The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence

by de Becker, Gavin

• ISBN13: 9780316235020
• ISBN10: 0316235024
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-06-01
• Publisher: Ingram Book Co

Summary

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

Table of Contents

In the Presence of Danger	p. 1
The Technology of Intuition	p. 24
The Academy of Prediction	p. 42
Survival Signals	p. 55
Imperfect Strangers	p. 78
High-Stakes Predictions	p. 92
Promises to Kill (Understanding threats)	p. 107
Persistence, Persistence (Dealing with people who refuse to let go)	p. 124
Occupational Hazards (Violence in the workplace)	p. 148
Intimate Enemies (Domestic violence)	p. 181
"I Was Trying to Let Him Down Easy" (Date stalking)	p. 204
Fear of Children (Violent children)	p. 221
Better to Be Wanted by the Police Than Not to Be Wanted at All (Attacks against public figures)	p. 243
Extreme Hazards	p. 275
The Gift of Fear	p. 292
Epilogue	p. 316
Acknowledgments	p. 329
Appendixes	p. 333
Recommended Reading	p. 357
Index	p. 361
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