James Fallon: The Psychopath Inside: A neuroscientist's personal journey into the dark side of the brain

Another random buy. This book is so complex that I have decided to review it in two parts as not to forget anything.

Review 1: Pages 1 - 106.

This book is not at all what I expected. I don't know what I was expecting, but this is not it. The Psychopath Inside is written by a neuroscientist who was researching the physiological basis of alzheimer's disease and later began to investigate psychopathy as a result of being asked to review the brain scans of serial killers with the aim to find a physiological pattern in said brain scans; a neural basis of psychopathy. Amongst his investigations, Fallon found his own brain scan to show the same patterns of neural activity as those of the murders. So this book, so far and in part, is his journey through this realisation.

Chapter one delves into what it means to be a psychopath and details the medical definitions of psychopathy - or lack of! He quotes Hare and talks through the Psychopath checklist which consistently crops up in books of this nature. He also explains the DSM manual approach to psychopathy and the investigative techniques used to study the brain. 

Chapter two describes his early life through to his adult life and how his experiences shaped who his is today (more or less). Chapter three, The brain of a killer, takes a turn for the neurosciences as he discusses the different parts of the brain, approaches to the brain and circuit in the brain that are consistent in depression sufferers, post-traumatic stress disorders and alzheimer's. It also talks about enzymes in the brain that excite and inhibit behaviours - all rather confusing stuff! The good news is, Fallon provides some imagery to accompany these severely serious jargon filled pages. 

Chapter four is aptly named 'Bloodlines' as Fallon states what he knows about his ancestors and their history of antisocial behaviours and murder. However, he also explains why his ancestry doesn't automatically make him an antisocial individual which I found to be a rather clever way of covering all bases; anatomy, genetics and environmental bases of psychopathy... COVERED!

Chapter five has lost me completely. I have no idea what an MAOA is, or an RNA or an COMT. This detail is a whole new level of complicated! I have no idea what I have just read. Although, I have fnd out that men have a warrior gene that attaches itself to the y-chromosome; sixteen pages and that is all I remember!

I hope the rest of the book picks up because I am loosing hope reading it. I have touched on neuroscience in my first year at university (now going into my second year) and even I had trouble with these topics. I would not advise anyone who does not have some existing knowledge of neuroscience to attempt to read this book!


Review 2: The rest of the book!

Well! This was a turn up for the books. I now assume that all the complicated-ness was a platform for what was to come and set the scene for the succeeding chapters. The majority of the second half of Fallon's book is a personal account of the journey to enlightenment - the psychopathy within. Fallon proves how difficult diagnosing an illness, any illness, can be. He travels through the possibilities of depression and psychopathy, to later find out, accidentally, that he is comorbid.

James Fallon is a magic balance that will intrigue any psychology student; how a potential psychopath can be non-violent, but display all other characteristics of psychopathy. The topics that I love most about this book is the purely personal information that it contains. Namingly, the effect that his behaviours had on his family, his children, his friends and work buddies, before and after his diagnoses.

Out of all of the books that I have read most recently, I think this may actually be my least favourite. This is because of his complexity, but at the same time, the second half of the book really shouted out to me. I managed to read the last 121 pages in an afternoon (not bad for a dyslexic individual!). I felt that Fallon's personality jumped out of the pages, like I could feel his lack of emotion by reading his words.

What I would like to know this is: Fallon refers to himself as a 'Psychopath Lite' or a 'Prosocial Psychopath' because he has no criminal convictions. BUT!!!! He later says that as a teenager, he was known to break into houses and steal cars. This counts a delinquency! Just because he wasn't caught, does not mean he didn't do it and, therefore, he meets ALL of the criterions of psychopathy!

I suppose what I am trying to say is that this is a true account of an individual who has a collection of symptoms, but who is just as confused as the rest of us regardless of his academic status. I would not recommend this book to anybody who does not have a little knowledge on neuroscience because, even though Fallon explains the anatomy in some detail, this does not stop this topic from being confusing.

