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

Hervey M. Cleckley (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 471 pages
• Publisher: William a Dolan; 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: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,356,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 67 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 

[e-mail] (Georgia, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

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

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).

46 of 47 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

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

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.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone who works with people must read this book, March 4, 2000

By 

S. Robertson (Tucson, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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

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 filed suit against my clients. "They guy's obviously a psychopath," he said. "Haven't you read Cleckely?" He gave me a copy and after reading it I understood what I was dealing with. A judge had recommended it to him many years before when he had his own first encounter with a psychopath (nowadays a person suffering from "anti-social personality disorder"). Those who work with people in stressful circumstances -- doctors, lawyers, social workers, etc. -- owe it to themselves, and to their patients and clients, to know this book.