Book written by psychopath?

[ElizabethOrr]

Was wondering if anyone has read 'Psychopath!' by Morton Bain?

It's like 'American Psycho' but with less gratuitous violence and more emphasis on the psychology of psychopathy. The friend that recommended it said the author is apparently a real psychopath, and I'd be interested to know if any other readers thought the same...

[Carrie R]

Was wondering if anyone has read 'Psychopath!' by Morton Bain?

the author is apparently a real psychopath

Well, you certainly caught my attention with that one! I'll be interested to see if anyone's read it.

[JamesMarkam]

I've read it. A friend who works in publishing reckons it's written under a psuedonym by a real psycho. I'd say this is quite believable based on the book!

[viking308]

I read a book by a guy named Rehan Jones. He is a schizophrenic and wrote a book
while incarcerated in a secure institution for the criminally insane. It is very scary, one
time he tried to steal a gun in a courtroom and another time he assaulted and robbed his
own parents. The book is called, "I wrote this book while possessed by a demon...". I have
never read anything like it.

[FNAWrite]

I'm not so sure about either of these authors or books.

On the internet, yes shallow but very widespread pool of info, there are no reviews of "Psychopath" except by book sellers. There is no information about Bain at all.

As to rehan Jones neither he nor his book appear anywhere on the web.

First, it might help define what you mean by psychopath, a term that AFAIK is in disfavor among psychiatrists and psychologists.

[Mazza WA]

Given that there is supposedly a high percentage of psychopaths among the general population, I expect there are quite a few who are authors. Not all psychopaths are the knife swinging in the shower type - some are very successful in their chosen field. Why not writing?

[FNAWrite]

"there is supposedly a high percentage of psychopaths among the general population"

Would you know who supposes that? Best sources I have suggest perhaps 1%, This yields a relatively high real number, but is nevertheless not a high percentage.

A general description of the very loose term psychopathy includes aggressively anti-social behavior and a self-centered perspective. Such things might not translate well into producing works of art that others might enjoy.

I don't deny that a "psychopath" might indeed write a book. I honestly don't think thet "quite a few" are authors.

So again, i would like to know when we say these authors aree "psychopaths, what is meant by that.

[Mazza WA]

"there is supposedly a high percentage of psychopaths among the general population"

Would you know who supposes that? Best sources I have suggest perhaps 1%, This yields a relatively high real number, but is nevertheless not a high percentage.

A general description of the very loose term psychopathy includes aggressively anti-social behavior and a self-centered perspective. Such things might not translate well into producing works of art that others might enjoy.

I don't deny that a "psychopath" might indeed write a book. I honestly don't think thet "quite a few" are authors.

So again, i would like to know when we say these authors aree "psychopaths, what is meant by that.

You seem a bit obsessed with your question. A check on the internet for "psychopath" may bring up some answers for you. You could try topdocumentaryfilms.com/psychopath/. The first two paras on this site state:

"There are many psychopaths in society, that actually, we virtually know nothing about. These are the psychopaths who don’t necessarily commit homicide, commit serious violence, or even come to the attention of the police. They may be successful businessmen. They may be successful politicians. They may be successful academics. They may be successful priests. They exist in all areas of society. There is a growing awareness that psychopathic behavior is around us in all walks of life.

According to popular wisdom, psychopaths are crazed and bloodthirsty serial killers. The reality is not so simple. While many psychopaths do commit violent crimes, not all psychopaths are criminals and not all criminals are psychopathic. Psychopaths are found in many walks of life and are often successful in competitive professions. However they are also ruthless, manipulative and destructive. Equinox reports on techniques developed by psychologists to work out whether a person is psychopathic and shows how brain scientists are coming close to mapping the malfunctions in the brain that cause a person to be a psychopath. In Britain one person in 200 is likely to be a psychopath. However psychopaths are thought to be responsible for half of all reported crimes and to make up between 15% and 20% of the prison population."

There are plenty of definitions on the web or in other books if you really want to study this.

[Maud Fitch]

True or not, it sounds like a good publicity angle to me.....

[FNAWrite]

"You seem a bit obsessed with your question" Well, I did repeat it when my post was responded to without my question being answered.

A good question though, I think. When discussing something as "this", it is often very helpful to know what is meant by "this". As noted (twice) I am not looking for the clinical definition of psychopath which I do have, but what in fact the OP means by asserting that term vis a vis the author.

If "psychopath" is taken to mean people who behave perfectly normally, one might reasonably question whether such label should actually be applied.

You state "In Britain one person in 200 is likely to be a psychopath". This is 0.5 percent, less than I posited (based on FBI data), and a figure which certainly does not comport with your earlier statement "there is supposedly a high percentage of psychopaths among the general population".

The language you quote from topdocumentaryfilms doesn't really support anything it says does it? While asserting "there are many psycopaths in society" it concludes that sentence by noting "we virtually know nothing about [these psychopaths]" How then do they suppose they exist?

The quoted language goes on to say 'they may be this, they may be that'. Always included in such statements is the understood counter 'they may not be this or that'.

As I noted, "ruthless, manipulative and destructive" personality traits may not show well in a work of popular literature.

As to the alleged "popular wisdom" that all psychopaths are crazed killers, I would point out the popular culture movie "The Addams Family" of some 20 years ago wherein Wednesday points out that 'homicidal maniacs look just like the rest of us"'