Customer Reviews

The Measure of Madness:

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For anyone even slightly interested in the field of forensic psychology, The Measure of Madness is sure to curb your craving for an insider's look at the criminal mind. With over 25 years of experience, Paradis describes a collection of some of her most interesting experiences in this page turning collection of case studies. Not only does she provide us with details about the crimes of the defendants and their incredible delusions, she also poses as tour guide through the criminal justice system. Readers can close this book knowing that they have learned about what happens to defendants from the time of their confessions to sentencing.
Paradis describes the true job of a forensic psychologist through her amazing tales of competency to stand trial evaluations, competency to waive Miranda rights evaluations, and assessments of dangerousness and malingering. Readers are taken through every aspect of these fascinating processes and are also given in depth explanations of the many different psychological tests administered to defendants, such as the Rorschach inkblot tests and IQ tests. However, Paradis's interesting stories do not simply end in the psychological examination rooms, leaving readers questioning about the whereabouts of defendants. Instead readers are also taken through hearing processes, and are given excellent explanations of not only her duty on the witness stand but also the responsibilities of the defendant's attorneys. From Huntley Hearings to neurolaw, Paradis leaves no aspect of the criminal justice system unexplored.
Besides its fascinating subject matter, The Measure of Madness' highly organized sections make for an easy and enjoyable read. The book is broken into three different sections (Evaluations of Mental State at the Time of the Offense, Evaluations of Competency to Stand Trial and Waive Miranda Rights, and Evaluations of Juveniles and Assessments of Dangerousness and Malingering), and each section is broken into chapters that describe individual case studies. Even the index offers readers a highly useful reference tool, allowing them to speedily look up forgotten terms. The book's organized make up only adds to its usefulness and educational value. Whether The Measure of Madness is used as an educational tool for forensic psychology students or simply a book to throw in your beach bag, it is sure to please any audience hoping to get their forensic psychological thrill.

Before I write a review, let me take a few moments to tell you some of the things that The Measure of Madness isn't. It isn't "Further Silence of the Lambs: More Conversations Between Hanibal Lector and Clarice Starling." Neither is it "Let Me Drop a Few Famous Names and Dish about Their Psychiatric Profiles." And it certainly isn't "Lifestyles of the Psychotic and Delusional."

If you pick up Dr. Cheryl Paradis' The Measure of Madness what you can expect to find is a straight-forward look at the field of forensic psychology and how its practitioners put it to work in the field of criminal justice. It may not be glamorous, but it definitely is gritty.

Pradis has put her considerable skills to work for both the defense and the prosecution in New York City. Armed with inkblots, IQ tests, peg boards and more, she helps the legal system sort out if defendants have the mental capacity to stand trial, waive their rights or know right from wrong at the moment the crime was committed. She can also form an opinion on if the defendant is "faking" mental illness in the hope of getting off on an insanity defense.

Each case study Paradis cites helps illustrate important legal concepts. She also clears up misconceptions. For instance, only about 1 percent of cases attempt to use the insanity defense (and of those, it's successful in only one case out of five). For the casual reader, this book is not only an introduction to the field of forensic psychology, but an education into an often misunderstood area of the legal system.

If you are interested in either psychology or criminal justice (as most of us are), you will want to get this book. The author, forensic psychologist Dr. Cheryl Paradis, has selected some of her most interesting cases to share with the reader. You feel as though you are in her shoes as she tests and interviews the men and women who may have murdered their husbands, their wives, and their roommates. In her 30-odd years of practice, she has sometimes been hired by the defense and sometimes by the prosecution, but her concern has been on the side of the truth. Was the defendant mentally ill at the time of the crime; is he/she capable of understanding and participating in an upcoming trial; is he/she a danger to society? Dr. Paradis provides brief but clear definitions of legal or psychological terms as needed, but focuses most particularly on the evidence she gathered regarding the crime, the context, the history, and mental state of the perpetrator. You will finish the book feeling better informed about the law and serious crime, and the potential of psychology to understand those who suffer from serious disorders. At the same time, you will regret the fact that this fascinating read has come to an end.

