Malignant Self Love

Vaknin, Samuel, 1961-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.3

Word count: 187 words
Chapters: 1

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Malignant Self Love [Excerpts] by Samuel VakninAuthor: Vaknin, Samuel, 1961-,Language: English, Class: RC: Medicine: Internal medicine, Release Date: Nov 1, 2003

Editor's review

This book is an excerpt from Samuel Vaknin's early text on narcissistic personality, falling at the intersection of medicine and psychology; it is short but conceptually dense. Combining clinical observation with theoretical reasoning, the author discusses the features and causes of malignant narcissism and its impact on interpersonal relationships, in direct language with a certain polemical tone. As an early public-domain text from the e-book era, its value lies more in offering an entry point to the topic of narcissism than in serving as a systematic textbook. It suits readers interested in personality psychology and psychopathology as further reading, and mental health practitioners as auxiliary material for clarifying concepts. Read it critically, as one viewpoint rather than a settled conclusion, and compare it with more mainstream clinical literature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Psychology readers with a preliminary interest in narcissistic personality
Counseling and mental health practitioners using it as a conceptual reference
General readers who enjoy clinically observational writing
Students needing English psychology texts for further reading

Not a good fit for

Professional physicians seeking systematic diagnostic criteria and treatment guidelines
General readers hoping for light self-help advice
Readers intolerant of academic, argumentative English prose

Reading tips

Read the excerpt through first, mark core concepts, then verify them against mainstream literature on personality disorders.
Distinguish the author's views from clinical consensus while reading; avoid treating a single account as a diagnostic basis.
Read alongside an introductory textbook on narcissistic personality for comparison.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a complete academic monograph?

No. The material shows it is an excerpt from Malignant Self Love, limited in length and partial rather than complete. It is better suited as an introduction to concepts or further reading, not a substitute for a systematic textbook or clinical guideline.

Can I understand it without a psychology background?

Yes, but it takes some patience. The text involves concepts of personality pathology, and the author's argument is polemical; readers without basics may find it abstract. Learning the basic definition of narcissistic personality first will make the reading smoother.

Can the views in the book be used directly for self-assessment?

Not advisable. This is an excerpt with a personal argumentative slant, not a diagnostic tool. If you suspect a personality issue in yourself or others, seek professional evaluation rather than drawing conclusions from a single text.

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About the author

Vaknin, Samuel, 1961- Author

Samuel Vaknin (1961– ) has limited publicly available information about his life and education; his identifiable profile rests mainly on a substantial body of writing across several fields. Twenty-eight of his works are held in the collection, spanning a wide range of subjects: from Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era, an observation of the transitional economy, to Narcissistic and Psychopathic Leaders, Terrorists and Freedom Fighters, and Crime and Corruption, which analyze political psychology and public issues, as well as Essays on God and Freud and encyclopedic works on philosophy and economics. His writing is marked by clear theses and careful conceptual exposition, and he habitually brings psychological concepts to bear on power and institutions, giving his arguments a strongly critical and diagnostic tone. His work will appeal to readers interested in political psychology, corruption, and post-Soviet transition.