xii, 302 pages ; 20 cm M.E. Thomas is a high-functioning non-criminal psychopath. She is charismatic, ambitious, and successful. You would be charmed by her if you met her, might even be seduced by her. You would not realise that she is studying you to find your flaws, that she is ruthlessly manipulative, has no empathy and does not feel guilt or remorse. But she does like people; she likes to touch them, mould them, and ruin them. Now she writes about her life, from the confusion of trying to fit in as a child to her growing need for power over others, from her successful stratagems at work and in love to the disasters that brought her greater understanding of herself and the motivation to control her behaviour most of the time. She also draws on the latest research to explain why at least one in twenty-five of us are psychopaths and shows why that's not a bad thing Originally published: New York: Crown, 2013