"The Narcissist Next Door" (audio)

CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Jeffrey Kluger; Mantle (Air Talk/SCPR); Amazon

Narcissism runs wild in the White House and D.C. in general from sex-craving, charismatic, heroic, methamphetamine addict John F. Kennedy to sinister sociopath and social justice advocate Lyndon B. Johnson (Roger Stone/lbjkilledjfk.com/coasttocoastam.com).

 

The Narcissist Next Door

From an award-winning senior writer at Time comes an eye-opening exploration of narcissism -- how to recognize it and how to handle it.

The odds are good that we all know a narcissist -- probably a lot of them. The odds are also good that they are intelligent, confident, and articulate -- centers of attention. They make us laugh, and they make us think. The odds are also that their spells won’t last.
 
Narcissists are everywhere. There are millions of them in the United States alone: entertainers, politicians, business people, our neighbors. Recognizing and understanding them is crucial to not being overtaken by them, says author Jeffrey Kluger, in his provocative new book about this insidious mental disorder.

With insight and wit, Kluger frames the surprising new research on narcissism and explains the complex, exasperating personality disorder.

Nixon fan Roger Stone outs LBJ

He reveals how narcissism and narcissists affect our lives at work and at home, on the road, and in the halls of government; what to do when we encounter narcissism; and how to neutralize its effects before it’s too late.

As a Time writer and science editor, Kluger knows how to take science’s new ideas and transform them into smart, accessible insights. Highly readable and deeply engaging, this book helps us understand narcissism and narcissists more fully. More

“The Narcissist Next Door: Understanding the Monster in Your Family, in Your Office, in Your Bed -- in Your World”
Interviewer Larry Mantle (KPCC/AirTalk/SCPR.org, 9-10-14)
We in Los Angeles should be experts at recognizing narcissists. Hollywood is full of them, from Kanye West to Miley Cyrus to all the Reality TV stars at local bars.
 
Jeffrey Kluger has researched how to identify the narcissistic tendencies of coworkers, relatives, even our own.
 
The narcissists in the room are the most successful and seductive, but the charm dulls when they lie and cheat in aspiring to their selfish desires [what in Buddhism is translated as a special kind of motivation for bad karma called "evil wishes," where instead of being motivated by hate one might kill just to obtain a desire or strategic objective -- like the cake on the other side of the person pushed out of the way].

• AUDIO: The Narcissist Next Door (21:25)

Are myriad people acting Machiavellian? No, but Kluger reports that since 1979, there has been a 30 percent increase in narcissistic personality traits in the U.S.

• What about our American society is contributing to this?
• How have we handled it in our personal and professional lives?
• Why is this disorder receiving so much attention lately?
• Are we demonizing a trait that helped inspire great leaders and thinkers such as Apple Corporation's ex-CEO Steve Jobs and ex-Pres. Lyndon Banes Johnson?

GUEST: Senior editor and writer at Time magazine Jeffrey Kluger (@jeffreykluger), author of The Narcissist Next Door: Understanding the Monster in in Your Family, in Your Office, in Your Bed -- in Your World (Riverhead, Sept. 2014); coauthor of the bestseller Apollo 13, and author of The Sibling Effect.

What is Narcissism?
W. Keith Campbell (University of Georgia), host George Noory (coasttocoastam.com, 9-8-14)

Greatest WH narcissist: Pres. LBJ killed JFK

Prof. W. Keith Campbell discussed the epidemic of narcissism in U.S. culture, defining "narcissism" as having a grandiose or inflated sense of self -- being a "legend in your own mind," and thinking that you're better than other people or, at least, better than you actually are.
 
Narcissism is a trait most people have some of in their lives, but when it reaches a certain level, it can be diagnosed as a mental disorder or psychological condition, Prof. Campbell explains. There are certain signs that become more evident over time such as:

• people always turning the conversation back to themselves,
• an arrogant attitude,
• a brazenness about self-promotion.

The trait appears to be on the rise: two-thirds of college students in America in the 2000s had narcissism scores higher than the average student in the 1980s, Prof. Campbell reports.

 

Social media and "selfie" photography are newer avenues for narcissists, who sometimes use them to promote themselves or make themselves look better than they are, he adds.

 

Peace? Yes we CAN'T

Narcissists sometimes make for good political leaders. Many U.S. presidents of the last century have scored high on these traits, Campbell explains, noting that LBJ far and away was No. 1 among narcissistic presidents.

 

Narcissists can also make good relationship partners, as long your interests and theirs align. Your main interest should be them, and everything will be fine until they get bored with you. If they don't align, that's when narcissists tend to exploit and/or hurt people, Prof. Campbell cautions. More + AUDIO

I'm not lecturing you; this is a gun in my hand

• New maniac in the White House calls for WAR on ISIS/ISIL, Syria, Iraq, Lybia, Yemen, Somalia...and he has his eye on Iran (because the Military-Industrial Complex tells him where to put his eye and what script to read, the teleprompter to watch)  
• Weighing CIA/Obama’s strategy to attack Middle East (AirTal/9-11) Pres. Obama delivered a national address outlining "his" (the Military-Industrial Complex's) strategy to defeat Islamists in Iraq and Syria calling themselves the "Islamic State" and menacing and business and strategic geopolitical "interests."