, is that it made you turn to the demonic soul within you and explore it in order to try to fix it without fear and terror from it.

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon's overview of criminal psychology and deviancy covers a lot of territory, and focuses on the continuum of good and bad, along with the slopes in between and where lines get crossed. As the title suggests, the focal point of the text lies in the fact that all of us--the average law-abiding citizen as well as the serial murderer--are built from much of the same cloth, and contending with both good and bad impulses; thus, the good individual is the one who only dreams (and may or may not remember such dreams) and who sustains mental health while the bad person is one who, for whatever reason, fails to control the same impulses until they're acted out, and potentially followed through on until they've lost any semblance of what would appear normal, let alone good.

Built for the average reader who wants a better understanding of the psychology and the directions involved, the book offers a carefully constructed and easy-to-read (in terms of language if not material) introduction that balances case studies of both extreme and non-extreme behavior against more general discussions of psychology and methods of understanding. Part of the book's power, haunting as it is, comes in the fact that Simon doesn't only examine extreme cases that have been taken from headlines and true-account horror stories; instead, he also takes a look at the average man or woman who leads a normal life, but contends with some of the same desires and struggles at a very basic level, but succeeds where a so-called criminal has failed. In other words, he looks at the good and the bad, and at how one can slip into being the other.

Obviously, with each chapter devoted to a particular type of deviancy, the discussions are overviews, but the bibliography offers an impressive resource for the reader who wants more of a view into a particular area.

All told, I'd recommend this one to readers with an interest in the subjects presented, offering only the caveat that it is, of course, not a pleasant or easy read in terms of the content that's covered.

[Sookie · Rating 2 out of 5]

If your staple TV diet consists of half a dozen of cop/investigative/procedural/law and order/psychological thrillers, then this book is a revision material for you. The examples (people, incidents) Simon uses in his books have been referenced dozens of times in media so much so that they all have derivative works available. Using Ted Bundy or Dahmer repeatedly in a single book is notorious; simply because there are books dedicated entirely for their psychological pathology and a tiny reference here and there isn't going to suffice.

Factually there are errors with respect to certain incidents. There is an entire chapter dedicated to Multiple Personality Disorder - which incidentally is actually called Dissociative Identity Disorder. (MPD is so 90s!) It is however a good introductory book to those who have no idea about disturbed psyche and is interested to know more. Several case studies that Simon presents are quite interesting though sometimes it isn't mentioned what happened to the people in those case studies.

The premise of this book is based on the fact that everyone has a dark side while only few act upon it. He identifies the need for mental health and its correction and argues that identifying people as "evil" is wrong as is incarceration. The examples (serial killers) he uses alleviate the point he is trying to make.

This may not be a perfect book but it does offer decent insight to the psyche of people who both scare and fascinate us with the choices they make.

[Intplibrarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the idea behind the book: that everyone has a bit of whatever it is that makes a criminal a criminal in them. But the fact-checking is *horrible*. There are so many errors and, well, just made up stuff![return][return]Other reviewers have pointed out some of them. Just one more example that I noticed: under the heading of Group Rape in Ch. 4, the author states "Perhaps the most notorious gang rape was that of the Central Park jogger [...] Her attackers were eventually put on trial and convicted." Well, sort of. Yes, a group of men were convicted, but later their convictions were vacated![return][return]There were other statements that were presented as accepted fact that I'm sure have either been disproved or are controversial. Just sloppy research.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of the book sounds fairly outdated in the generation wherein we can find many manly women and womanly men. It would have been appropriate if the word human was used instead of men, women are as capable of engaging in criminal acts as men although there may not be as many women with such tendencies as there are men. The title is indirectly pairing the word men with 'crime'. The title is not really a good one, apart from that this book is an excellent work on the development of an understanding of how hypertrophy of certain personality traits may trigger the criminal activities. Very objective and focused work.

[Aislinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing wasn't always great, but the case studies and psychological insights were thoughtful and, as a psychiatrist and general student of the human condition, useful. While I don't agree with all of the theories and conclusions the author puts forth, this book does demand that you think harder about things you thought you understood, and maybe think harder about your own behaviors and motivations. Definitely worth reading, although a stronger editorial hand would have been helpful.

[Adelyn]

THIS BOOK CAN TEACH YOU WILL LEARN REAL LIFE
IF YOU READ IT

[Fulvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very good book

[Sam Del Rosario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on antisocial personality disorder and criminality.