The Science of Those Without Conscience - The Psychopath Whisperer

Amazing book! A very informative, interesting, and entertaining (humorous, too) read. In addition to the well-written content, one of the things I loved most was how much the author's passion for the topic showed throughout the entire book. From a technology standpoint, the use of fMRI for forensic neuroscience research was fascinating. This is a great read for anyone interested in criminal psychology, neuroscience, and health technology.

While I imagine we all have some degree of interest in the subject matter, I think you have to have an above-average interest to read through some of the more technical chapters. There was one part that really bothered me about this book, to the point I'm not sure I recommend it. I'll get to that in a sec.

Kiehl does a particularly wonderful job laying out the criteria that help determine who is a psychopath. As he tells us each new one, he rates two presidential assassins, Booth and Guiteau. It's possibly the most important section of the book, and it could easily have glazed our eyes over. But instead it's engaging and helpful. By the way, just try reading that section in 2017 without scoring a certain person in political power.

Other reviewers are right in that this book, as the title suggests, is sometimes more about the researcher than the research or subjects --and let's be honest, we non-psychiatrists kind of all only want to know about the subjects. But while I usually tire of this new trend of authors inserting their own lives so freely in their non-fiction books (that's what blogs are for!), here, as in Crooked by Jakobson Ramin, the technique works well because the author acts as our guide, personally taking us from one concept to another. A good example of this is when Kiehl explains the P3 brainwave by telling us how it was affected in him and his friends after seeing a rattlesnake on a hiking path. A less good example, is Kiehl writing about a close call on the road with a truck carrying an MRI machine. Years later he would think of using a different kind of MRI in his work. Why tell us any of that with the truck? Also, I always wonder in these books if the author really wrote such detailed notes he knows that he finished a "quad espresso" in a certain point of a particular meeting one day or if he just threw that in for color.

Finally, I had trouble getting over something early on. While interviewing a man he knows to have killed one woman, illegally entered the homes of many more, and spied on even more still for sexual gratification, Kiehl says he, "had tears in his eyes, laughing so hard" when "Bob" talks about his closet of stolen, worn womens' underwear. I knew reading this book would mean hearing some distasteful stories, but I didn't think that distaste would come from the author himself, who as a psychiatrist should not be so tone deaf as to pass off something so abjectly terrifying to women as a funny college-style prank. Kiehl even talked a lot about his own fear of being around the men he's around by choice of his profession, but doesn't appreciate the fear those affected women were likely in, just living their lives. I got this from the library. If I'd bought the book, I would have returned it for that reason. Yes, I'm sure there's a detachment that has to occur when talking to inmates, but you don't have to tell me, years later, how funny listening about their crimes against women was for you.

I very nearly didn't buy this book because the sensational cover and title put me off. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Having read both this book and Hare's Without Conscience, I find I far prefer Kiehl's style. He details his many studies (using both clinical interviewing and fMRI) as well as his own path toward becoming an expert in the field of psychopathy, which I found intriguing and engaging. Highly recommend, especially to those who are considering a career in clinical or research psychology.

Dive deep into the mind of a psychologist who seems half in love with his difficult subjects -- Kent A. Kiehl, author of "The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscience." Kiehl is a protege of Robert Hare, who revamped the study of psychopaths in the mid-twentieth century and developed the current standard description for the condition, the Psychopathy Checklist, Revised (PCL-R), with its 20 graded criteria for distinguishing who among us may be conscienceless predators.

Like Hare, Kiehl bases his studies strongly on prison populations, after testing them with Hare's checklist. Although he later tried to study non-incarcerated psychopath populations, he found that those in prison were most willing to submit to his probing of their brain functions, analysed both with electroencephalograms (EEG) and and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. (Participation by both incarcerated and non-incarcerated populations is voluntary, but prisoners were more apt to find participating in research projects an enjoyable break in their routine than did non-incarcerated patients.)

The results led Kiehl to deduce that deficits in specific parts of the brain he terms the paralimbic system can distinguish psychopaths from non-psychopaths, a hypothesis he was able to prove with larger studies, without, however, indicating what actually causes such deficits. (As his book, published in 2014, ends, he is involved in a massive study of prisoners in the New Mexico state correctional program, a study whose scope is aided by a mobile fMRI -- functional magnetic resonance imaging -- system he helped invent.)

Along the way, Kiehl relates histories of his inmate-subjects, usually with details changed to protect their privacy, that alternately make a reader weep for their pain and cringe for the pain they inflict on others.

The research might lead readers to conclude that persons with particular brain deficits are doomed to a life of crime, but Kiehl's hope is that such research will lead to therapies that can avert such scenarios, especially in young offenders, as when he points to program such as that of Wisconsin's Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center and its record of significantly reducing recidivism, especially for violent crimes.

". . . people often ask me if I am pro death penalty or anti death penalty," Kiehl writes after discussing a particularly heinous crime in which the killer's brain trauma could have made the difference between life and death. "I answer that I am 'pro prevention.'"

"The Psychopath Whisperer" combines hard science with a compelling memoir of one man's attempt to make sense of the world's unconscionable evil.

There are some subjects and topics that absolutely captivate me. I just find the subject so interesting that I will read whatever book on it. When The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science Of Those Without Conscience by Kent A. Kiehl, PhD crossed my email path, I absolutely knew that I had to obtain a copy of it from the Blogging For Books platform. Y’all, this book was super interesting and I found myself mostly captivated by Kiehl’s book on psychopaths. I will admit that the book had parts that were over my head as I am not great at understand graphics and science diagrams, however, it’s still a decent read if you are interested in things like abnormal psychology.

The Psychopath Whisperer opens up with a bit of biographic sketch on the author, Kiehl. It talks about how he grew up in the same neighborhood as Ted Bundy and went to the best private school in his state. Then he goes onto college on a football scholarship but after an injury goes into a life of academics and pursues his passion of learning about psychopaths. The book is kind of like a memoir of Kiehl’s career. There’s a lot of the book that takes place in jails where he conducts interviews as a doctoral student and then as postdoctoral student. There’s lots about MRI machines. There’s also plenty of anecdotes in The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science Of Those Without Conscience where Kiehl discusses things like Hare’s psychopath test where people rate twenty attributes and depending on the score – they may or may not be a psychopath. It’s actually quite fascinating.

To be quite honest, I felt like I learned a fair amount from Kiehl’s book. I learned that the brains of psychopaths, that is the physiognomy of their brains is actually different from a normal brain. Their grey matter is different. I learned that psychopaths do not respond well to behavioral programs that involve punishment. Fear of punishment simply does not work for psychopaths. It’s fascinating to me — all the amount of hands on physical anatomy stuff that goes on when it comes to behavioral science. I mean, I guess I came into this book hoping for anecdotes, but got a lot of diagrams. That’s fine and all, just not entirely what I was hoping for. I will say one thing, I feel a bit more educated about psychopaths and about treatment of psychopathy.

If you like books that put science in layman’s terms with diagrams, you will enjoy The Psychopath Whisperer. For me, one thing I loved was that there was a shoutout to the area I lived in for eight years — where Kiehl gets his mobile MRI unit from. I did get a bit bored during the parts talking about acquisition of the MRI machine and the operation of the machine. For me, the best bits were the case studies. I don’t know, I guess at my core I like stories better than I do procedure — if that makes sense to you.

Who Should Read This Book?
People who like behavioral science
Anyone who is interested in criminology
Those who are into abnormal psychology
People who enjoy books that are a mash-up of memoir and topical study

This was as much of an autobiography as it was a book about psychopathy. The author certainly knows his stuff for he never fails to inform the reader at every turn of the page. The number of personal pronouns in this book became quite exhausting however the subject is very interesting to say the least.

A protégé of the acclaimed Dr. Robert Hare, the author explains through use of MRIs how psychopathy is diagnosable.

This book has a lot of interesting points about the recent developments in neuroscience that contribute to the study of psychopathy, the author's self-promotion and achievement in the field is a distracting theme of the book. If you have read the sociopath next door, without a conscience, or snakes in suits you probably won't get too much more out of this other than the neuroscience aspects.

In this fascinating scientific exploration into the biological differences between psychopaths and non-psychopathic people, Kiehl discusses his own dealings with psycopaths in prisons. Kiehl is known as the first person to use an MRI in a prison to study the differences between psychopaths and non-psychopathic prisoners.

Kiehl would determine psycopathy by interviewing prisoners and then rating them 1-3 on a list of 20 attributes. A score of 30 indicates a psychopath. Approximately 20% of inmates were psychopaths. A balanced number of people who rate high and low on the psychopathy scale would be chosen for the experiments.

Once the study subjects were put in the MRI, they would be shown pictures of three types: a morally neutral photo (perhaps an ice cream cone), a morally ambiguous photo (perhaps a wrestling match), and a immoral act (perhaps someone placing a bomb in a car). The prisoners would then rate one a 1-5 scale how immoral the picture was. When a person who scores low on the psychopathy scale sees an immoral picture, his limbic system lights up; but a psychopath's limbic system remains eerily dark.

