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The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So Called Psychopathic Personality
 
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The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So Called Psychopathic Personality (Hardcover)

by Hervey M. Cleckley (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)


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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 471 pages
  • Publisher: Emily S. Cleckley; 5th edition (November 1988)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0962151904
  • ISBN-13: 978-0962151903
  • Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #441,576 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)


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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the classic that first defined the psychopath, August 16, 1998
By hharper@valdosta.edu (Georgia, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
Cleckley first wrote this book in 1948, and it still reads as fresh as ever. He was a therapist in a mental hospital who found that criminals sent there were excellent at playing the therapy game but were actually conning him. From this he developed perhaps 20 definitive characteristics of a type he called "psychopath", a term that had a variety of unclear meanings up until this point. The term has since been changed to sociopath and changed in the last two DSMs to "anti-social personality disorder". Whatever they are called their principal characteristic as far as society and the individuals who have to deal with them are concerned is that they do not have a conscience (a lack that is hard for some people to conceptualize and that is hard to measure). Cleckley's work is a classic because of its impact, yet he is too often forgotten. For example, from his experiences in the same hospital, Samenow authored the widely regarded Criminal Personality in the 1970s, yet does not acknowledge his debt to Cleckley. The most amazing thing about Cleckley's book is that it is so well written. It is a good read and has literary merit. Cleckley underestimated the dangerousness of psychopaths because of the sample he was dealing with, but his Mask of Sanity is still very much worth reading for anyone who is interested in psychopaths or criminals. Indeed, it is far superior to Hare's popular 1990's book on psychopathy, and Robert Hare is the author of the DSM dianostic criteria for psychopathy (which he ignores in his popular book).
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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that's ahead of it's time, December 3, 2001
By "tobeanna" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
I really recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. His case histories are a book in themselves and capture the soul of a psychopath so well. A very thorough book that examines every aspect of the condition, I am impressed by his attempt to even explore historical and literary references. Ahead of it's time because his conclusions cannot be shaken even now. A much better book than Hare's "Without Conscience". Hare even lifts phrases directly out of the book eg."trivial, impersonal affairs".

Astonishingly accurate portrayal of psychopaths without sensationalizing the subject. I like how he gives different types of psychopaths; these are men and women in the street, 'ordinary' individuals but so disturbed (hence the very apt title).

His analysis is spot-on: he really knows his subject. More thorough than Hare's. He doesn't fudge any details. Really all you need to know about the topic. Still the best book about psychopaths.

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50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The first, and in many ways, still the best, May 20, 2000
I first read this book in a psychopathology class; it has always stayed in my mind. Everyone should read it. The author's defining characteristics of the psychopath are still as relevant today as they were over 50 years ago: the psychopath (today usually called an "anti-social personality") is much like a gourd; there's an outside (the "mask of sanity"), but inside there's nothing there. No conscience, no guilt, no remorse. They're great actors, though. In their more disturbed forms they're the serial killers, such as Ted Bundy. Cleckley suspected these people were literally monsters, lacking whatever made them human. A must-read for those involved in law enforcement.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Cleckley's Final Edition
(ASIN:"The Mask of Sanity, 5th edition, Hard Cover")

This 5th edition is an absolute masterpiece of a pychiatrist's life work that began when he first encountered the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sharon Allen

5.0 out of 5 stars Also available as free PDF-download!
I heard of this book through the Cassiopeia web-project, a website dedicated to psychopathy. They've scanned Cleckly's book, and offer it as a PDF. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Maastricht

5.0 out of 5 stars A big enough book to skip around in
I liked topic 60 in an edition I found in the library, about people who are failures because they do not stick to one career path. Read more
Published on February 9, 2007 by Bruce P. Barten

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Book on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Effects
An early study on what is now known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). When the original book was written in 1938, the etiology of FAS was not known. Read more
Published on September 29, 2002 by Peggy S. Oba

5.0 out of 5 stars Belongs in everyone's life list of "Ten Best" books.
There is no need to add more detail to the previous, eloquent reviews except to say "absolutely and amen! Read more
Published on August 11, 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone who works with people must read this book
Several other good reviews explain what this book is about but I can add a personal note. Some years ago I was describing to an older lawyer a bizarre, frightening man who had... Read more
Published on March 4, 2000 by S. Robertson

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading for first year phychology courses
There are many more psychopathic personalities living among us than the general public and professionals first supposed. Read more
Published on September 18, 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, very illuminating
Takes an almost poetic approach to trying to capture the true nature of the psychopathic mind. But it can be a little hard to read, it tends to be stiff and academic. Read more
Published on August 21, 1999 by S. Clark

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Baby
Fun for the hole famil
Published on May 23, 1999 by downeynet@aol.com

5.0 out of 5 stars Still Worth Reading
Some say Cleckley is outdated. I say "Never"! Cleckley doesn't deal in his book with hardened criminals or serial killers, but rather the kinds of psychopaths that wandered into... Read more
Published on March 23, 1999 by Pat Brown

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