The Sociopath Next Door Audiobook By Martha Stout cover art

The Sociopath Next Door

 Preview
Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm PT.
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just $0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible Premium Plus.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Sociopath Next Door

By: Martha Stout
Narrated by: Shelly Frasier
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offers ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm PT.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.61

Buy for $14.61

Get 3 months for $0.99 a month
We are accustomed to think of sociopaths as violent criminals, but in The Sociopath Next Door, Harvard psychologist Martha Stout reveals that a shocking 4 percent of ordinary people, one in 25, has an often undetected mental disorder, the chief symptom of which is that that person possesses no conscience. He or she has no ability whatsoever to feel shame, guilt, or remorse. One in 25 everyday Americans, therefore, is secretly a sociopath. They could be your colleague, your neighbor, even family. And they can do literally anything at all and feel absolutely no guilt.

How do we recognize the remorseless? One of their chief characteristics is a kind of glow or charisma that makes sociopaths more charming or interesting than the other people around them. They're more spontaneous, more intense, more complex, or even sexier than everyone else, making them tricky to identify and leaving us easily seduced. Fundamentally, sociopaths are different because they cannot love. Sociopaths learn early on to show sham emotion, but underneath they are indifferent to others' suffering. They live to dominate and thrill to win.

The fact is, we all almost certainly know at least one or more sociopaths already. Part of the urgency in reading The Sociopath Next Door is the moment when we suddenly recognize that someone we know, someone we worked for, or were involved with, or voted for, is a sociopath. But what do we do with that knowledge? To arm us against the sociopath, Dr. Stout teaches us to question authority, suspect flattery, and beware the pity play. Above all, she writes, when a sociopath is beckoning, do not join the game.

It is the ruthless versus the rest of us, and The Sociopath Next Door will show you how to recognize and defeat the devil you know.

©2005 Martha Stout (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc. Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences Thought-Provoking Inspiring Funny Scary

Critic reviews

"Stout is a good writer and her exploration of sociopaths can be arresting." (Publishers Weekly)
"A remarkable philosophical examination of the phenomenon of sociopathy and its everyday manifestations....Stout's portraits make a striking impact and readers with unpleasant neighbors or colleagues may find themselves paying close attention to her sociopathic-behavior checklist and suggested coping strategies. Deeply thought-provoking and unexpectedly lyrical." (Kirkus)

Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks About Psychopaths


There's no denying the allure of psychopaths. There's something disturbing but fascinating about people so ruthless and manipulative, who lack the ability to feel guilt or remorse over their actions. Stories of psychopaths abound in just about every mystery subgenre, from action-packed thrillers to nuanced psychological character studies, and also stand out in works of psychology and neuroscience. Listen to some of the most riveting books about psychopaths.

Featured Article The Best Audiobooks About Psychopaths
Engaging Case Studies • Relatable Examples • Clear Diction • Practical Applications • Eye-opening Narratives

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
A May 15, 2009 listener review says, "her tome quickly degenerates into a not-too-subtly veiled commentary on conservatism, Bush and the War on Terror (all quite sociopathic, apparently)."
.
Don't let this stop you from buying this book. I was still listening for this "not-too-subtle" commentary when the book was ending. The best guess I can come up with to explain where this slant was heard by the reviewer is the part of the book where Dr. Stout explains the usefulness of a sociopathic mind in a soldier in combat. This is true whether the battle is lead under a conservative or liberal government.
.

Don't read too much into your friends, family, co-workers, or acquaintances after finishing this book. After a second time through the book, I have a better understanding of what the Doctor writes and have removed some people from my mental list of possibles, but still have a former co-worker and (sadly) and sibling who still fit the bill.

I hope I'm wrong about one.

Helped me understand troublemakers in my life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found this book empowering, if only because it made me realize that some of the cruel behaviors I occasionally observed in my workplace could be the symptoms of sociopathy. Sometimes people I deal with behave in such entirely disgusting ways that I feel baffled that a member of the human race could act as they do. But then I assume I just overacting or misunderstanding the situation. Listening to this book allowed me to accepted the possibility that THEY are the insane ones, not me.

Empower yourself

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It was quite interesting - a psychologist's examination of the nature of sociopathy which she defines as, essentially, a lack of conscience. Literally... sociopaths don't feel a thing when they do bad things to other people.

Kinda disheartening because, well, there's nothing you can do to "redeem" them since they are incapable of redemption. The author does provide some steps to follow to protect yourself from sociopaths in your life, but since there's nothing to be done for people without a conscience, there's no advice on how to "help" them. (Well, other than to avoid trying to help them because by doing you're playing into their hands and you'll just end up getting hurt by them since that's what they do.)

This is not a self-help book (and if you're a sociopath, you probably won't get the book's point anyway, and, even if you did, you wouldn't care). It's a pop-psychology glimpse at what might be going on inside some of those mean/abusive/controlling people you know in your life.

The only real advice that comes out of it is to get away from a sociopath as quickly as possible... you can't help them - and they don't want to be helped - so just move along.

The narration is good.

A light(-ish) look at a serious subject

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What made the experience of listening to The Sociopath Next Door the most enjoyable?

This was a very informative book. Helped me understand so many things about certain people in my life.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not really a favorite character type of book.

What about Shelly Frasier’s performance did you like?

It was fine.

If you could give The Sociopath Next Door a new subtitle, what would it be?

Lessons You Don't Need to Live Through

Any additional comments?

I will have all of my younger children listening to this. It is a good lesson for young people to learn before they are sent into the world alone. Wish I would have been able to share it with my older children. Wish I could have read it before I went out into the world...

A MUST Read for everyone - especially young people

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What did you like best about this story?

Wanting to see the best in everybody, encountering individuals that seemingly just want to inflict as much emotional pain as possible to others is hard to comprehend. This book validates that a significant amount of people actually do act to hurt others just for fun. Several of the examples could have come directly out of my life.

Any additional comments?

I have recommended this audio book to co-workers, friends and family. I consider it to be essential listening for all.

Well Done

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews