What readers think of The Sociopath Next Door, plus links to write your own review.

This book was a Godsend and changed my life. I spent almost two decades with a sociopath trying to figure this person out. Finally, all my questions have been answered by Martha Stout. I only wish I could have had the benefit of her book years earlier. I now understand there are manipulative people in the world who have no conscience. They are attracted to bighearted people they can easily manipulate. Sometimes you must get to know someone in a close, personal relationship before you realize he or she is a sociopath . . . they are able to 'blend in'. After reading The Sociopath Next Door I realized my 'friend' was a textbook sociopath. Everything Martha writes in this book is true . . . and I have lived it as proof.

With the title of this book I expected to have my ears blown back. Instead the message seems to be "be afraid, be very afraid." I must admit I did not read the cited books but my feeling is that the book itself should contain supporting information. The examples given where islands in thought not really connected with each other. The message that came through most clearly for me was "wow, can you believe there are people like this out there." Which makes it a good book for people just coming to the subject but if the word sociopath is already in your vocabulary I would skip this book.

For years I have been trying to get someone to help me understand what I was dealing with in my own daughter.

Her awards, in High School and College were truly spectacular. She held a wonderful position after college. She married a man who seemed to be a really quality guy.

They are now divorced (I can't imagine what life was like when they were together, because I think he may have been, in a different way, of the same type.) I only stay in contact with them because of the precious children who have no recourse or protection.

At last this book told me what no one else had been able to explain. I kept feeling guilty for the way she was. Stout helped me be free from that guilt and gave me some practical strategies for dealing with her.

Honestly, I got so much out of this book, but I found the application to political systems rather a stretch and pretty boring--a sidetrack in an otherwise excellent book. I would suggest that Stout make that another book. As much as I could, I skipped over those parts.

I am so thankful for this book! At last, all the puzzle pieces of years are fitting together. Stout is very wise to suggest that we not try to convince others of what we now know. They won't believe it.

The best thing you can do is stay as far away as you are able to and protect yourself!

As a mental health therapist, I have referred this book to both colleagues and clients. "Information is power" that empowers us to make healthier decisions in our lives, and the author provides readers with that kind of information.

This book is a good read that will clearly define a sociopath. It is also has the kind of characteristic that wont let you put down the book.

I found the book very insightful. However, I disagree with Dr. Stout's "black and white" characterization of sociopathy. She implies that 4% have no conscience whatsoever, whereas 96% have a "normal" conscience. I don't believe that this reflects reality. I think to categorize someone as having absolutely no conscience is not only inaccurate, it suggests that they are hopeless and should be "written off". The fact is, we don't even know what a conscience is, and we certainly can't prove that a significant segment of the population has absolutely no conscience.
I'm not arguing with the basic concepts of the book... I just think that it's extremely inaccurate to paint a picture that these people are all equally ice cold and hopeless.

Martha Stout's book The Sociopath Next Door is a good book from a number of angles. The examples and stories she provides in the book are illuminating, and she understands well the characteristic features of the sociopathic personality. Unfortunately, she entertains questions that are specifically philosophical, i.e., the nature of conscience and the causes of sociopathy, and it is clear that she is not a trained philosopher. She seems to give evidence of a reductionist or determinist habitus, and the quality of the discussion in these areas drops considerably. She would be wise to consider the insights of forensic psychologist Dr. Stanton Samenow, in particular the primacy of thinking over feeling. In short, she confuses conscience with emotion--for as the word indicates, con 'science' is a kind of knowing, a judgment or act of the intellect. Human emotion is intimately tied up in thinking. Stout makes a mess of this and thus fails to fully appreciate self-determination, as is typical among psychologists today. Nonetheless, the book is worth reading, since most people are still woefully ignorant of the nature of evil.

I am the same Martha that wrote the review below and I just wanted to say to "wife # 4", that you are not crazy! I went thru the same thing with the court system. They told me that I was just saying that he beat me up so that I could "win" the divorce. I too kept telling them that all I wanted to do was protect my children. It has been 8 years since the final divorce and now he is trying to hold a pity party in the court room by claiming that he is physically disabled and can not work so therefore, he can't pay child support. He can not get a medical doctor to back up his claims. He is so behind in child support payments he is now in contempt of court. I may finally be able to get the law to do something about him this time.

It helps to know you are not alone. Good Luck to you and everyone else out there going thru this nightmare.