I watched this video as soon as it was referred to in the book and this much more easier to understand than the first half of the book. Enjoy :-)

Dr. Jane McGregor & Tim McGregor: The Empathy Trap: Understanding Antisocial Personalities

I must admit, The Empathy Trap was a random buy. I was looking for Psychology based reading books (as opposed to text books) and this came up as a recommendation on Amazon. I was in doubt of its validity in my 'research' and whether I would even pluck up the courage to read it, but I was pleasantly surprised.

While buying this influx of books, my inspiration for these was the notion that there could be a psychopath/sociopath/narcissist, etc, within our family circle and I am a firm believer that education is half of the battle in any given situation. This is the first book that I have read whose focus is on this topic, but it is the only book that concentrates on living life before, during and after the aftermath of sociopathic abuse. A large majority of the book is devoted to case histories, story by victims of abuse, all in different contexts (work, relationships, school, etc) which makes the book easy reading and understanding for any person; those studying a degree or those who read solely out of pleasure. 

In addition to its real world applications, the book takes a step-by-step approach, beginning with the profile and definition of a sociopath (a term used here to cover all of the aforementioned titles), to coping with a destructive relationships and complex family situations and ends with recovery. I can't say that any single bit of the book was most informative because it all was in all honesty. I appreciated the fact that the authors explained why they wouldn't be defining the disorders in vast detail, but aimed to provide a self-help manual for those who affected by similar situations. Furthermore, whilst encouraging self-help, a metaphorical pros and cons list is provided during each step of the way to recovering from a disruptive relationship. For example, you may want to maintain contact between yourselves and the suspected sociopath, but... and then goes on to list more than one possible outcome to each situation. 

I have had many Eureka! moments during my few days of reading this book and I feel a little more prepared for my own situation at home. Most valuably, is the notes that the authors make to protecting children against the abuse and what UK statutes to quote when seeking legal help (police or otherwise) against the perpetrator.

This book is truly for the everyday person who is in a rut. For those who have an interest, but are not required to have any existing knowledge of psychological terms as all terminology and jargon is well defined within the book. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I had originally anticipated and now have more additions to my lists of books to ready since Jane and Tim include a list of recommended reading to all readers ranging from abused adult children, concerns of empathy and writings regarding disorders of the mind, such as, post traumatic stress disorder, narcissism and so on. This further help does not stop there though. They also include films which may be of help and useful addresses, such as, the NSPCC and the UK charity MIND. 

I really recommend this book for any person who has been knocked down by a suspected 'sociopath'. I wish you all the best of luck in this matter. 

Naoki Higashida & David Mitchell: The Reason I Jump: One boy's voice from silence of autism

The Reason I Jump was a random risk of mine that I discovered while looking for factual psychology based books. This book is written by a 13 year old boy, Naoki Higashida, who is on the autistic spectrum and has been translated from Japanese to English by David Mitchell so that every parent of an autistic child could benefit from Naoki's insightful words. 

David explains how his is a parent of an autistic child who cannot communicate well and who David had difficulties understanding. In David's own review of Naoki's words, he claims that his writings have opened up a whole new world of possibilities for himself and his family. 

The book itself is made up of David's introduction, followed by 58 questions posed by average individuals about autism and answered by Naoki on his experiences and perceptions of autism. When I began reading the book, I assumed (much like everyone else according to this book) that the senses of those who are autistic must be different since they often suffer with an influx of sensory information. However, Naoki does his utmost to explain how it ACTUALLY feels to be autistic. You can relate to his worldly experiences. When I finished the book, I felt like I could imagine how autistic individual feel. I feel like all this light energy and noise has a physical present and pressure on my skin and, from this book, I feel like this is how those who are autistic must feel (only by my readings of this book). Of course, I cannot know for sure and never well as a typically average adult, but I feel awakened to these factors.

Naoki explains how he sees the word differently and how much of a benefit that can be. And even more beautifully, he details how nature can be the only friend an autistic child has and why. I was drawn to read about autism as my son has an autistic friend who is 11 years old and I see his struggles every day. I feel how he suffers some days and now much love he has to give on others and, today, this book really hit home. Even more importantly, it makes me want to impower him even more to do what he wants to make him feel fulfilled and happy as Naoki has. Naoki is an author, a blogger and a poet; he has his own published book, THIS BOOK, at age 13! Amazing considering his communication difficulties. 

