The Antisocial Personalities
...this is a fascinating volume. It is just the kind of book that should be at the center of debates on public policy--consistently scientific and free from preconceptions or wishful thinking.—American RenaissanceHOLD FOR PUBLICATION OF REVIEW!!!...a sophisticated, tightly integrated work with multiple overlapping themes. This is a book that brings new perspective to a well-travelled literature and which yields fresh rewards with repeated readings. It is illuminating, entertaining, and at times outrageous. In short, it has the earmarks of a classic.—Psychological Inquiry...original, variegated, intelligent, scholarly, and delightfully written....this book is dense and nutritious; few works are based on bodies of literature as diverse as those covered here, and there are fewer still that achieve the conceptual coherence that Lykken achieves. [He] is an expert in this long-term field, and his book is an encyclopedic compendium.—Aggressive BehaviorAfter reviewing the literature on psychopathy, this book documents the claim that sociopaths, not psychopaths, are responsible for most crime.—National Institute of JusticeLykken's newest book on the antisocial personalities rivals and then surpasses the classic by Cleckley by combining hard-nosed science, as skillfully as Sagan, with keen observations on humans in social settings garnered over some 40 years of experience with sociopaths. His theory about the 'primary psychopath' and his (usually) origins will irritate, agitate, and partially explicate, depending on the reader's previous exposure to sociology, behavioral genetics, and welfare policy. Lykken's challenges to conventional and received wisdom are both serious and entertaining. Your attitude toward crime and violence will NOT be the same after reading this book as it was before you started.—Irving I. Gottesman, Ph.D.Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrics, University of VirginiaThis is the most exciting book on psychopathology I've read for years. The analysis is incisive and deep; the style is engaging; the synthesis of the author's encyclopedic knowledge in diverse areas -- clinical psychology, sociology, psychometrics, genetics, psychophysiology -- is creative and powerful. This book defines the research task for the foreseeable future.—Paul E. Meehl, Ph.D., LPRegents' Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Member Emeritus, Minnesota Center foDavid Lykken, the Dean of the field of antisocial behavior, provides a badly needed, comprehensive, and insightful analysis of the complex causes of the marked and continuing increase in crime and violence. This highly readable book offers its own recommendations that are likely to stimulate a major political debate as to how to solve this critical societal problem. It is one of those rare books that presents an authoritative overview for professionals in the field, yet is written in a clear and entertaining style that makes it invaluable for the educated layperson.—Don C. Fowles, Ph.D.The University of IowaYour book on the antisocial personalities is wonderful....The topic is major, the writing is marvelously clear, and the argument is correct....your book is the high water mark in our efforts to develop a conceptual understanding of the issue.—Robert HoganHogan Assessment Systems