In his book, Kiehl also discusses findings other people have made about psychopaths - like the fact that they have no startle reflex. This mixture of scientific, psychological, and personal narrative make for a fantastic book.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit - especially the ethical implications of whether a psychopath deserves an insanity plea because their brains function differently than "normal" people and they are unable to physiologically respond the "right" way to the thought of immoral activity. Kiehl himself longs for a day when psychopathy will be caught earlier in childhood, so that they can receive treatment rather than incarceration. But the issue is quite an ethical dilemma. Where do you draw the line on the insanity plea?

I found the Psychopath Whisperer to be generally a let down. However, that could have been due to my expectations. I expected in depth analysis of psychopaths including what they had done in their lives, how they felt about it, how truthful they were, and how they came across to the author. I didn't get much of that. Instead, I heard all about how the author began his studies and how he felt at the time. That was fine, but from the start, he struck me as too gullible. He took the criminals he interviewed at their word. From the start, he listened wide eyed to their stories and never mentioned once what liars they could be. He only referenced that psychopaths are liars but it never came across in his interviews. He struck me as a sort of groupie, all worried about what danger he was in, impressed with what they had done and how normal they seemed. Then at the end of what I considered interviews with no information or insight into the particular individual, he gave his conclusion of their rating on the popular psychopath scale.

His book came across as an autobiography, and it reminded me of some of the writing by so-called ghost hunters. With not much information, they tend to focus on their own thoughts and feelings throughout the story. Somehow psychopaths have become our latest craze, and it amazes me how gullible people can be when they think that they have met one. The author never once questioned why he met so many psychopaths so quickly. Can it be that these inmates are bored, know very well what he wants to hear and love to talk about themselves? Did it ever occur to him that just because they did terrible things and don't seem too concerned that it might just mean that they're bad people, but not psychopaths?

I should have realized that the book was not completely professional by the title. The reference to Horse Whisperer was too commercial for the subject. Psychopaths are the latest craze, and of course people will want more books about them. So I could understand the reason for the title. However, I was not able to finish this book, so perhaps it improved near the end.

I won't say not to buy this book, but it would be best if you could read it first before gambling with your money.

While still debated it appears that the consensus of the scientific community is that psychopaths are born not made by environmental stressors like sociopaths. The author has devoted his career to the study of psychopathy, Focusing on incarcerated male offenders this book contains his insights and experiences. I can't say I learned anything new but the information, while basic, does provide a frustrating and frightening look at the small segment of society responsible for the bulk of heartache and violence.

This is an uneven offering which is probably not surprising given the semi autobiographical nature of the book. . The case studies are interesting, though I don't know I would put much weight into anything a psychopath said. Probably the highlight was in the third chapter where the author contrasts two presidential assassins; John Wilkes Booth and the lesser known Charles Guiteau. But the author's constant insertion of himself is boring and annoying. Perhaps if I were a mover I would be fascinated by the logistics of transporting MRI machines. While I am sure Starbucks appreciates the plug, the author's coffee (and for that matter wine) drinking is of little interest to me. I had hoped to see more on treatment. Most is contained in his Decompression chapter, which ultimately is nothing more than custodial treatment. Deemed untreatable, perhaps the best solution is isolation from the rest of society. Behavioral modification has not been wildly successful despite the author's contentions to the contrary and pharmacological and surgical options are frowned upon in these politically correct times. There is apparently no prenatal test that would alert prospective parents and no steps for a person to take like avoiding certain foods, drinks or behaviors that would contribute to the development of the disorder during pregnancy.

This is not a difficult read although the dialogue is clunky and the writing is a bit clumsy. Portions drag but it does provide a chilling if limited look at a dangerous population.

This book was incredibly interesting to me. It wasn't a "true crime" book, but more of a clinical study of the psychopath. Kiehl takes a deeper look at the traits of the psychopath as developed by his mentor, Dr Robert Hare and discusses the limitations of utilizing the DSM in diagnosis of these individuals.

As someone with a BA in Psychology/Criminal Justice and who has worked in that sector, I will admit that I found his work with his students definitely caught my attention.

He utilized John Wilkes Booth and Charles Guiteau to "personify" these traits. I found this section to be questionable and would have preferred for him to use more recent/relevant case studies. In my opinion, a deep enough and reliable case study can't be developed simply due to time passage and interviewing techniques from that period of time. This book focused much more on nature vs. nurture. In the traits, I would have liked to have seen addictions/addictive behaviors addressed. It was very,very briefly touched but not expounded on to a manner which I felt addressed it completely, as he did in other areas.

On that note, I found the psychological and physical (brain studies) of these individuals to be simply fascinating. It is clearly a well documented book. I think it would fit better into an academic setting versus the general public. I fear that the majority will be looking for a "slice and dice" book and this is not it. It is much more of a "scientific" study.

A good read for a psychological/criminal junkie such as myself or a clinician/law enforcement person in the field.

Depending on the reader's background, this book is either too clinical, not clinical enough, or just right.

Such is the case with most nonfiction, huh?

I can only comment on my own connection to the material. Take it for what it's worth.

I'm a former school teacher and currently a screenwriter and actor. I'm fascinated by the inner turmoil present in mentally ill people. I draw upon traits of real people to add depth to characters I create. I'm not a scientist. I don't have a psychology background. I've only read a handful of books similar to Dr. Kiehl's.

For me, this book was a great blend of case studies and the scientific makeup of psychopaths' brains. At times, the author gets lost in trivial descriptions as he sets scenes with unnecessary details, but fighting through the fat is worth it when the meat is as tasty as it is.

"The Psychopath Whisperer" isn't for everybody, but it's outstanding for those wanting a taste of what makes psychopaths tick.

* I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. *

This was a fascinating read and very well-written. I really appreciated that there was a balance of stories about Dr. Kiehl's personal work with psychopathic inmates along with the scientific data showing the brain scans that he collected and the results of his numerous studies. It was helpful that Kiehl give a clear definition of psychopathy, clearing up misconceptions surrounding the term/disorder, and that he illustrated it throughout the book with both historical and current cases. Kiehl clearly demonstrated that there appears to be a link between a damaged/atrophied paralimbic system in the brain and psychopathy, though I still feel a little unsure about the potential causal relationship between the two; however, it's helpful that Kiehl notes his cautions about drawing a causal relationship between the data as well. I do wonder what types of environmental factors are playing a role here, especially since some of the specific cases he describes seem to indicate that an unstable home environment was a part of some of the psychopaths' backgrounds. I'd love to see more research on how that affects psychopathic behavior and controls, and to learn more about psychopaths that do not end up incarcerated for violent crimes.

It was interesting too to read that Dr. Kiehl is interested in the potential this research has for providing better treatments for psychopaths, especially juveniles. I wish there had been more information about the program he mentioned and possibly more data about other, similar programs, if any exist. I wish there had been more information in the book about different treatment options, since that was the scariest thing about reading these stories--how do you really change brain chemistry/structures? What should we do, legally, in response to knowing about the disorder and the high recidivism rate among psychopaths...balancing that with the understanding that they are often seriously emotionally impaired and have more trouble than a non-psychopath in controlling some of their actions.

I'll look forward to reading more books like this in the future and reading more of Dr. Kiehl's work. It seems like a field with a lot of potential, and I'm glad to have someone who cares so much about the situation heading up such important research. It's also a very well-written book to communicate this information to the average person without making it overly technical or over-sensationalizing it.

I received this book in exchange for this review as part of Multnomah's Blogging for Books program. Though this in no way affected the content of this review.

The term Psychopath is used so often in modern idiom that it’s almost become a synonym for criminal. It’s almost become meaningless it’s used so often. Kiehl in “The Psychopath Whisperer” manages to provide some clarity and badly needed specificity. He uses a multipart assessment that was devised by his mentor Robert Hare as well as brain imaging. It turns out that someone suffering from this affliction has an altered brain in certain areas that MRI’s can reveal. Also, per Kiehl people on this trajectory have physically altered brains from birth. It’s estimated that about 50% of these altered traits are present from the beginning of their lives and parents report that they could tell something was different about their child right from the start…problems with bonding for example.

For obvious reasons modern psychiatry hesitates to put such an onerous label on a child nor is it appropriate for fear leading to self-fulfilling behavior however Kiehl’s work with convicted criminals shows that the incidence of psychopathy found among that group is extremely higher than it is in the general population. This is an interesting book that provides many answers yet more questions. One of the most hopeful parts was the work one prison was doing with such individuals. The program they devised actually helped curb recidivism. That’s hopeful.

The book is technical in parts yet understandable for the layperson though it takes some application. The only places where Kiehl was boring was when he meandered off into how sought after he was/is in his field and how much money institutions wanted to throw at him. Ego is never interesting in my opinion no matter how much it’s been earned.

I came into this book with an expectation, and I was thoroughly and brutally crushed. I could've handled it if was just about rehashing all the other books on psychopaths. No. This book is about Dr. Kiehl and his enormous ego. Most of this book is just about his daily routine, with utterly random case studies of various psychopaths every four or five chapters.

