| Abstract: | Reviews the book, Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us by Robert D. Hare (see record 2001-00418-000). Too often we hear about adults, and now more than ever, adolescents, who perpetrate violence so horrific and seemingly meaningless that their actions defy the understanding of professionals, let alone of the perpetrators' families. The republication of Robert Hare's popular work on the psychopathic personality is a testament to the success and importance of this book. Hare paints an intriguing yet scary portrait of this, the most dangerous type of personality disorder. His colourful, but accurate portrayal of the psychopath makes this book equally important alike for parents and clinicians. Without conscience is based on more than 30 years of the author's research on psychopathy. The book is written in a sincere and easily readable fashion for a general audience. The research and clinical literature is described in nontechnical terms with a minimum of jargon, making the work accessible to a wide audience. Much of Hare's research has been devoted to the reliable identification of psychopaths. His development of the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) may represent the single, most important advancement to date toward what hopefully will become our ultimate understanding of psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
