Documentaries – DaneCobain.com

Jon Ronson – The Psychopath Test | Review

Title: The Psychopath Test

Author: Jon Ronson

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 294

Rating: 9/10

Jon Ronson – The Psychopath Test

This book was an interesting read, and it actually led to a number of real-life conversations with other people about psychopaths, and some of the subjects that are covered in this book. You can even take a variation of the psychopath test online, and I discovered that two of the people that I work with could qualify. That said, the interesting thing about psychopathy is that if you’re worried that you might be a psychopath, you’re not a psychopath.

Here, Jon Ronson follows the cases of a number of well-known public figures – from criminals to CEOs and businessmen – as well as the teachings of several well-known psychiatrists. He even takes a little look at scientology, which teaches that psychiatry is a sham and which even funds an organisation that’s designed to work against the field.

This, then, is the kind of non-fiction book that I like to read. For me, a good non-fiction book contains a sort of underlying narrative, as well as a number of little triggers that make you think about things, and this book definitely makes the cut when it comes to that. In fact, it has the potential to change the way that you look at the world – in no time at all, you’ll start to spot psychopaths all over the place, and it’s true that they could actually be everywhere.

It took me a little while to get around to reading this, but once I started it, I was glad that I did. It definitely comes recommended from me, especially if you like learning stuff and watching documentaries. In fact, the book even comes recommended by Louis Theroux!

Jon Ronson

Click here to buy The Psychopath Test.

Michael Moore – Stupid White Men | Review

Title: Stupid White Men

Author: Michael Moore

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 296

Rating: 8/10

Michael Moore – Stupid White Men

Stupid White Men is an interesting read, although it is a little bit outdated right now. You might know Michael Moore as the film-maker who was behind Bowling for Columbine, as well as a bunch of other documentaries – often considered to be controversial, he’s a sort of pushy, left-wing type. A bit like I am.

People often say that Moore is annoying, and I guess I can see why when it comes to his documentaries – it’s just the way that he is, he believes in his belief and he has a passion for communicating them. That passion is still here, but it’s a little easier to absorb in the book – in fact, it’s almost a comedy book, rather than a political book, and there’s a good mixture of both right here.

As you can imagine from the title, it focuses on the stupid (rich) white men that rule America, from Bush and his cronies to the previous administration and the people that swung the vote. According to Moore, at least, Bush didn’t actually win the election – in fact, he broke the law to make it look as though he did.

The nuances of that, and what it implies, are too much to go into here, and so if you want to find out more then you ought to read the book. Even though my edition was printed not long after 9/11, it was still pretty interesting, and it’s not hard to see how the lessons here could be applied to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named‘s bid for the presidency. It’s kind of scary, come to think of it – a lot of this is common sense, and people haven’t listened.