Hell, in the first half of this book, he hadn't even graduated. He wasn't a PhD. He was just giving questionnaires to psychopaths in prison. You know, lowest person on the bean poll type work. He doesn't even really describe that. He's sure to tell us how he 'outsmarted' that one psychopath and how everyone tells him he's got an awesome work habit (complete with numerous mentions of giving Starbucks coffee to the prison staff -- yes, I kid you not. He puts a whole lot of emphasis on giving coffee in a book that's supposed to be about psychopaths...)

Once he (finally) graduated, he goes into detail about how some guy thought he was just the bees knees and let him name the amount of his salary. There are chapters (again, seriously) on how hard he worked to get the best MRI machine -- including in detail the trips out to various reps and the steak dinners of the companies who wined and dined him, and how he managed to save his employer a ton of money and the big bonus he got in the mail because of that.

WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH PSYCHOPATHS? I've got no idea.

The icing on the cake, of course, is this: he tells the readers that 'you know that Nobel Laureate guy in Economics, John Nash? The one who had a movie made of his life and of whom it's thought that his theory in economics changed the world? Yeah. He told me my theories on psychopaths would change the world too.'

Gag me.

In short, there is very, very, very little on this book about actual psychopaths. Every chapter had a short psychopath statistic and the one chapter that seemed at all promising was his comparison of two assassins. Everything else is just a huge ego stroke. But, hey, if you like reading about undergraduates bringing starbucks coffee to work then this book is for you.

After reading this book, Dr. Kiehl is a new hero of mine! Throughout his career he has interviewed hundreds, if not thousands of Psychopaths and this book summarizes his career and the information that has been obtained from his research. To read this first person perspective of someone who has quite literally looked into the brains of Psychopaths is absolutely incredible! The book in itself is very well written and reads like a fantastic story! Fans of true crime, research, murder, and psychology will love this book! I can’t recommend this book enough!

If you have ever wondered how someone could commit a heinous crime and not feel any remorse, this book may have the answers. Dr Kent Kiehl has made it his life’s work to study and analyse the mind of the psychopath. Starting as a graduate student, he spent several years interviewing criminals in prisons around North America. He also analysed and correlated his findings with fMRI brain scans.
After completing his PhD, he was offered a covetable position at a prestigious university. He and his research team developed a portable fMRI machine to undertake a larger study of prisoners, as well as patients in psychiatric units.
Building on established parameters, and eventually developing his own criteria, Dr Kiehl formulated a 40 point checklist to classify a psychopath. Most career criminals score well over 30 points with some even having the perfect score of 40.
Along with his team Dr Kiehl discovers that the brain of every psychopath is deficient in a certain region, giving hope to more effective interventions, especially in young people.
There are humorous touches in the book when the author describes how the prisoners constantly try to outwit him. Then there are shocking moments such as when he realises what the difference is between a rape/murder charge compared to a murder/rape.
Kiehl chose a career studying psychopaths “So we can develop better treatments for psychopaths and prevent them from ever committing crimes”. With his dedicated work ethic I believe he will achieve his goals.

The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscience by Kent A. Kiehl was a great read. The author takes us in detail into his career as a psychopath researcher. The book is serious and at times humorous. Dr. Kiehl describes his struggles in attempting to figure out how to identify a psychopath. He does this work in hopes one day it will lead to treatment. He lists his studies done and show the results of fMRIs done that shows how true psychopaths brains are different. He also talks in detailed about a test one can give to a person to see if they are psychopathic.

This book is interesting and an easy read. It is mainly about Dr. Kiehl's career in the field and not only about specific psychopaths. Since it is about his own career and experiences he does mention his successes and failures.

It's not for everyone because of the subject matter, but those interested in criminal justice or neurology will appreciate it.

I got into reading true crime years ago as a guilty pleasure, and then got interested in the science behind criminal behavior, in both the streets and in corporate suites.

I've waded through some pretty dry stuff on this subject, and some very vivid case studies which were compelling, but didn't really teach me much. This book was both the most enjoyable and the most informative thing I've ever read on the subject. The narrative follows the author's own voyage of discovery. He begins as a lowly grad student walking into a prison to interview a prisoner for the first time (handing out bags of expired Starbucks coffee to make friends with the guards). By the end of the book he has become a globally recognized expert on psychopaths and their brains.

Kiehl really makes this structure work. He learns more and more as the book goes on, and so does the reader. By the time you're done, you know quite a bit, and it's all done in such an engaging and often funny way that you hardly notice how much you are learning. He also knows just how far to go into scientific details, and how to use the repetition of key information in different contexts to link knowledge together and help you commit it to memory. I will now always remember what the amygdala does, and how an underactive amygdala relates to psychopathic behavior. I used to be a professional trainer and that's how it's done.

One of the one-star reviews said that the author doesn't understand that sociopaths lie. Please! Unless you are also a top researcher in the field, you can rest assured that Dr. Kiehl knows more about this subject than anyone you've ever met in your life. And he knows how to tell the tale, teach you about it, and make it fun. One of the best nonfiction books I've read in the last several years.

But who picked that horrible title?

I have been interested the criminal mind most of my life and this is one of the reasons I went into law enforcement. At that time the book, "Inside the Criminal Mind" made an impression on me for its insight into psychopaths. This book (The Psychopath: The science of those without conscience by Kent A. Kiehl, Ph.D.) provided some of the contemporary research that has been done in the study of psychopaths. This book is also somewhat of a biography of the author's educational development and his study of criminals who were psychopaths. I especially liked his evaluation of two assassins who had killed two of our past presidents (Lincoln and Garfield). One of the things I had suspected but now I know is true after reading this book, is that there may be a little psychopathic traits in all of us. The difference being how high you rate on their Psychopathic Rating Scale.

This excellent text is organized into ten chapters. They include the following: Maximum security, suffering souls, the assassins, the psychopath electrified, the psychopath magnetized, bad beginnings, ivy league lessons, teenage psychopaths, mobile imaging, the decompression chamber and a serial killer unmasked.

This is a must read book for anyone interested in the contemporary research being done to understand and treat psychopaths. This book clearly shows that there are specific biological factors in the brain which contributes to why a psychopath does not seem to have compassion or empathy. This factor is one of the reasons they are so dangerous. If you want to see a chilling movie about how a criminal psychopath can kill with no remorse or pity, see the movie "Mr. Brooks" with Kevin Costner. This book is a great read and very enlightening.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: The Samurai Soul: An old warrior's poetic tribute)

Source: I received a free copy from Blogging For Books for the purpose of review.
Summary:
What is a psychopath? Is this the mental illness which has caused young men to commit mass shootings in America?
Is being a psychopath the same as having psychosis?
These questions and more are explored in The Psychopath Whisperer.
Author, Kent A. Kiehl, PhD, began his graduate studies by researching and utilizing the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, at a maximum secure prison in British Columbia, Canada. He interviewed men who without emotion or conscience shared their stories. Dr. Kiehl, later used MRI imaging to study the brains of the men, in order to understand if a psychopath is organic impairment, or an inorganic factor, and further is their hope for treatment?

My Thoughts:
Wow. I'll say it again. Wow. Scary book, because it's not fiction, it's real people who have committed horrific crimes, and without motive or reason or thought.

Examples of statistics shared in the book:
"There are over 29,000,000 psychopaths worldwide."
"Seventy-seven percent of psychopaths in the United States are incarcerated."
"A psychopath is born every 47 seconds."
"There are approximately 500,000 adult male psychopaths in the United States."
The FBI estimates there are as many as fifty active serial killers in the United States."

Dr. Kiehl, interviews several men who are psychopaths, plus one woman. One in ten psychopath is a female. It is rare for Dr. Kiehl to have an opportunity to interview a female psychopaths. All the interviews are disturbing, macabre, sad, troubling, somber.

Psychopaths are apparent with the disorder at an early age. The blank, no expression, dead eyes, is a description which is unchanging.
A psychopath can grow up in a normal home, or a violent dysfunctional home.
Dr. Kiehl describes the list of psychopath traits. These are apart of the questions used for scoring on the check list. The higher the score the more likely to be a repeat offender.
Chapter three explores the men who murdered US Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, and James A. Garfield. Were these murderer's assassins, or psychopaths?
Dr. Kiehl explains in-depth the difference between a psychopath and a person who has psychosis, further explanations are given of people with schizophrenia, OCD, or bi-polar disorder.

This is not a book for just anyone, a reader with a "strong" interest in psychology, or a reader that is in a profession that would be interested in the research, or a reader that has a family member with this mental health disorder.
There are graphic details of the crimes committed which are revealed by the psychopaths, so be prepared.

What stands out to me the most in this book is the unanswered questions: how did their brain become abnormal? Is it genetic? I'm hoping further research will reveal this.

I thought that "The Psychopath Whisper: The Science of Those without Conscience" would be a book that was similar to ones I've read on psychopathic personalities from FBI profilers, but it wasn't. The book is more of a clinical study of the genetic differences of psychopaths' brains and their lives. Kent A Kiehl, an executive science officer for Mind Research Network, used MRI scans to examine the brains of diagnosed psychopaths, prisoners, etc; Kiehl uses an assessment that was developed by a mentor and the MRIs to conduct his studies.

