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328 Acknowledgments
and encouragement I needed to get the job done. I am forever thankful
to her for making each day an adventure.
Paul Babiak
New York, 2006
During my years of research on psychopathy, I have had the privilege
of working with many outstanding students and colleagues. I
thank them all. Since I began work in this area four decades ago,
things have changed dramatically. Instead of a few academics and
clinicians working in isolation, there now are many hundreds of researchers
around the world, many in contact with one another and all
dedicated to understanding the nature and implications of psychopathy.
A significant event was the recent formation of the Society
for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy (SSSP), an organization that
will do much to facilitate international and interdisciplinary collaboration
in the study of psychopathy and its impact on society.
Scientific research and debate and their applications to mental
health and criminal justice certainly are important, but at the same
time, the general public must learn as much as it can about psychopathy.
It was for this reason that I wrote Without Conscience: The Disturbing
World of the Psychopaths Among Us. My editor for the book was
Judith Regan, publisher of the current volume. While writing Without
Conscience, I had my first discussions with Paul Babiak. He had provided
me with a case study which I included in a chapter on “White
Collar Psychopaths.” Since then, I have had the great pleasure of
working with Paul on a number of projects, one of which is this book.
I would like to thank Kylie Neufeld for her able assistance with
my research and writing endeavors over the past decade. My wife and
best friend, Averil, continues to provide me with a nurturing environment,
sound counsel, trenchant insights, and enlightened debates
about things of importance. Our beloved daughter, Cheryl, taught
us much about courage, dignity, and grace in the face of adversity.
Robert D. Hare
Vancouver, 2006