I really didn't enjoy this book, which is weird as I'm not usually so out of sync with other reviewers. Perhaps my expectations were different. I had hoped for some detailed explorations of different personality disorders and the rich and varied psychological issues that manifest in crimes. I'm also fond of true crimes stories and had thought the author would use her experience to explore the defective psyches behind some shocking/horrifying/infamous crimes.
Instead this is just a peek into the doctor's own case file, giving overviews of case after case of everyday crimes that she dealt with in New York City. Some are murders, some robberies, some just as mundane as a man pushing his girlfriend over. However, all of the accounts follow a very formulaic structure.
The point of these stories - like the point of the author's job - is not to explore how criminal personalities develop, but more to just decide on a legal ruling i.e. is this person able to stand trial, or, were they capable of waiving their Miranda rights? So every story - there must have been about 30! - begins with a very brief look at the crime, then the doctor explains why she was called in and details all of her sessions with the person she is evaluating. Here we get some details of their life; never enough to create a character that we actually care about, but enough to sketch out a stereotype, such as 'homeless schizophrenic' or 'troubled teenager'.
The focus is not the patients but the doctor's role and what her profession involves. It reads a bit like a professional journal that she might use to report back to her supervisor. Come to think about it, a lot of her job involves reading reports in criminal courts, so I suppose that she just adapted this book from the reports she wrote for her testimony: "I carried out this test, and he scored this much, and then I looked into this diagnosis etc etc".
Almost without exception, there are no twists in any of the stories. It is clear from the beginning of each story whether the doctor thinks the patient is insane or not and then everything she learns from her tests confirms her initial suspicions. The book reads like a prolonged pat on the back. This smugness isn't helped by the self-serving accounts of her superior skills which she litters among the stories. Several of them feature another psychologist or a judge that disagrees with the author's evaluation of a patient. The stories then end with the author researching on the patient years later and, lo and behold, the patient has done something that confirms that the author was right all along and everyone else was wrong. The way it reads is really disingenuous and makes me question the reliability of the author in telling unbiased stories rather than self-serving accounts. Many stories seem to be used to settle professional scores. She frequently criticizes the work of opposing psychologists, knowing that the book is not an academic work and so the professionals being criticized have no avenue of redress. The author will shrilly proclaim things like "I couldn't believe the defense psychologist hadn't looked at that evidence/performed that test etc! Are they trained at this job? They obviously aren't as good as I am." The whole thing gets boring after a while.
Anyway, I feel bad being so negative on a book. I really didn't like it, but maybe it would be better for someone in the forensic psychology field or someone actually trying to pursue a career in psychology. My interest is more in getting a clear picture of the psychological tics, their causes and manifestations, that lead to people committing crimes and antisocial acts. I didn't find it here.
Here is a condensation of the book:
Story 1:
A man stabs a man. I meet him, he is clearly crazy, I tell the court he is crazy, he is found legally insane.
Story 2:
A man stabs a woman. I meet him, he is clearly crazy, I tell the court he is crazy, he is found legally insane.
Story 3:
A man stabs a man. I meet him. He is clearly crazy. The prosecution psychologist is terrible at her job and has the nerve to disagree with me. The judge sides with the prosecution. Ten years later I find out that the patient was clearly crazy and because he didn't get the treatment he needed he did something bad. If only they had listened to me! I don't enjoy being so right, I wished I'd been wrong.
Story 4:
A man stabs a man. I meet him, he is clearly crazy, I tell the court he is crazy, he is found legally insane.
Story 5:
A man stabs a man. I meet him and I have suspicions that he is not crazy. The defense psychologist is terrible at her job. She thinks that he is crazy. I look into it further and find that I was right from the get go. He is clearly not crazy. The court agrees with me.

