In The Mask of Sanity, Dr. Hervey Cleckley explores the perplexing world of psychopathic personalities, shedding light on their charming and manipulative nature that often conceals a profound lack of empathy and conscience. Through a series of case studies and insightful analysis, Cleckley challenges common misconceptions and provides a nuanced understanding of these individuals who seamlessly blend into society while leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. This groundbreaking work remains a seminal text in the field of psychology, offering valuable insights for mental health professionals, law enforcement, and anyone seeking to comprehend the complex nature of the psychopathic mind.

First published in 1941, "The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality" by Hervey M. Cleckley, an American psychiatrist, is considered to be the most important work on psychopathology of the twentieth-century. Cleckley based his work on clinical interviews with patients in mental institutions and continued to edit and revise his seminal work throughout the years. The title "The Mask of Sanity" refers to Cleckley's description of the psychopath as living behind a mask of normalcy, which makes the disorder very difficult to recognize and diagnosis. They may appear engaging, intelligent, charming, and sincere but behind this façade of a normal, functioning person they are severely mentally disordered and chaotic. Cleckley was the first to recognize the psychopath's lack of genuine emotion that stems from a serious and uncontrolled neuropsychiatric defect. Cleckley's work is startlingly insightful and his outline of the basic elements of psychopathology remains relevant nearly eighty years later. While highly controversial when it was first published, Cleckley's exhaustive research and the fascinating case studies he explores in detail make "The Mask of Sanity" an indispensable guide for both professionals and lay people alike who wish to better understand psychopathology. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Describes eight common personality disorders, presents Biblical guidelines for dealing with difficult people, and explains how Christian faith can help their real personalities to emerge.

This book has been replaced by Handbook of Psychopathy, Second Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-3513-2.

The sexualized serial murder of women by men is the subject of this provocative book. Jane Caputi argues that the sensationalized murders by men such as Jack the Ripper, Son of Sam, Hillside Strangler, and the Yorkshire Ripper represent a contemporary genre of sexually political crimes. The awful deeds function as a form of patriarchal terrorism, "disappearing" women at a rate of some four thousand annually in the United States alone. Caputi asks us not only to name the phenomenon of sexually political murder, but to recognize sex crime in all of its various interconnecting manifestations.