Bad Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder (Paperback)

~ (Author), C. Lindon Larson (Contributor) "At first, she tried to look beyond his bad habits-the nights he spent out drinking while she lay awake at home, the snarling insults that..." (more)
Key Phrases: antisocial men, many antisocials, antisocial patient, University of Iowa, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Black (psychiatry, Univ. of Iowa Coll. of Medicine) claims that ample new evidence from genetics and neuroscience supports a biological cause for antisocial personality disorder (ASP), lending truth to the adage "some people are simply born bad." ASP is intimately connected to many of society's ills, including crime, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and even rape and murder. For men with severe ASP, life becomes an opportunity to break all social and moral rules without remorse. But there are ways of detecting warning signs in troubled children, and there are proceduresAvarious combinations of medication, psychotherapy, and social institutional interventionsAto prevent and treat ASP. Black emphasizes the fundamental need for a healthy moral conscience by analyzing a wide variety of case studies. An excellent companion title is Adrian Raine's The Psychology of Crime: Criminal Behavior as a Clinical Disorder (Academic, 1993). An eye opener suitable for all libraries.AChogollah Maroufi, California State Univ., Los Angeles
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Clearly written, informative, and filled with intriguing stories of real people....Tells us what we need to know about antisocial personality disorder. A wonderful book."--John M. Oldham, MD, Columbia University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (April 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195137833
• ISBN-13: 978-0195137835
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #284,284 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating update of the ASP!, April 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bad Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder (Hardcover)

Clearly influenced by Hervey Cleckley's classic work, "The Mask of Sanity", Donald Black's brief overview of the enigma of the antisocial personality disorder in its several guises serves as a welcome introduction to the subject for anyone interested in its recognition. Those looking for a "cure" or even a practical form of treatment for sociopathy will have to search beyond this book, for its management remains just as evasive as it was when Cleckley sat down to write his landmark description in 1941.

The book provides excellent useful documentation through its careful chapter notes, and Dr. Black wisely avoids the theorizing and speculation, so often characteristic of the authors of books of this genre. The style is adult breezy, with strict avoidance of the turgid jargon of the typical psychiatric or psychologic journal article.

Even though I was admittedly somewhat put off by the fact that a man with Dr. Black's professional background required the services of a ghost writer (C.Lindon Larson), this doesn't appear to have adversely perverted the end-product, a highly readable and helpful introduction for the general public on the pervasive influence of sociopathic behavior on all our lives.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Conscientiously Without Conscience, August 2, 2002

By	bharring (Living Under A Rock) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder (Hardcover)

Are there some people who simply make it their mission to be bad? The psychiatric circle is now beginning to believe so. In this groundbreaking look at Anti-social Personality Disorder (ASP) psychiatrist Donald Black charts the process and problems of men (for they are primarily men) who know no conscience and simply refuse to obey the rules. Typically, these men are white and working class, who go through jobs, money, homes, prisons, and family with a virtual disgregard for those around them. They may have come from poor families and broken homes, they are likely to have been juvenile delinquents, their parents may have been antisocials as well. But the Antisocial is a very dangerous person who comes in any size, shape, or form.

At the risk of seeming like another attempt to plead pity for criminals, Donald Black insists that these men be held responsible for their actions, and avoids placing blame on anyone but them for the destruction they seem to willfully cause. He discusses various causes for the disorder (ie: genetics, brain trauma, abuse, poverty), the history of its discovery, and gives us case studies of men who he has tracked down more than twenty years after their initial hospitalization and diagnosis with ASP, often with unsettling results.

I liked this book for its scholarly treatment of this psychiatric subject. It was complex and in-depth, but at the same time, still accessible to me as a non-psychiatrist. I was fascinated with the descriptions of personalities that he gave, and riveted by the petrifying account he gave of the sociopath John Wayne Gacy. At the same time, I did have some problems with this book. At times, it did not hold my attention and would read like a textbook. I also found that Dr. Black's treatment of the antisocial was rather contemptuous and seemed to emphasize the fact that these people are virtually impossible to treat, rather than trying to show optimism or enthusiasm. I don't think you can help somebody (no matter how unlikeable they may seem at face value) recover if you attack them. There is a difference between holding someone responsible and beating them up over their bad choices. (Or perhaps this shows I didn't get as much out of this book as I should have.) Along the same lines, Dr. Black did not support his descriptions of antisocial behavior with the responses of the patients. He told us antisocials have no remorse, but I don't feel he really articulated that in telling the stories of follow-up interviews.

Overall, I felt that this was a pretty good book, and an important introduction to a disorder which has extreme ill-effects on society (poverty, crime, etc.). Hopefully, over the years, their can be more research to define a way to treat these individuals.

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book brings ASP to life in straight-forward style, May 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bad Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder (Hardcover)

I have a shelf full of books that have bits and pieces of information on conduct disorder and the like on young men. Bad Boys, Bad Men takes all of that information, blends it together, adds to it, and spits it out in a very readable, comprehensive book that is like a dream come true to me. I mean it. And the advice to family members is so valid and honest. And the advice to the ASP person is so straight-forward. Reading this book has filled in many pieces for me in my search to understand the nature of a loved one. Bravo to Dr. Black and his writer friend. May this book be read by all the probation officers, juvenile judges, social workers and counselors alive. I truly believe that ASP is the basis for so much pain and suffering in our society.