Surprisingly, Kiehl finds that there are physical differences in the brains of psychopaths from birth, that can explain some of their behavior.

There wasn't too much technical language within the book, and was relatively an easy read.

Seems like, nowadays, everybody's a whisperer. We got horse whisperers, dog whisperers, cat whisperers, hamster whisperers, and now, a charming fellow with a deft way of coaxing prisoners into having their brains scanned for science. On the whole I enjoyed this book more when he was describing his early experiences with the prisoners and their world. His scientific efforts at identifying the ways in which the brains of psychopaths differ from those of non-psychopaths required more time and effort for this layperson to understand, but the slog was well worth it. If you're less inclined to the hard science aspects of understanding psychopathy, this might not be the book for you.

Dr. Kiehl's description of his research raised a question for me: I have seen very little about research into the brain structures of people who, for lack of a better phrase, I would describe as having a high degree of empathy. If psychopaths are at the extreme end of the "feelings" bell curve, and their brains show manifest differences from those in the middle, then, what about the people on the opposite end? How do their brains differ from those in the middle? How do their brains differ from those of psychopaths?

Which raised an even more interesting question: Why so little interest in the minds of the good as opposed to the minds of the evil?

I enjoyed this book, it made me think in ways I hadn't before. Be aware that it does require careful reading to fully understand what he's writing about, though.

I have been interested in how people think and how the human mind works for a long time. I usually read everything I can find on the mind of psychopaths and people with NPD. This book focuses on true criminal psychopaths since prison inmates were the focus of the study.

The author has poured his life into his research and is definitely an expert on the subject. This book begins at the beginning of his career and goes on to span decades of research. We get insights into how it would be to work in a maximum security prison and interview true psychopaths.

Kiehl backs up his story, the inmates stories, and his research with scientific evidence and how the studies work. Of particular interest is the difference in brain activity of psychopaths. We get a lot of scientific explanations, although I was more interested in the results than the science getting there. Most people appreciate the scientific evidence, and he had a lot to back up his conclusions.

Like previous reviewers have said this book focuses on male prison inmates. With a bit of information on women and kids. If you are interested in reading about crazy neighbors and mean bosses that may be psychopaths, you won't find it in this book.
Still this is an interesting read and sheds a lot of light on how the psychopathic mind is different. Kiehl should be proud of this book and his years of research.

Kent Kielhl started it all when he began taking MRI's of psychopaths and discovered abnormal brain patterns in the paralimbic system. It focuses mostly on criminal psychopaths, which it turns out are not the only psychopaths around, but nonetheless, this book describes the years and methods of discovery that cracked everything open, and lead to a myriad of other books about the inner workings of psychopaths.

Low impulse control, superficial charm, narcissism, apparent lack of empathy and conscience, and a boundless talent for using people for their own ends. These are some of the trademarks of a psychopath, associated with the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. These individuals comprise less than 1 percent of the general population, but they are responsible for a large percentage of violent crimes. Tragically, children and adolescents sometimes exhibit psychopathic traits and behavior, a topic explored in novels like Defending Jacob and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Around 1990, when I was in graduate school, I did a short research project on antisocial personality disorder. I was exploring causes of this disorder, and I was struck by the dearth of information on this topic. It might be the result of faulty genetics, an extra Y chromosome (a weak theory, at best), or childhood abuse. Many articles had been written essentially saying nothing. And the conventional wisdom was, and continues to be, that these individuals are untreatable.

Kent Kiehl, protégé of Dr. Robert Hare (Without Conscience), has dedicated his career to studying psychopaths, hoping to uncover the etiology of their disorder and, ultimately, use that information to prevent violent crime through improved intervention and treatment. Is this an attainable goal, or are some people just hard-wired to be evil?

The Psychopath Whisperer is part popular science and part memoir. It is Dr. Kiehl's account of his career along with the latest scientific findings on this topic. In the process we learn a great deal about the author's curriculum vitae -- some of this information could have been condensed to keep the focus on the science. However this didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book. It is written in a clear, engaging style, informative enough to be fascinating but easy for laypeople to understand. I've given it a rare "Very Highly Recommended" rating (the equivalent of 5/5 stars), in part, because I was sufficiently engrossed that I read it practically in one sitting.

Kiehl's career began as a graduate student in British Columbia, interviewing the most dangerous inmates in a maximum security prison. This part of the book created the opportunity for some brief but fascinating case studies. Some of them were humorous, such as the inmate whose "symptoms" merited almost the highest possible score on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist and decided this entitled him to be called "Superman." Or the psychopath who was also a fetishist and was caught with 3000 pairs of stolen ladies' underwear. Others are deeply disturbing, like the inmate who killed a prostitute and decided to have sex with her one last time before disposing of the body.

After gathering extensive interview data, Kiehl went on to study MRI images of the psychopathic inmates' brains. He eventually created the first mobile functional MRI scanner for this research, studying the brains of more 3500 offenders. His excitement about his research shines through as he describes the discovery of distinct structural differences in the brains of psychopaths. This knowledge can be used in a variety of ways, including individuals at high risk for psychopathy to clarifying complex legal questions. Jeffrey Schwartz's work with OCD patients has demonstrated that MRI data can be useful in treatment.

The Psychopath Whisperer also includes several lengthy case studies of young men who showed clear signs of psychopathy beginning in childhood. One improved his life, avoiding further criminal activity, due to a promising treatment program in Wisconsin. This program abandoned a punishment-based approach in working with severely troubled youth. It has been clearly demonstrated that punishments are not effective with individuals with strong psychopathic tendencies -- this approach only intensifies conflict. The program uses positive reinforcement, to wean inmates off an adversarial, punishment-centered model. Then it offers cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) along with an array of other therapeutic services. As the mom of a kid on the autism spectrum, who needed various therapies that were beyond our financial means, the services available to these young offenders made me salivate. :-)

Thus far, it has demonstrated outstanding results, improving outcomes in "hopeless" cases and saving a tremendous amount of money in the long run. It is insanely expensive to convict and incarcerate a criminal. This approach -- or, better yet, primary prevention in the form of giving children respectful treatment, support, and access to needed services before they become violent and out of control -- is the direction our society needs to go. Sadly, we are definitely not on that page, but I have not given up hope. Perhaps research like Dr. Kiehl's work, and clinicians and administrators who learn from it, can point the way in the future.

This book is not without merit but the authors constant need to toot his own horn not only becomes tiresome (oh so very much so) but also interferes with what may otherwise be a much more readable account of his actual work. Frankly, I I wanted to read the cv of the author then it's easy enough to do so without having to go through a blow by blow account of every maneuver, every decision etc...

Okay, aside from the author treating the book as his personal sales pitch...and also leaving the reader (and theoretically the investors) who funded his first major establishment wondering about the business qualifications of those who hired him at 2x the rate he was willing to accept...the book is somewhat interesting but also has some major limitations.

First, it becomes GLARINGLY obvious that the author is basing his entire premise on the idea and concepts of MEN only. Now, having also been a grad student who *many years ago worked in a maximum secure prison - first with women and then later at the men's prison - I can certainly attest to the fact that there are plenty of female psychopath's....one of my clients drove around for days with a body in the trunk of her car and described in great detail how she ate a sandwich while the body fluids puddled. The story wasn't vile enough but her constant giggle and overly "cute" mannerism was something else. Or the mother who tells in cold detail how she pimped out her 5 year old daughter and nearly killed her for refusing to participate. The women were just as horrid as the men...if not more so in many instances. However, they were also quite different in that few were charming and in general had very different attitudes and notions than the men. In any case, the reason I bring this up is because the author has limited nearly all of his research to that of men with the exception of one female which came late in the book.

This brings me to the next point...the author has also based the majority of his work on the premise that the prior tools/questions etc used to "diagnose" a psychopath are valid. That may or may not be the case but there is significant evidence pointing to the fact that women are quite different than men therefore potentially invalidating the basic diagnostic tools. If those tools are not adept at properly identifying both MALE AND FEMALE psychopath's then the correlation with the brain images and the diagnostic tools would also fall into question.

Another concern which was not adequately addressed in the book was that of substance abuse. The reader will quickly note that nearly every study participant was more than a little familiar with drugs...how much of the noted variations are also associated with substance abuse?

The author does note that the images cannot totally distinguish between causation versus effect (ie, does the brain variation cause one to be more at risk of psychopathic behavior or does the behavior atrophy the brain) but clearly leans toward the former given the insight into teen brains. However, we know from other areas of research that early environmental stimuli may result in profound changes to personality as well as the brain. Over and over again, the primary product of all this research concerned prison inmates - NOT your average wall street psychopath or other high functioning, socially acceptable version.

So, what can we really tell about this science to date? Not a lot. It may provide some insight into incarcerated men with a long track record of criminal behavior but little to nothing about women, high functioning socially acceptable, non-criminal elements with the same psychopathic behavior or tendencies.

Despite a terrible title, this turned out to be a pretty interesting book. It gave me more insight into why psychopaths behave as they do than anything else I, as a layperson, have read.

