The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain

James Fallon

Nov 2013 · Ascent Audio · Narrated by Walter Dixon

About this audiobook

The memoir of a neuroscientist whose research led him to a bizarre personal discovery James Fallon had spent an entire career studying how our brains affect our behavior when his research suddenly turned personal. While studying brain scans of several family members, he discovered that one perfectly matched a pattern he'd found in the brains of serial killers. This meant one of two things: Either his family's scans had been mixed up with those of felons or someone in his family was a psychopath. Even more disturbing: The scan in question was his own. This is Fallon's account of coming to grips with this discovery and its implications. How could he, a happy family man who had never been prone to violence, be a psychopath? How much did his biology influence his behavior? Fallon shares his journey to answer these questions and the discoveries that ultimately led to his conclusion: Despite everything science can teach, humans are even more complex than we can imagine.

Ratings and reviews

Author is himself a psychopath and over the years since the release of the book and his TED appearance, convenient falsehoods concerning his personal life & esp. the experiences and opinions of friends & family members have been discovered. Someone with this manner of pathology is a particularly poor lens for examining the pathology honestly. The work is shoddy & at moments, it's clear that it exists largely as an exercise in grandiose narcissism when not simply a means of identity defense.

Good mix of personal storytelling and science/research summary

About the author

Walter Dixon is a winner of Audible's "#1 Editor's Choice and Customer Favorites" award. The narrator of more than 200 audiobooks, he has performed on stage in stand-up comedy, theater, and opera productions. He has also voiced animated features, vintage radio dramas, and audio tours for the Guggenheim and other museums.