Anyway, the book itself is not academic and is a personal account of autism. The contents are most useful for any person interested in autism to truly understand the pros and cons of the life of an individual who is on the autism spectrum. I suppose it could be used as a case study secondary reference for any student or academic, but is truly important for any parent who is struggling to understand their child and is, possibly, heartbroken when they feel that they do not know how best to help their child. 

The repetitive message of this book is, from the words of Naoki: 'Please, whatever you do, don't give up on us. We need your help' and what better way to be able to offer this help, than with this valuable insight.

Philip Zimbardo: The Lucifer Effect: How good people turn evil

Dr. Philip Zimbardo is a world famous social psychologist who is best known for his Stanford Prison Experiment, which inspired his research relating to deindividuation and heroism. Zimbardo is a lecturer and author and is often called upon to provide professional statements within the courtroom. 

The Lucifer Effect is but one book in Zimbardo's sting of writings. In short, Zimbardo takes his experiment and applies its findings to real life situations. He does not just mention the Stanford Prison Experiment, but provides 10 chapters worth of insight into the everyday happenings, conversations and consequences of the investigation, as well as the ethical issues and explanations of the character transformations of the participants within the study. In itself, one would assume that this would be rehearsed information to any person who has read the text books and journal articles. But the truth is, this information is coming direct from Zimbardo, the creator of the famous experiment , and is far more in depth than any secondary research that I have ever read. Zimbardo clearly states that he is going to tell us exactly what happened in those 6 days of role playing and he does exactly that. He explains ever abusive behaviour, every cry for help, every sordid little detail. In some ways, too much detail. However, if unwilling to engage with Zimbardo in his writings, why buy the book in the first place, right? The whole point in this book is a personal, social, psychological and political education for the reader. 

Although the focus of the book seems to be the experiment, I feel like the real message within these pages are the atrocities that occur around the world. Zimbardo gives intimate details of the workings of U.S Military, the conditions of the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq, the Holocaust, the friction between Tutsi and Hutu tribes, the My Lai Massacre and the Nanking Massacre. His aim here is to illustrate that dehumanization occurs throughout the world, not just in his simulated prison setting. 

The book itself is quite a large book at 488 pages not including the notes, but this is also met by the tiny font size which I suspect is so small so that the book does not exceed the number of pages that it has already used. By the time I had read the first 5 chapters on the Stanford Experiment, it became very tedious in the sense that it was filled with "On Monday at 5pm, Bob said this...." over and over again. But once I made it out of the other side, my faith was restored by considerations made this and then by the applications of psychology and judgements made as to why good people turn bad. 

All in all, any person could enjoy this book, although it does contain some unexplained psychology jargon, such as research terminology, but is otherwise interesting and enjoyable. I have waiting 12 months to delve into this book with me being at University and struggling with Dyslexia and I have thoroughly enjoyed taking this journey with Zimbardo and all his other readers.  It took me 22 days in total to read this book and I honestly feel like it has been time well spent and information that may have just transformed by outlook on life; how good people turn evil and how we all have choices to make poor decisions or be the everyday heroes that any one of us can become.

An overview of Zimbardo's life work can be found in one of his lectures presented on 'Ted's Talks':

Raun K. Kaufman: Autism Breakthrough

I discovered this book whilst trying to educating myself on a condition that my neighbour's son has been diagnosed with; a boy who happens to be a good friend of my son who spends a lot of time at our house. I typed in 'autism' into our local online library catalogue and up came this little gem. 

To begin with I would like to announce how much of an emotional ride this 'story' and version of events has been. Due to not being personally 'clued-up' on autism spectrum disorders, I do not know if I truly believe that those with autism can be 'cured' [without conducting further research and reading], but this is purely because I am a beginner in all of this. Those with more knowledge and experience may have more to say on this matter.

The book itself, Autism Breakthrough, is a concoction of easy to understand scientific facts mixed in with the every day occurrences and behaviour of those with autism. It is easy to read and understand and is aimed at any parent of an autistic child (of any age) who is at whits end with the same old suggestions that have been given by their GP or specialist. 

