Identifying and Understanding the Narcissistic Personality

Book excerpt: "Now, Elsa Ronningstam presents a balanced, comprehensive, and up-to-date review of our understanding of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). She insightfully addresses the complicated matter of the etiology of NPD and provides practical criteria for its diagnosis. She broadens the reader's understanding of narcissism and explains the ways in which it ranges from personality trait, which can be productive, to full-blown disorder, which can be highly destructive. Through fascinating case vignettes, Ronningstam shows us the inner life of narcissistic people, revealing their inner tug of war between self-confidence and arrogance on the one hand and painful shame and insecurity on the other."--BOOK JACKET.