The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us Audiobook

" Disturbing enough to garner *4.5/5 stars*... "

" Excellent if you know one! "

" A solid reminder not to start out with trust in people, but that it be earned. The statistics seem inflated, but even assuming a 50% reduction on what the author cites, there are still way to many people out there that can do much damage with no capacity for empathy, remorse, or regret. Although somewhat overly dramatic at points, which caused me to question the overall validity of her claims, I found the book very interesting. "

" Can't seem to get this one started. I love pop psych, but this book is a little boring. "

" Good to know there are some real jerks out there. They are not going to change so don't try to change them & don't wait patiently for them to change. They won't & it is not your responsibility to help them. Recognize it, admit it & get away. "

" 1/25 people are sociopaths, after reading this book I spend a fair amount of time trying to figure out who the sociopaths are. "

" As an interested amateur/dedicated consumer of psychotherapy, I'm not necessarily qualified to comment on this, but I thought it was a useful and informative primer on the disorder. I did think the text focused too much on identifying "othering" those with sociopathy - ironically, while critically examining the pathology of people incapable of empathy, the book itself refuses to empathize with them. That said, I've never had my life destroyed by a pleasure-seeking sadistic android, and if you have you might appreciate the book's condemnatory tone. But the explanations of sociopathy are thorough and convincing. It allows the reader to recognize a Very Bad Person and avoid them, and to better understand how even the best of us can slip into sociopathic behavior. "

" Great book. Insightful and scary. I learned a lot about bad people. "

" I didn't love this book simply because I had to analyze it to death for a Psychology class I was taking in college. The author seems to put her views of a Sociopath in as fact for the most part. So, I had a hard time deciphering whether what I was reading was fact or fiction. "

" File this under Duh. I really thought I would learn something that would help me understand characters I was creating, and people I was dealing with who i thought fit the whole Socio-path thing. Dud, blah and duh. Sorry. "

" Intriguing. You'll never look at difficult people quite the same way again. "

" Really interesting book. I didn't totally agree with everything in the book, but sociopaths are fascinating and the writing isn't nearly as dry as it could have been. "

" Unfortunately, I read this book as a suggestion from someone who knew my family had been terrorized by a sociopathic couple. I was amazed how accurately this portrayed and predicted their behavior. It was a startling book that helped me process and understand this dangerous type of personality. "

" This book explained that people I thought were evil, were conscience-free, which allowed them to perform evil without the tag of guilt feelings. A good self help book for those who run into such people, with pointers on how you can protect yourself. "

" its an obvious guide for peopls reactions . "

" Really sheds light on what sociopathy actually is and why one in 25 people could actually be one. "

" The idea that 1 in 25 around us are sociopaths is rather interesting. Even if some of the examples may seema bit far fetched, it also makes one more aware that there are really people out there who don't have a conscience and who abuse your kindness. "

" This book was fascinating to me. It's hard to imagine what someone without a conscience would do, or how they would act, but she does a great job of explaining the traits and personalities of a sociopath. "

" I lived with a sociopath, so I know the information is accurate. 4 stars for some annoying narration and unnecessary scare tactics used by the author. Will you learn something? Yes. From that standpoint, this book is worth reading. "

" Quite eye opening. It makes me even more suspicious of you people... "

" Personality disorders are so fascinating, yet can be so dangerous. Martha takes you on a journey though the eyes of several diagnosed sociopaths. Very interesting and definitely enriched my practice with my patients in therapy. "

" An excellent overview of sociopathy and also, blessedly, its antithetical opposites - moral sense and love. Well worth (re) reading! "

" it was ok. her writing style was really repetitive and kind of lifetime channel like. an easy read and remotely informative- pretty surface deep. for beginners with interest in sociopathy. i liked it just the same, though, and i'm glad i read it. "

" Interesting book. The author tries to explain people totally secularly, which screams futility to me. But it has good info and helps some in dealing with our own special psycho. "

" Quick read with interesting points. I felt it dragged in places almost like there wasn't enough for a book but the author stretched it all she could. "

" A quick and easy read, yet vaguely religious, which I didn't like. Some chapters are just stories about sociopaths, others are similar to Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. "

" I read this book in 2 days. It was written in a riveting style of profiles, discussion and research done on antisocial personality disorder. Great book. Very helpful in also spotting the everyday sociopath in my work. "

" READ THE BOOK 3 TIMES IN THREE DAYS. ONCE I STARTED READING I WAS HOSTAGE TO THE CHILLING TEXT. "

" It was ok. Didn't really blow my mind, but it does give some food for thought on the subject. Mask of Sanity is much better. "

" The book talks about the prevalence of sociopaths and how one might recognize the traits in others. Kinda jarring to realize 1 in 25 people have no conscience! A very good read about the subject of psychology without too much technical language or writing. "

" This was very interesting. I learned a lot about both sociopathy as well as victims of sociopaths. "

" This book gave me chills more than once and opened my eyes to another real and completely different world. Told in an informative and interesting way, I didn't want to put it down. "

" I will personally never view people quite the same way. "

" Fascinating and more than a little scary. Also, any psychologist who quotes Black Sabbath is alright with me. "

" An important book describing the 1 in 25 "ordinary" people who are sociopaths and how to protect yourself from them. "