There is a good deal of science in the book, written in everyday, understandable language. Still, some of the details were more than I wanted to know. The author seemed to feel he needed to explain everything, including why one MRI manufacturer was chosen over another.

The case studies, the interviews with criminals, were most interesting to me. However, those alone without having the information about brains would have not increased my understanding. The two aspects went together nicely.

While the writing was solid, it was not great. I did get tired about hearing about the bottles of wine and the quad espressos the author drank. And the purloined Starbucks used as bribes.

Typing notes on a laptop on a plane backfired, but really, why would someone even consider typing such sensitive information in public? The incident was pretty funny, though, in a book not meant to be humorous.

I do take issue with the author's experimentation on killer whales, work of which he was very proud. Killer whales kept captive in a tiny, tiny portion of the space they would have in the wild, taught to do what their trainers wanted. Why in the world would anyone think that is a good idea? Experiment on assenting criminals and civilians, cool, but leave the whales alone.

The book did have more than I cared to know about the author. He has accomplished some very significant findings, but a little too much hubris showed through.

While the writing wasn't terrific, the knowledge I gained from reading this book made it more than worthwhile.

Using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and standard psychiatric evaluation, this book discusses psychopaths and the their differences from 'normal folks."

Good points: written a bit like a mystery.
Bad points: Based on the outdated DSM-IV the "bible" of diagnosing mental disorders. It's now up to the DSM-V.

Since books are written months or years in advance of publication, it's not surprising.

It's not so technical that a layman couldn't read it. An interesting look into the idea that the truly psychopathic are physically different in their brains to "normal" people.

I have been interested in why some psychopaths do what they do, and what makes them tick, for many years now. I have also read many books on the subject. By far, this is the best so far! Kent Kiehl, PhD. the author, is well qualified to speak and write on the subject. His credits are mind boggling. But the way he delivers the subject matter is what makes the book excellent. His writing is down to earth while at the same time not at all condescending. Kiehl has uncovered key structures in the brains of more than 500 psychopaths, and more than 3000 violent offenders, which offer new clues on how to predict and treat the disease. Scientists now have a path to predictability when examining young people and children with extreme behavior problems. In his writing, Kiehl takes us through his early days as a doctoral student spending many, many long hours interviewing prisoners in high security lockups. The stories he heard and the information he gleaned are highly revealing. I learned a lot! I can highly recommend this book to those who are truly interested in the subject matter.

The title implies that he has special insight into handling or curing psychopaths, but this is not the case. While Dr. Kiehl has found some very suggestive patterns of brain activity that distinguish psychopaths, he does not establish to what degree the condition is genetic or learned behaviour. And while he discusses a program being pioneered at a prison to treat the problem, there is not any deep analysis as to why the program works (and by 'works' he means a 30% success rate). I would have been much more interested in reading the answers to these questions. As it is, the contents of the book could have been covered in an in-depth magazine article.

Interestingly presented information on the diagnosis and neuroscience showing underdeveloped or atrophied brain tissue in the Paralympic system in criminals who fall into this category. The Information is presented in a format that makes it very understandable to lay readers.
Our criminal justice system is quite flawed, especially in our treatment of juvenile offenders. This is due to the psychological appeal of retribution that leads politicians to take 'tough on crime' positions, demands for mandatory minimums in sentencing. All of these factors have lead to removing 'rehabilitation' from our crime and punishment equations, at terrifying costs to the general public, both economic and to future victims. We incarcerate more people per capita than any advanced nation, spending more on warehousing criminals than we do on the care and education of children.
As the prison system has become privatized and become a for profit institution, we have created a giant group of lobbyists to push for more and more punitive incarceration of greater numbers of people. As crime rates have fallen incarceration rates have increased.
The most interesting section in this book is the one on juvenile maximum security offenders who exhibit conduct disorders that fall within psychopathy indicators. There is a program run in Wisconsin at Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center that leans on scientific rehabilitation treatments that has proven extremely effective in lowering recidivism and violence rates in juveniles. Yet in spite of the effectiveness in cost benefit at all levels, we do not see implementation of similar programs throughout the criminal justice system. This program does indicate that there are effective treatments for juveniles, that could benefit numbers of families of children who fall within CU/CD disorders but also future victims of their aggression, and the public's growing costs of future incarceration. It seems that the more we learn about psychopathy through research, politically the more entrenched the vengeance quota gets hardened into our political positions on criminality.
I do not believe adult offenders who display psychopathy and have demonstrable brain damage should ever be released into the population. I also because of the errors in death penalty verdicts and the exorbitant cost of death penalty prosecutions that this verdict should be allowed. This book if widely read might influence our approach and early intervention with persons who will impact our personal security.
Very interesting read as we sit on a frontier of the intersection of neuroscience and psychology.

I found this book fascinating with its use of stories, information and real-life examples. Author Kent A. Kiehl PhD wrote not only from an academic position, but also from a large amount of experience. He skillfully melded his academic knowledge with practical application. In fact, I was surprised that he had even done studies of killer whales!

Beginning with chapter one, Dr. Kiehl shows his studies and their results. As a student of Professor Robert D. Hare, the creator of the Psychopath Checklist, Dr. Kiehl goes into detail, interspersing visual descriptions of his surroundings, so that by the time I finisihed the chapter, I felt like I had been there myself. His interviews with Gordon, Grant, Gary, Mike and Bob (all names were changed) were interesting. In fact, two of the inmates even had a little charade to test Dr. Kiehl, which he passed and thus gained their trust.

In chapter two he continues, mentioning two books: John Seabrook's SUFFERING SOULS and Harvey Cleckly's THE MASK OF SANITY -- both of which I would like to read. He goes into the history of psychopathy, calling it a "walking oxymoron" -- people who say one thing and do another. While anyone can have moments like that, it is a distinguishing characteristic of psychopaths. On page 43 there is a list of 16 characteristics of psychopaths, with an updated list on page 46; a revision made in 1991. Kiehl calls the list the "Golden Standard" for work with psychopaths.

He goes on in a later chapter to compare two presidential assassins -- Charles Giteau, who assasinated President Garfield, and John Wilkes Booth, who killed Lincoln. He effectively shows that while Giteau was psychopathic, Booth was not.

Moving on in the book, Dr. Kiehl also shows how he used MRI technology to scan the brains of the subjects purported to be psychopathic. I must admit that I got lost in some of the technicalities of the machines and procedures, but I'm still glad he mentioned these, as the information would be a jumping off point for those who would like to research the matter even more.

He gives examples of horrifying behavior o the part of people he interviewed,including "Brendan," who came from an affluent background background. He also touches on the subject of female psychopaths, which he says is understudied. The book is full of information useful even to us lay people as well as professional. Chapter 10 presents some cautiously optimistic material in which he thinks that perhaps some of these people could be rehabilitated, although he also admits that more work needs to be done in this area.

In all, this book is worthwhile reading, and I feel that I learned more about this aspect of the nature of some people.

This book is the story of Kent Kiehl, and his brave work with psychopaths. His intent during two decades of working with criminal psychopaths, was to uncover the genetic components which determine the disorder.

In Chapter Two, we learn that sociopathy and psychopathy are very different. Sociopathy includes a broad category of individuals who act antisocially. The causes are believed to be social and environmental in nature.

Psychopathy is a term grounded in biology and genetics. Genetics, the makeup of the brain, as well as environment, contribute to the construct of psychopathy. Kiehl notes that some people confuse the two terms. (I know I have.)

The first formal meeting on psychopathy was organized by forensic psychiatrist Ben Karpman in Washington in 1923. Karpman was aware of psychologists’ general lack of knowledge on the origins of psychopathy (nature vs. nurture.)

A central theme of the meeting was that psychiatrists were constantly surprised by the behavior of psychopaths. They observed that psychopaths were smart, and it baffled them that those patients were unable to use that intelligence to control their behavior.

Kiehl refers to psychopaths as a “walking oxymoron;” they say one thing and do another. Clinicians in the early days of psychiatry were often mystified by the repetitive self-defeating behavior of psychopaths once they left the confines of psychiatrist’s office, mental ward, or prison cell.

Over the course of his studies of psychopaths, Dr. Kiehl was able to show that there are key structures in their brains that correspond with emotional engagement and reaction to stimuli, which are "diminished" in psychopaths. This information should offer new clues as how to predict and treat the disease.

Chapter 6 begins with this chilling fact: “A psychopath is born every 47 seconds.” Kiehl notes that he often gets letters from parents who are concerned that their child could be a “budding” psychopath. It is these types of letters that urge him to continue his work, in the hopes that treatments for psychopaths could result in a better and safer society.

While this is a very unpleasant and frightening subject and the stories of psychopaths told within the book may scare the pants off of you, it is a very worthwhile read. Thank goodness for courageous people like Dr. Kiehl, who are willing to study and deal with these dangerous creatures. Knowledge is power!

My mother has been fascinated with true crime for as long as I can remember, and as a result I became intrigued by the psychopath category of criminals. I read books about serial killers like Ted Bundy and also general nonfiction ones about psychopathy, but "The Psychopath Whisperer" was my gateway into the science behind the formation of these troubled individuals.