When I heard about this book a few months ago, I immediately added it to my wish list thinking that it was going to be about serial killers and other psychopaths. Instead, I was treated to a series of case studies about mentally ill people who had committed crimes. Despite the fact that this book didn't initially meet my expectations, I couldn't put it down because it was just too interesting. It was refreshing to see the human side of mentally criminals (for lack of a better word), as opposed to the myths that Hollywood peddles.

My only gripes are that some of the author's explanations were a little simplistic, or based seemingly on her own assumptions. I would have liked to have seen a little more depth with some of the case studies. Also, she tends to repeat herself a lot when talking about different cases with similar scenarios. It's not a dealbreaker, though.

If you have any interest in mental illness and its effect on the legal process, you should check this book out.

As a fellow forensic psychologist and graduate professor in forensic psychology, I have found Dr. Paradis' new book The Measure of Madness a great addition to the academic literature. There are very few books that articulate the nuances and challenges of forensic evaluations like her book. Her writing style is incredibly engaging and she covers a large amount of material very easily. Dr. Paradis describes forensic evaluations realistically and explains many of the challenges of the field. As a professor, the case examples are excellent ways to introduce new students to forensic psychology. I plan to use the book in my psychopathology class this fall.

A "good read" which lay persons and professionals alike will enjoy. I had difficulty putting it down. The book is chock full of very readable 1st person accounts of cases the author has investigated. Her choice of case and her writing style make for a riveting reading experiences. The stories move quickly and smoothly to a conclusion...although not always the conclusion the reader or Dr Paradis were led to expect. Triumph and disappointment pepper the stories.

Dr. Paradis is clearly knowledgeable, and expert in her field and her search for truth about the defendants she encounters is fascinating. I much appreciate her attention to detail in her interviewing... she is acutely aware of how easy it is to "plant ideas" into a witness or defendant's mouth.
I strongly recommend this book to all.

At the beginning of the book, Paradis explains that most people's knowledge of forensic psychologists (and psychiatrists) comes from TV crime shows, and is called the "CSI effect". I was in this category (however being fully aware of the "artistic license" that writers and directors use.) The book is a great little collection of interesting case studies which fall into the three main areas in which a forensic psych works. The book is also divided into the three parts, being; evaluating a defendant's mental state at the time of the offence, their competency to stand trial, and assessing juveniles and malingering. Paradis describes what each of these concepts mean, and sheds light on why her job isn't as simple as stating whether a person is mentally ill not.

It is easy to read, and each chapter, or case study, is fairly short and succinct. She describes the steps in evaluating a defendant, as well as giving a basic description of each of the tests used to assess a person's state of mind, including IQ tests, tests for malingering, as well as the famous Ink Blot Test. Using a balance between more psychodynamic theories and tests, and a more clinical neuropsychological approach when evaluating her clients. No matter who has contacted her for the assessment (ADA or defence), Paradis judges each person's symptoms without a trace of bias.
A really interesting read for those interested in pathological behaviour, and reading this, brought out feelings, often of frustration, upset and disgust, but also thoughts of empathy and understanding.

This series of case studies reveals the methodology and thought process behind the author's analysis of a wide range of criminal suspects. By simply relating the stories of some her cases, Dr. Paradis takes us behind the curtain of the legal process to show how issues of competency and sanity play out in the court room and in real life. Weaving clinical details with personal observations, she brings her profession to life, creating a matter-of-fact portrait of forensic psychology that strikes me as richer and more balanced than either a textbook or a sensationalized popular account could be.

If you think you know about forensics from "CSI" and "Law and Order," you don't! "The Measure of Madness" is the real story. Simultaneously shows the clarity of science and the messiness of human mind and behavior. Our guide, CP, conveys both her expertise and humanity with each case study. The stories stay with the reader long after the book is over. Along with CP, we wonder and yes care about the profiled people.