During the panel session at our Guardian masterclass on science writing , the excellent author M. G. Harris recommended Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test . I had already read and enjoyed The Men who Stared at Goats (even though Professor Brian Josephson assures me I gave too much attention to the 'staring at goats' issue in my book Extra Sensory ), so had no hesitation on buying this book on M. G.'s recommendation - and it is even better. The book starts with a mystery - a strange, expensively produced book that is being sent to a number of academics. No one knows what it means, or who has written it. Ronson solves this mystery, which leads him to taking the plunge into what he describes as the 'madness industry'. It might seem this is a subject that couldn't produce much humour, but what Ronson does so well is brings out the essential human funny bits, while not holding back on some of the surprising and sometimes horrific realities. Whether he is de...