"The Psychopath Whisperer" follows Kent A. Kiehl as he begins to study psychopaths in the Canadian prison system. Working under the legendary Dr. Hare, who pioneered the Hare Psychopathy Test to assess the level of this disorder in an individual, Mr. Kiehl moves from interviewing psychopaths to scanning their brains and plotting their brain waves to see how they might differ from "normal" folks.

Over the years, Mr. Kiehl perfects and expands the brain scan/brain wave process at other facilities, working with the sharpest minds in the medical imaging field to create better hardware and software to fine-tune the results. Eventually, Mr. Kiehl discovers commonalities in psychopath brains that enable him to pinpoint how someone with this disorder reacts to various stimuli, and his findings cause a shakeup in the medical and legal perspectives on psychopathy.

I found this to be a fascinating and readable account of the science of psychopathy. Mr. Kiehl communicates the data in a format that both a layman and a more technical person will appreciate. In addition, we are also introduced to interesting case studies of a couple of psychopaths and how cutting-edge treatment helped one to change his ways. Finally, we see Mr. Kiehl's advancement through the ranks from a protegee of Dr. Hare's to a formidable PhD in his own right.

"The Psychopath Whisperer" is necessary reading for anyone interested in psychopaths, especially in their detection and treatment using the most modern methods. Other recommended books on the subject include "Without Conscience" and "Snakes in Suits" by Dr. Robert Hare and "The Sociopath Next Door" by Martha Stout.

Recently, there has been a lot of popular interest in the mentality of "psychopaths" and this book clears up many common misunderstandings. For example, inept psychologists frequently are quick to misdiagnose troubled youths as "sociopathic" due to misinterpreted test results, thereby directing them into the corrections system rather than enabling them to get help they can benefit from. A psychopath is also different from a sociopath, which is also different from personality disorders. Under an MRI, diagnosed psychopaths consistently show diminished activity in certain specific areas of the limbic brain . . . however, a psychopath CANNOT be diagnosed simply via an MRI scan. When interpreting the Hare test on a scale of 0-2, many psychologists put down 2 when they should really put down 1, or 1 when they should've used 0, thereby giving the patient an undeservedly high score. In short, it seems that the world's foremost expert on the psychopathic mind is of the firm opinion that many people, frequently teenagers, are misdiagnosed as psychopathic "super predators" simply because the psychologist checked the test results incorrectly. It seems one should be required to attend a course and become certified to be qualified to give this test and report on the findings.

One small bit of criticism. While Mister Kiehl is an academic expert on psychopaths, he regrettably seems to lack realistic real world experience interacting with them outside of a controlled clinical environment, as evidenced in his seemingly credulous belief in the tales spun by one "Shock Richie," an immature and impulsive predator who claimed to be everything from a pimp to a drug kingpin to a necrophile . . . but from having extensive experience interacting with psychopaths myself, I am fairly certain most of these stories were little more than fantasy and lies . . . although once a lie is repeated often enough, some liars begin to believe it themselves, making the lie difficult to detect. Regardless, this is one of the best books I've read on the workings of the psychopathic mind, and it is required reading for anyone with a serious interest in forensic psychology.

Recently, there has been a lot of popular interest in the mentality of "psychopaths" and this book clears up many common misunderstandings. For example, inept psychologists frequently are quick to misdiagnose troubled youths as "sociopathic" due to misinterpreted test results, thereby directing them into the corrections system rather than enabling them to get help they can benefit from. A psychopath is also different from a sociopath, which is also different from personality disorders. Under an MRI, diagnosed psychopaths consistently show diminished activity in certain specific areas of the limbic brain . . . however, a psychopath CANNOT be diagnosed simply via an MRI scan. When interpreting the Hare test on a scale of 0-2, many psychologists put down 2 when they should really put down 1, or 1 when they should've used 0, thereby giving the patient an undeservedly high score. In short, it seems that the world's foremost expert on the psychopathic mind is of the firm opinion that many people, frequently teenagers, are misdiagnosed as psychopathic "super predators" simply because the psychologist checked the test results incorrectly. It seems one should be required to attend a course and become certified to be qualified to give this test and report on the findings.

One small bit of criticism. While Mister Kiehl is an academic expert on psychopaths, he regrettably seems to lack realistic real world experience interacting with them outside of a controlled clinical environment, as evidenced in his seemingly credulous belief in the tales spun by one "Shock Richie," an immature and impulsive predator who claimed to be everything from a pimp to a drug kingpin to a necrophile . . . but from having extensive experience interacting with psychopaths myself, I am fairly certain most of these stories were little more than fantasy and lies . . . although once a lie is repeated often enough, some liars begin to believe it themselves, making the lie difficult to detect. Regardless, this is one of the best books I've read on the workings of the psychopathic mind, and it is required reading for anyone with a serious interest in forensic psychology.

...and dangerous beyond belief.

After meeting someone fitting that description, I read The Sociopath Next Door, and found it to be fascinating and eye opening.
It described my 'friend' perfectly, and reinforced my gut feeling that this could be a very dangerous person. Sadly, the person did turn out to be dangerous, but because I was prepared with the knowledge in that book, the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Make no mistake, this book by Dr. Kiehl as well as Dr. Stout's Sociopath Next Door are important reading.
In comparison, I found Dr. Stout's book more helpful, but that could simply be that I personally liked the style of writing better. Dr. Kiel's book is primarily recollections of those he met throughout his research career, sprinkled with things he's done and those he has worked with. It's a lot of the author saying 'Then I did this, now I did that, now here is Chris, now Brian, Ruth, Vince, Gordon...' Keeping up with all the names got a bit tedious for me. And it seemed to be just as much about the author as his subjects.

Still, I do recommend The Psychopath Whisperer if you want to learn more about the subject. If you want to know about the person that has a passion for what makes a psychopath tick, get this book. If you want to 'know' the psychopath himself, get The Sociopath Next Door.

This book was a masterful presentation of Dr. Kiehl's research on the neuroscience of psychopaths' brains to the common people (such as myself) who usually wouldn't take a passing interest. The writing is paced well, reads easily as if it were fiction due to the side stories and conversations shared, and explains the science/academia aspect for everyone to understand without having to have a graduate degree. It informs you of the research that was done, and convinces you of the validity of the science. It was refreshing to see the terms "psychotic/psychosis" and "psychopath" being treated with respect as true diseases worthy of scientific study instead of being passed as terms filled with stigma and ignorance.

If there's one thing I would complain about, there wasn't nearly enough of the interaction between the Dr. and the actual psychopaths. The majority of the book serves as an academic course explaining what a psychopath is and explaining how the research was done. I would have been happy to read about the conversations that passed between the Dr. and the research subjects in much greater quantity.

If you're interested at all to understand how behaviors of a psychopath may be partially explained through abnormalities in the brain, give this book a try.

The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Witout a Conscience by Kent A. Kiehl, PhD offers a glimpse into how psychopaths are identified and diagnosed. New science offers much more than the psychiatry of yesteryear. Today's tools include using functional MRI to take a look at the inner workings of a psychopath's brain.

The author goes into depth about the science of the psychopath's brain and the self-awareness of psychopaths. If you like personal psychology and science, this book is right up your alley. I find it very interesting that a physical problem in the brain is the cause of the psychopathology that has so far been difficult to understand.

Some parts of the book are a little tedious and boring but overall this is an informative and easy to read book that may make it easier to understand what these troubled souls are going through.

There wasn't really much though about how physicians could treat those brain abnormalities and perhaps treat or even cure a psychopath. Surgery? Medicine? Not much in here about new treatment techniques.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation.

and "Dexter". And let's not forget Norman Bates. Psychopaths have captured the public's mind for many years. This book gives the average lay reader a look into the minds of psychopaths and it is not pretty.

Dr. Kent A. Kiehl is a well respected professor of law, psychology and neurosciences at the University of New Mexico. His mentor, Dr. Robert Hare, is the creator of the "Psychopath Checklist". Dr. Kiehl has spent 20 years studying psychopaths, from children exhibiting early warning signs of psychopathy to serial killers in prison. The study sounds incredibly interesting to me but the idea of having to be locked in the same prison as the serial killers scares me.
Dr. Kiehl's book is written for the regular person - no fancy scientific jargon, just straight information about the physical characteristics of the brains of psychopaths. But Dr. Kiehl does not talk down to the reader, he expects the reader to have some knowledge of what is being discussed. He relates his experiences to the reader as if they are sitting together having a cup of tea,

I recommend this book highly to anybody who was fascinated with "Dexter" or Hannibal Lecter or Norman Bates. Or somebody like me who wants to know what makes these people tick.

I was intrigued immediately when I saw the title of this book. I love to watch true crime shows and so this appealed to me. Maybe because I really don't get how someone can not have a conscience. The book is The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscience by Kent A. Kiehl, PhD.

Let me preface this by saying I am not studying psychology or anything like that. I am your average person who is simply interested in learning more. That being said, I found this book hard to put down, for the most part. This book is all about Dr. Kiehl's more than 20 years of research and study of psychopath's in the prison population including doing brain scans and such.