The author himself, claimed to be a formerly-autistic individual who was 'cured' due to the hard work and perseverance for his parents, who have set up their own autism program called the Son-Rise Programme of the Autism Treatment Centre of America. Kaufman explains that rather than control autistic individuals and abide by strict routines, as suggested by conventional doctors, the best approach to a fulfilling life is to join in with the repetitive actions of the autistic child/individual in a bid to gain trust; but he doesn't stop there! He follows various principles and has techniques for behaviours that are faced by parents. He also explains the workings of the establishment itself and the awards and support that they have gained.

Whilst reading the last few pages of chapter seventeen, I felt a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. I quote: 

'You're a human being who loves your child. That's enough. As you endeavor to implement the tools and techniques in this book, be gentle with yourself ... If you feel discouraged or down or afraid sometimes, that's okay, too. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on the horse.'

(Kaufman, 2014)

A truly, personal and heartwarming message. The author doesn't just write the book, he speaks out to his readers. As someone who is due to start university, I found the book to be a fantastic start to what may lead to more reading around the topic, even if it is aimed at parents and care givers. 

A highly motivational book that I would happily suggest to those who care for an autistic individual - which I have done already! :-)

Paul Babiak, PhD & Robert Hare, PhD: Snakes in Suits: When psychopaths go to work

I came across Snakes in Suits as a further recommended reading whilst delving into Hare's Without Conscience. Since I have read both books, I found that Snakes in Suits repeated a good majority of the messages that had been relayed in Without Conscience. For example, the personality characteristics of a psychopaths and approaching a dangerous situation that you may find yourself in.

However, Babiak and Hare introduce some additional information. The reader is taught how to differentiate between narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder and another term they used, that I do not quite understand yet, 'Machiavellian' rather than just explaining the difference between psychopaths and sociopaths.

Furthermore, Snakes in Suits, provides a semi-detailed informative piece on how a psychopath is diagnosed. For instance, the points system is explained as well as the introduction of the Psychopathy Check List: Screening Version which is also discussed; all of which provides a valuable insight for budding psychology students. Personally, these snickets of information have given me the groundwork to research further into the forensic side of psychology.

Overall, the book contains a lot of business practices that may be more beneficial to those who have an interest in business matters with particular focus on psychopaths and difficult colleagues. The authors switch between, what is in essence, story telling and the nitty gritty facts which is refreshing to the reader, breaking down the long haul of reading potentially academic wording. 

Personally, when choosing which book to read, it should have been a choice between Snakes in Suits OR Without Conscience, not both. Both have their benefits, but for what I was looking for (general reading on the topic area prior to starting my first year at university), in my opinion, Without Conscience was much more fulfilling.

Final note: If you are hard of reading, for example dyslexic as I am, there are proof-reading errors in the book which make some parts difficult to understand; such as, replaced words, their instead of there and wrong names in conversations between numerous characters - all adding to the difficulties faced when you are not a confident reader. 

Robert Hare, PhD: Without Conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us

Robert Hare, PhD is one of the leading psychologists in his field and the creator of the Psychopathy Checklist; a diagnostic tool used by clinicians world wide.

His book, Without Conscience, is a dedication to explaining the difficulties in recognising a psychopath in our every day lives and explains the difference between being cold-hearted and complete lacking in emotional connections. Hare wrote his book to educate lay people and professionals on the consequences of misdiagnoses, as well as being confronted by a suspected psychopath, giving examples throughout the entire book to explain what could be considered as difficult in understanding for your average adult.

With this in mind, Hare has written about this troubling disorder in terms that can be recognised by all. I love the fact that for every bit of information that Hare gives helps us to comprehend the differences between average bad behaviour, criminality and psychopathy. Furthermore, he also gives us an insight into the differences within society and his clinical experiences.

Hare tackles a variety of issues ranging from the basic characteristics of psychopathy, child, adolescent and adult psychopathy, corporate psychopathy to an in-depth nature-nurture debate on the origins of the condition.

Aside from the choice of language that has been used the pages, paragraphs and chapters have been structured fantastically making it ideal for those who are not confident readers; such as myself.

Finally, I would recommend this book for both reading as a hobby or academic research.