If you're already a fan of Jon Ronson then I think you will be delighted by this. I find that interesting as someone who occasionally harbours journalistic pretensions, but I think anyone would enjoy getting some insight into how journalism is carried out.

His journeys to meet people are described and his thought processes are laid out as he interviews them. Ronson makes the process of journalism rather more transparent than other writers and his thoughts and feelings are often to the fore. However, that's by no means to say that personal mental misfortune is necessary to be fascinated by The Psychopath Test. I was dumbfounded by the story of how the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental health problems was put together. I found this book especially interesting as I and family members have experienced mental illness. Those were precisely the words I wanted to use to describe this book, so I've rather had the wind taken out of my sails. The blurb for this book says it is 'utterly compelling'. Jon learns from him how to ferret out these high-flying psychopaths and, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, heads into the corridors of power.Combining Jon’s trademark humour, charm and investigative incision, The Psychopath Test is a deeply honest book unearthing dangerous truths and asking serious questions about how we define normality in a world where we are increasingly judged by our maddest edges. He meets the influential psychologist who developed the industry standard Psychopath Test and who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are in fact psychopaths. He meets some of the people who catalogue mental illness, and those who vehemently oppose them. Jon meets a Broadmoor inmate who swears he faked a mental disorder to get a lighter sentence but is now stuck there, with nobody believing he’s sane. As he searches for the answer, Jon soon finds himself, unexpectedly, on an utterly compelling and often unbelievable adventure into the world of madness. She and several colleagues have recently received a cryptically puzzling book in the mail, and Jon is challenged to solve the mystery behind it. It all starts when journalist Jon Ronson is contacted by a leading neurologist. Ronson’s new book is provocative and interesting, and you will, I guarantee, zip merrily through it.This is a story about madness. Will Self, Guardian The belly laughs come thick and fast – my God, he is funny. I began The Psychopath Test late at night, tired, dispirited and ill – then found myself laughing like the proverbial loon for page after page.

The psychopath test by jon ronson