In his research and studying the brain scans he finds that psychopaths brain scans are different from "normal" people. He is intrigued and baffled and so continues to figure out what this means. Being that I am not a psychologist nor am I studying psychology, I found the book to be very easy to read and didn't feel like is was missing much. It is part memoir/autobiography but this has been Dr. Kiehl's life for over 2 decades. It really gives you an insight into how one is labeled a psychopath. I love the comparison that he gives between John Wilkes Booth (who we know shot and killed president Lincoln) and Charles J. Guiteau (who killed President Garfield). Most people assume that a murderer is a psychopath, but technically that isn't true. They have to meet certain criteria (listed in the book). You'll have to read the book to see which one is the true psychopath! ;)

Overall, super fascinating and an easy, mostly understandable read for a book lover like me!

I was given this book for free through the blogging for books blogging program. I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own.

I bought this book because I used to know someone who turned out to be a psychopath. To my surprise, the book was not only informative, it was an interesting and enjoyable read. I enjoyed the way the author included stories about his own life with the factual research and information so the book wasn't boring at all..

A fun read. Well-written and interesting. Dr Kiehl is clearly an energetic, bright, motivated scholar. I didn't care for his comment about how academics are superior to clinicians at clinical/diagnostic work. Naive and arrogant. Plus it fails to appreciate that a lot of us clinicians really value--and rely on--the research done by bright folks like Dr Kiehl. That said, my hat goes off to Dr Kiehl for being such a prolific scholar AND being able to write a more popular, good read like this. Impressive.

"The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscience" by Kent A. Kiehl PhD is a very thorough study of the psychopath. Who are they? Are they born that way? Can was foretell which children will grow up to be one? Is there something physically wrong with them or is their behavior a choice? etc. Kiehl exams these questions and more via a variety of methods. He interviews psychopaths, tests them, and so forth.

I found this study extremely interesting and thought provoking. Maybe in a sense I was searching for answers to what is wrong with a few people who have varying degrees of twisted danger in their personalities that I've had run ins with of one sort or another through the years. Some of this book was enough to chill me to the bone to realize there are others out there who are not behind bars and fall into this category.

A very, very well researched and written book that is an important work for the field of psychology. If this is an area that you have any interest in or in an occupation in which you encounters such people, this is a must read.

I found this book kind of hard going. I'm interested in psychopathy though so I pushed on. The author mostly dealt with the worst of the worst psychopaths in high security prisons. The brain science is interesting but a lot of of the material in the book is a sort of career memoir where the author praises the many colleagues and friends who have supported his work. He also writes often about MRI machines, so if you're interested in the technology you might find those parts engaging. I didn't.

There's little about how to spot or avoid psychopaths in the general population. It's not that kind of book.

Psychopaths are fascinating. Why on earth would someone behave as if they have no conscience whatsoever, that what other people think and feel makes no difference? This book provides some insight into that. I found it filled with interesting nuggets of information, such as psychopaths can not grasp abstract concepts, which may be why they don't understand emotions. The brain scans of hundreds of psychopaths reveal clear deficits in the processing of emotions, regulation, impulsivity, etc. Also, if you ask a psychopath, have you ever worried about leaving the oven on when you left the house, as most of us have at least occasionally, they have no idea what you're talking about. They don't worry about stuff like that.

The author's style is engaging and easy for the layperson to understand. I did deduct one star because I felt he went on for far too long about the trials and tribulations of buying an MRI and setting up his research facility. A paragraph or two would have been plenty. Still, definitely very interesting and cutting edge info.

The Psychopath Whisperer doesn’t actually tell you how to commune with psychopaths, but is an interesting and educational read. This story of how the author, a PhD candidate, conducts his research into the psychopathic mind via Functional MRIs and interviews, is not only readable, it’s also filled with scientific information that proves that most psychopaths, unlike Dexter, are born, not made.

Part autobiography, part academic explanation, The Psychopath Whisperer is a rather cozy read, considering the subject matter. Author Kiehl interviewed known psychopaths that ran the gamut from murdersers and rapists to thieves and con artists. It made me think of everyone fitting the description from famous serial killers to certain insurance agents and used car dealers. And CEOs, of course. It was absolutely fascinating.

As a novelist, I often write about psychopaths and I found Kiehl’s information to be accessible and interesting, offering me more data to file away in my brain. I really enjoyed it and am glad I read it.

Experience Dr. Kiehl's journey as he explains his path to this PhD and then his amazing career after he bravely began mapping the brains of true psychopaths in prisons...and learn a bit about history as he compare two infamous assassins - who was a psychopath? Who wasn't?
Opens up your mind to what is going on in our society today - how we treat juveniles that we are "not allowed" to label as psychopaths - yet we are quick to label ADHD...or other poorly descriptive labels that mask the horror that could be if these young people don't get the proper treatment - and such treatment is quite rare.
Opens your mind to the reality of how society handles the fact that such people DO exist, and the ethical dilemmas of the knowledge being gained though Kiehl's groundbreaking work.
Though-provoking, excellent, book - I was sad to finish it.

My job as a counselor is to help the client by not judging them; to be objective. This ability is sorely challenged when I am faced with individuals with psychopathic tendencies: cruel disregard for others, callous, lack of empathy - those individuals who see others as a means to an end and are willing to abuse and neglect even a child if it served their purpose or whim. Basically people who seemed to be without conscience.
I found my natural desire to hate and judge and condemn them hard to overcome. So I decided to learn everything I could about people who could hurt others and seemed to have no empathy or conscience. In no way am I saying I have worked with psychopaths- it is a diagnosis beyond my pay grade, only that I have worked with people who share traits.
The Psychopath Whisperer is one resource that has helped me understand this "condition" better. In this book, the author shares his journey from being graduate student wanting to know what makes a psychopath tick, through developing and obtaining the funding and tools to research and analyze the brain development of clinically diagnosed psychopaths. When reviewing case histories and crimes committed, Dr. Kiehl does not share graphic details.
Dr. Kiehl shares his research on the brain and how he came to developed the first mobile functional MRI scanner to study psychopaths in prison. Through these scans, he was able to identify the area of the brain responsible for emotions and impulse control and ability to have empathy for others. What he discovered was those areas were deficient in growth and neural activity. Basically, he found evidence that a psychopath's brain is different from non-psychopaths.
However, this does not mean that because of the deficits, psychopaths and others who hurt people and/or commit crimes should be not be held accountable. But this research does have serious implications for society and the law. Dr. Kiehl raises the question of how this information effects they way we treat and punish psychopaths. As an example, he discusses the Brian Dugan case. "The case illustrates the ways the new neuroscience of individuals with severe emotional and behavioral disturbances challenges our believes about free will, punishment and justice."
Dr. Kiehl discusses how the brain is different in a clear, easy to read terms. You do not need to be a neurologist to understand the findings. The book is conversational in discussing the brain and deficits and the technical aspects of developing a mobile fMRI. He presents case studies on some of the individuals whose brains he scanned to give the reader a better understanding of how these deficits may be impacting a psychopath from birth to adulthood. Dr. Kiehl also discusses the question of nature versus nurture. Were they born this way or did the brain fail to develop properly because of adverse effects during childhood?
Dr. Kiehl's research is a result of a desire to "develop better treatments for psychopaths and prevent them from ever committing crimes." Since they are not motivated by the fear of punishment, we need to develop ways to prevent the need for punishment.
This book is an easy and engaging read. If you are a fan of Criminal Minds or CSI, then read this book!

I put the book down relieved to know there are people out there working on finding a solution to pain and misery that results from psychopaths. I hope this information can be used to also help others who may not be psychopaths but still seem to have no conscience.

Kent A. Kiehl, PHD shares his passion for understanding psychopathic behavior in his book, "The Psychopath Whisperer~The Science of Those Without a Conscience". The doctor spent over twenty years among the prison population doing interviews and communicating on a one to one basis with it's offenders in an effort to determine what causes psychopathy. After creating the first mobile functional MRI scanner to use on his subjects, Dr. Kent was able to confirm that psychopaths all have diminished brain structures. This was ground breaking and shed new light on this disorder. His findings could open the door to treatment and pre-determination of this illness. The book is exciting for those interested in neuroscience and psychiatry. I couldn't put it down and read it several times. I was given the opportunity to read the book and give my honest review through Blogging for Books.

If you are looking for groundbreaking information on the study of psychopaths, this is not the book for you. If, however, you are an "armchair" detective or amateur psychologist type of reader, it offers a great basic look. Written more towards the style of mystery than a scholarly nonfiction piece, it's a well written basic manual that's sure to keep your interest and answer some of your questions.

I have always thought that psychopaths were really interesting – at a distance -- and assumed that there was some kind of brain abnormality behind it. Wouldn’t it be freeing to have no conscience -- to be able to do what you like without any fear or retribution? Personally, I think I would make a great criminal because I can see how things can be done or should have been done, if the plan had been Not To Be Caught. (Imagine I said ‘dumba--es’ right here.) For me, my own conscience would make me too crazy to truly get any fun out of it.

