I dove into the science of psychopathy a few years ago after a family incident where my father imploded his life and much of the family's through self-destructive activities and there is actually a bunch of smart people studying the neuroscience of pyschopaths.

Two great books to start with:

- The Science of Evil: https://www.amazon.com/Science-Evil-Empathy-Origins-Cruelty/...

- The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscious: https://www.amazon.com/Psychopath-Whisperer-Science-Without-...

"It is exciting to read about a fraud — from a distance. It is not so funny to live through one."

This is a great summary.

My estranged father is a professional con artist: He has multiple lies on his social media about his alleged wealth and committed credit card fraud while I was in high school resulting in my parents' formally declaring bankruptcy.

I have found it very difficult in life to convey in words what being exposed up close and personal to con men is really like, because normal people lack imagination to put themselves in the mind of someone who doesn't care at all about humanity.

Author Chuck Klosterman has a chapter about con artists in his book "I Wear the Black Hat" which covers similar ground as Harford: people enjoy these stories and con men because of a mix of admiration (life is easier in some ways if you literally biologically can't care about anything except base biological needs of sex, power, and consumption) and curiosity for the different.

Having known multiple con men in my life, including family, I can definitely claim it's less entertaining in person than in media.

The other book I recommend on this topic is Dr. Kent Kiehl's "The Psychopath Whisperer" for its mix of neuroscience and personal stories.

"I Wear the Black Hat - Grappling with Villains Real and Imagined": https://www.amazon.com/Wear-Black-Hat-Grappling-Villains/dp/...

"The Psychopath Whisperer": https://www.amazon.com/Psychopath-Whisperer-Science-Without-...