2015 Reprint of 1950 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. This classic account of the Psychopathic Personality was first published in 1941. We reprint herein the expanded Second Edition of 1950. Cleckley describes clinical interviews with patients in a locked institution. The text is considered to be a seminal work and the most influential clinical description of psychopathology in the twentieth century. The basic elements of psychopathology outlined by Cleckley are still relevant today. The title refers to the normal "mask" that...

Although highly controversial, Hervey Cleckley's Mask of Sanity provides one of the most influential clinical descriptions of psychopathy in the 20th century. At the crux of his argument, Cleckley claims that many psychopathic personalities go undiagnosed because they maintain a social mask that conceals their mental disorder and enables them to blend in with society. Furthermore, many of these affected individuals appear to function normally in accordance with standard psychiatric criteria.

Intent on detecting and diagnosing the elusive psychopath, Cleckley has compiled an...