This book is just mind boggling – interesting from the very first page. It’s like a true crime story from the version of the criminal. What made this book better than most textbooks or studies of mental illnesses is that it is from the perspective of the writer and what drove his interest as well as being about the psychopaths he works with every day. Kiehl writes about the history of psychopathy, the DSM terms surrounding it, even historical figures, like Booth and Guiteau.

This book is just fascinating.

--Gertrude of the store

Fascinating, and Dr. Kiehl managed to dumb his language down enough that I could understand almost everything he says. This book comes closest yet to answering the question, "Why do some people do such terrible things?"

If what you really want is a book full of juicy, gruesome stories of psychopaths and their deeds, you will be disappointed. That's not to say there's none of that in here, but the stories are all just to highlight how awesome the author is at working with psychopaths.

If you want a sometimes-interesting-sometimes-plodding autobiography of the author's career as the 'psychopath whisperer', well, this is for you.

I was very surprised at the depth of investigation Dr Kiehl has done over the years. As the wife of a law enforcement officer and mother of a prosecutor, I've seen & heard alot about criminals. This book helps one to understand why some people are the way they are. Unfortunately i was also able to "diagnose" a family member since she fit 18 out of 20 criteria Dr Kiehl describes. Very eye-opening. Would recommend it to anyone who wonders where the justice system is going. Apparently there is more to the issue than most of us think. Things seem to be moving toward genetics more than environment if Dr. Kiehl's brain scans are to be believed. Fascinating read.

One really has to take the hat off to Kent A. Kiehl. The requirements of his Phd program have to be some of the roughest I've ever come across, and even rougher considering the author has chosen it himself: giving interviews and doing MRIs of diagnosed psychopaths.

What I found most interesting about his research were the MRIs he performed on the test subjects, all of whom were murderers, rapists, drug runners. thieves, con artists and, well, what one would expect from diagnosed and incarcerated psychopaths. I found them interesting because they revealed absolutely nothing different from the average human brain structure at all. Kiehl believes there is a disturbance in the "paralimbic" area of the brain which might account for their behavior, but he really doesn't know.

One of the interviewees, "Chris" (all these names are given to these guys to "protect their anonymity") considered the highlight of his life the week he spend with three prostitutes, using them as drug mules and having sex with them nonstop. A murderer, he had no background of abuse or anything of the kind. 1 in 4 males in prison are psychopaths.

The hardest thing for people to accept about this kind of research is that reveals a truth that is very hard to swallow; sometimes there is no boogeyman. Sometimes these people just are the way they are, and have less self insight than the people who do the most intensive research on them, like Dr. Kiehl. And they have even only a bit here and there of interesting speculation.

Hard read, but this guy's got guts.

I found the case the case studies, research results and profile analysis fascinating. However some of the biographical details got a bit tedious at times. The author has access to a large volume of profiles - so I wondered why he was spending so much time in discussing the MRI machine purchasing process. I would have thought the author would realize that though these biographical details provide some background context the readers interest is in the car-crash-like personalities and profiles and not the attending ambulance's purchasing process. A good read overall, but it could have been great.

I'm trying not to put any “spoilers” in this review, but I am not that trustworthy. So be very careful if you read this review.

I generally evaluate other the store reviews by three criteria, and I try to keep those criteria in mind when I write a review.

#1. Did the reviewer like or dislike the book?

By and large, likes and dislikes are so personal another person's opinions may not be helpful to me. If I have been following a reviewer in the past and found his or her opinions similar to mine, I am more inclined to value their opinions in evaluating whether to read a book or not.

#2 Did the reviewer provide information pointing out empirical errors or confirming the likely truth of controversial assertions?

If the reviewer seems to have credible experience/training in the area discussed in the book, I find such qualifications make the review more convincing.

For example, one reviewer of THE PSYCHOPATH WHISPERER seems to have quite a bit of experience in law enforcement, and experience in dealing with psychopaths.

#3 Does the reviewer provide information that helps me understand the book better and get more out of it?

For example, one reviewer of THE PSYCHOPATH WHISPERER helped me understand the distinction between “psychopath” and “sociopath”, often a source of confusion to me. I have encountered at least three people in that constellation, two supervisors and one a major league white collar criminal I battled in court. (If you care, I won and destroyed his criminal career and swindled him out of a hundred thousand dollars, but he never went to jail and retired with most of his ill-gotten gains.)

I suspect all three are better described as sociopaths rather than psychopaths, but I will add that if I am standing on a coast near a forested hill and I see a grizzly bear coming down the hill on my left and the fin of a great white shark gliding through the water off the coast, I am not as concerned about the genus distinctions between land predators and ocean predators as I am in figuring out the most useful and practical course of action for my survival, so to belabor the obvious, avoiding being prey to any variety of human predator is more important than obsessing about the definitions of varieties.

I just finished reading Kent Kiehl's THE PSYCHOPATH WHISPERER. I found it excellent. He incorporates quite a bit of personal information about himself and his experiences learning about psychopaths and about brain functioning. I found his style of recounting his personal experiences engaging, interesting, and ironically amusing. Lots of reviewers find this aspect of his book irritating. Irrelevant, and downright pointless.

Although I never have formally worked in law enforcement or particularly sought out trouble, I have had a surprising number of experiences involving crime, criminals, and law enforcement. Now that I am retired, I volunteer for a local law enforcement agency. We are not supposed to put ourselves in any dangerous situations or play elderly cops and robbers games, but I have to admit there's enough of a frisson of danger even in the fairly routine tasks I do to appeal to the naughty part of my 70-year-old personality.

I suspect that I am much closer to being a psychopath/sociopath than most of you reading this (but maybe not!). In one chapter in the book, Kiel describes a youthful criminal who murdered even though he was almost certainly NOT a psychopath, but after being told by a careless psychologist that he was a psychopath he decided to “live up” (or down) to that label by committing a murder.

I am not that bad (or good, depending on your perspective) as the young man described in the book. Trust me. [Why should you?!] I have never committed a murder. But I do feel part of my psyche responding when a psychopath whispers to me. So I was pleased to read about the CU syndrome. Callous and Emotional. Compared to my wife and daughter, very empathetic people, I am ONLY a CU, not a psychopath or sociopath.

So, for me, the book well earns five stars. Maybe 5 and 1/16 stars. If you don't agree . . . Well, I don't know where you live, do I?

You want to read this book. Speaking very flatly, this work of science is compelling, and will have you turning pages compulsively. Dr. Kiehl's narrative is exquisite, and his research and creativity is phenomenal. In this fine piece of literature, the reader will find themselves expounded with intriguing concepts on the human brain (psychopathy mostly, but for neuroscience in general), and the potential for understanding the human mind before it cultivates a true psychopath.

There is a definite change in the brain of a psychopath and a normal person. Luck has it only about one percent of the public have such a brain. The brain can be studied using the MRI.
This book is not for the general public. Not that they might not enjoy it but it is disturbing. It details the study by Dr. Kiehl of psychopath inmates in a security prison in order to fulfill his education requirements.
It tells how he found out that an MRI machine was a good tool for charting the deference between brains of the psychopath and the normal individual.

Finally my questions have been answered. This well laid out book helped me to understand the possible reasons for the 'abnormal behaviour' of a few of the unusual people I've been exposed to in my life. Also, my option on incarceration and the death penalty has been further formed based upon sound sciences. Thank you, Dr. Nigel and associates.

There ARE some interesting stories and information in this book, but like some of the other reviewers I think the author talks about himself and his initiatives too much. I dislike books where the author talks in the first person and uses "I" frequently. On the other hand there is some value to the information. Not really good but ends up being OK.

Surprisingly lousy. I read Hare's book on psychopathy which was much more interesting and better written. I found myself skipping over chunks of this book because it was just too tedious and all over the place. Not recommended.

Excellent book on a very complex topic, told by an author who has done the work, paid his dues, and now provides us with a wealth of material and new insights on the nature of psychopathy. A strength of this book is that the writing is very accessible, and cuts to the essence of each topic!

I have always been fascinated by what makes people tick. This book was right up my alley with a lot of very interesting information presented in a way that any interested layman can understand. Kent Kiehl's book is based on his first person interviews, brain scans (functional MRIs) & the backgrounds of over 500 incarcerated psychopaths. He presents compelling evidence that the brain of a psychopath is organically different than the brain of a non-psychopath. Kiel's ultimate goal is to be able to identify budding psychopaths before they act out & find a way to treat them. Its a lofty goal but he seems to have the drive & determination to make that a reality. I gave the book 5 stars.

This is a great book. Dr. Kiehl takes us on a personal journey through his life and into the minds of crazy people. His insights are provocative. The science is interesting. Let's hope this sheds light on a difficult and important topic. Well done!

I found Dr. Kiel's unconditional compassion for those with this specific mental disability to be brilliant. It was as reassuring and intriguing as the research. To answer a calling in your life with the passion he shares is rich.
I could not put this book down once I began to read it, and the climactic research results left me sobbing for our mislabeling their abilities and misguiding their lives. I was encouraged that the author felt the same, in the midst of a triumphant research victory.
His research calls us to immediate proactive medical, legal and moral decisions on how to provide care for those with this impairment. I am elated the first enormous step has been taken to rescue them from our expectation that they cope in our world.