The Gift of Fear
- ISBN13: 9780440508830
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
True fear is often a signal that can save your life. Are you listening?
- The baby-sitter you’ve just hired makes you uneasy–what should you do?
- You sense you are being followed –do you confront the stranger…or run?
- A fired employee says “You’ll be sorry”–should you take him seriously?
- A person in the elevator you are about to enter just doesn’t look right–do you wait for the next car?
A date won’t take “no” for an answer. The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling. A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers unsolicited help. The threat of violence surrounds us every day. But we can protect ourselves, by learning to trust–and act on–our gut instincts.
In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the man Oprah Winfrey calls the nation’s leading expert on violent behavior, shows you how to spot even subtle signs of danger–before it’s too late. Shattering the myth that most violent acts are unpredictable, de Becker, whose clients include top Hollywood stars and government agencies, offers specific ways to protect yourself and those you love, including…how to act when approached by a stranger…when you should fear someone close to you…what to do if you are being stalked…how to uncover the source of anonymous threats or phone calls…the biggest mistake you can make with a threatening person…and more. Learn to spot the danger signals others miss. It might just save your life.Amazon.com Review
Each hour, 75 women are raped in the United States, and every few seconds, a woman is beaten. Each day, 400 Americans suffer shooting injuries, and another 1,100 face criminals armed with guns. Author Gavin de Becker says victims of violent behavior usually feel a sense of fear before any threat or violence takes place. They may distrust the fear, or it may impel them to some action that saves their lives. A leading expert on predicting violent behavior, de Becker believes we can all learn to recognize these signals of the “universal code of violence,” and use them as tools to help us survive. The book teaches how to identify the warning signals of a potential attacker and recommends strategies for dealing with the problem before it becomes life threatening. The case studies are gripping and suspenseful, and include tactics for dealing with similar situations.
People don’t just “snap” and become violent, says de Becker, whose clients include federal government agencies, celebrities, police departments, and shelters for battered women. “There is a process as observable, and often as predictable, as water coming to a boil.” Learning to predict violence is the cornerstone to preventing it. De Becker is a master of the psychology of violence, and his advice may save your life. –Joan Price
The Gift of Fear
I finished it in one day. It is engaging and interesting it has got lots of sex . The main idea of the book is that violent acts do not occur without warning, and trusting and sharpening one’s intuition (gut feeling) may save your life.
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Rating: 5 / 5
The Gift of Fear
I have not read this book, but someone recommended it to me. After reading the critic’s reviews I see that it wouldn’t serve much purpose.
To the degree that this book alerts unaware people as to how to carry themselves safely in this world I applaud it. To the degree this book contributes to the growing hysteria over ‘safety’ as promulgated by the lunatic right fringe (yes, including President Bush) I condemn it. Smacks of McCarthyism and the Red Scare all over again.
The last reader’s review sparked my ire. She stated something to the effect of “I was plagued by a constant sense of unease and worry about the potential for danger as I went about my daily activities”. That being the case I would suggest a shrink, not a book that will further enable your fantasies.
Also, absurdisms such as “no man unknown to you has a reason to stop and ask directions”. Huh? I happen to be a man who routinely asks people I don’t know directions, man or woman….I could care less. And now this gets one branded as a potentially dangerous person. Let’s see, men are criticized for NOT asking directions, and now they are set up as suspicious FOR asking directions. Why not just title the book “Men Are Dangerous and To Be Avoided”?
Give me a break.
Rating: 3 / 5
The Gift of Fear
This book is nothing more than random foolishness that plays to the insecurities of people, in particular women. Randomly fearing everything is more likely to make you a victim than keep you safe. Basically, provides no insight into how to avoid dangerous situations and people – just focuses on making the reader scared of everyone and every situation. I truly wonder if there is any truth in the stories and scenarios put forth. Mind you, there are lots of Ted Bundy types out there – but this book gave you no guidance on identifying the truly bad folks and providing any survival strategies.
Rating: 1 / 5
The Gift of Fear
This book may be a useful read for many, but we really shouldn’t need a book to tell us what he’s trying to say. He just reiterates simple common sense that says, “Trust and Follow your instincts”.
The author writes with a liberal political agenda. He’s anti-2nd Ammendment and pro-choice and this is displayed in the book. It would have been nice if he could have left the politics out.
He does gets knocked down a couple of stars for his view on guns. He has let a personal experience with a psycho family member cloud his judgement. He also manages to repeat the fact that you are something like 47 times more likely to be kill with a gun if one is in your house. Which is a true statistic, …if your whole clan is runnin’ dope.
Be sure to read Paxton Quigley’s “Armed and Female” along with this book to get a balanced perspective on whether the decision to protect yourself with a firearm is right for you.
Rating: 2 / 5
The Gift of Fear
I can’t tell you how great it is to have totally lost all optimisim about humankind from reading this book. I’m so glad that I know understand that most people are evil and violent. How ignorant I was before! Now I go through life armed with the knowledge that it is a cold cruel world out there. I feel so empowered. NOBODY is going to even THINK about approaching me anymore! Wanna date?
Rating: 5 / 5
The Gift of Fear