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Summary: Must have for serious self defense and martial artists
Review: This is a book that teaches you that your greatest weapon for self-defense is your own intuition. Unfortunately, due to the way our modern society have influenced our upbringing, our intuition is not what it should be. We are more laxed and we frequently push our own doubts and fears to the back of our mind using our own personal 'logic'. This has resulted in putting ourselves into more risky situation which we could have avoided. The book has certainly opened my mind on the subject of threat assessments and how we view our lives. It's not a book that should leave you being scared everyday of your life, nor will it make you over confident. What it does do is that it will make you more aware of your environment, on how to handle threats to your safety and to ultimately live a happier and safer life. If you're a martial artist, then this book should have been on your bookshelf already!
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Summary: great book
Review: I read this book few years back. And six months ago I was .. abused on the street. I was followed by a sick perverted person for 3 blocks while I was jogging, and when I turned back while trying get away from him, he grabbed my hand and assaulted me in various places. Using knowledge of this book, I screamed and people heard and came out on the street, and thank God, I was not raped or anything but this book and reading this book saved my life. I'm very greateful to the author for taking time to write this book
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Summary: Some useful information
Review: There is very good information. The problem is that you have to search for it. The book is written from a liberal perspective, meaning, this shines as one reads it. Such a perspective has little to do with the topic. I suppose the book should have been written in such a way so that one could not guess political bias. This is not a book about politics. If one can sift through this, one can gather good information. Much of the information seems to be padding. There are long passages in which practical information is missing. This is esp. true in the first third of the book. What we get, instead, is an advertisement for the book being read-->"This book can help you. This book can save you. Let me give you an example... that example reminds me of another example of why this book is good for you...." When practical information is given, it is very good, yet seems brief. The useful infomation is short (such as one page in a chapter). What makes up much of the book is theory and the author's personal cases. What is lacking are illustrations of the practical information. Such would be very helpful, but such illustrations are few, replaced with examples to illustrate theory. These theories lend themselves to interjections of liberal points of view. Here is an example. "I think we should talk about what to do if you are faced with a man pointing a gun at you. What should you do? Well, let me tell you the story of a case I was on involving a class that contained a student with a gun.... The point of this example was to show that these people did not have the tools to handle the situation. Now, if they had read this book they would have been prepared. You are reading this book and so you are prepared. This proves that we need gun control laws. Back to our situation. What should you do if you are faced with a man pointing a gun at you? We will deal with that in a later chapter. Until that time, let me give you another example of a case I worked on." You get the point. There is useful information, but you have to search for it. The book could have been condensed quite a bit, and probably should have received such an edit.
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Summary: The best book of the subject!!!
Review: I do like this book. I am from Brazil and in my country violence is increasing. Our laws are inefficient and we are constantly looking for security by ourselves. This book save my mental health. I can be aware now without paranoia. Every chapter in this book is important. Thanks to Mr.Gavin to share his knowledge and the most important,knowledge that he learn with his life experience and not just reading books. This book is about everyday violence,facts that really happens. He teaches us how to identify signals of violence to avoid it. There isn't stupidity stuff in this book. The best chapter is the last. Read it carefully. I bought two:one that stays with me and another just for lending it to my friends.
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Summary: Do you get scared easily...
Review: About predators, molesters and other people that are out to get you and your family? Then read this book. It helps us tune in to our instinct in what makes us feel uncomfortable about people, and how that uncomfortableness may help save our lives. Gavin gives several examples from his own life and other people whom he has worked with on how their "gift of fear" helped save them from a high risk situation. Every female should read this book.
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Summary: A question of numerators and denominators
Review: Last weekend I stopped to help two stranded motorists and ended up inadvertently driving a prostitute all over town and helping one of the passengers obtain some drugs. I sheepishly told the story to a colleague, who said I have GOT to read "The Gift of Fear" I finished it in two days. It is engaging and interesting: lots of sex and violence. The main thesis 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. The author recounts how he grew up in a violent home and founded on of the largest risk assessment agencies in the world; one that advices police, movie stars, the FBI, the CIA, and anyone else worried about a possible assailant. After recounting dozens of murders and rapes, he ends his book by warning about watching too much violence in television and becoming overly worried. In his afterward, he recounts tales of several people who have been helped by his book. Now let me add a little of my own pop psychology: when one is in a conversation with another person, there are two useful things to ask yourself (other than the obvious question of veracity): why is the person telling me what they are and what are they not telling me that normally would be included. So I'm going to pretend, that the book is the author's conversation. First the why. The author wants to warn us to protect us. But also he includes dozens of examples about how astute he and his agency are. He engages us by telling us that he too has been a victim. He tells us that one can always protect oneself if we use the teachings found in the book, and that in the future it is likely that genetic testing or chemical testing of another individual will do away with his computer test assessments. There is a bit of blaming the victim: they somehow put up blinders to the signals they were getting and they should have known. I've heard the same thing about holocaust victims, and it disturbs me. Second: what is not told. All murders drank milk at one time in their lives, so milk drinking predicts violence. What is the chance of these same signals occuring in non violent situations? Which are really predictive in differentiating safe from unsafe situations? All people who shoot others have bought, borrowed, or stolen guns, so the absence of these totally predicts safety from being shot, but what is the actual risk from all persons that have a gun. How often to men stop to help a woman that is lifting a heavy suitcase and say "Let me help you with that" (when undoubtedly they should ask rather than say "May I help you") If one wants to talk to someone else, might one use the term "we" rather than "you" and "I" just out of the desire for conversation? These are grey areas. But most importantly, what is left out is why we discount our intuitions and how we can recognise and correct this. The answer can be found in most con games: we discount our instincts out of pride, greed, habituation, ethical bent, etc. That really should have been directly discussed rather than briefly touched on in a disconnected way. So if the conclusion is to be more attentive to our "gut feelings", the conclusion is the same as a hundred other self help books and somewhat banal. I would give this a 3/5 stars for engaging writing and some good insights into human nature and descriptions of details often left out of news reports. I wish he diminished his self promotion and scare tactics and had commented on frequency of PIM's in non dangerous situations.
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Summary: The Most Important Book I have Ever Read!
Review: This is the most important book I have ever read - I wish I could give it 10 stars. I am 32 years old and have had three stalking experiences. Two were mild...one was severe. I foolishly thought that, because I had survived those incidences, I was an expert in having it NOT happen again. As I read Gavin's book, I saw more and more that, not only was I clueless about how to protect myself, I was STILL making the same mistakes that landed me with stalkers to begin with. I was brought up in a world where you respect others and are always kind and courteous. There *are* benefits to being kind and courteous. But I was doing it in the wrong situations. I would be approached by a man that had I had no interest in. Instead of telling him firmly and forcefully that I was NOT interested, I would smile and let them know that was really flattered and, well, who knows what the future would bring. In other words, I always tried to let them down easy. And so they would come back again and again. This was a pattern that happened over and over in my life. My most serious stalking incident happened over ten years ago. Yet this person STILL contacts me. However, in the early years I handled it all wrong. My boyfriend at the time contacted him telling him to leave me alone. First I would hang up on him when he called. Next I had my number changed. Gavin's book showed me that everything I did to handle the situation could have potentially made the situation worse (it did!). I was threatened, harassed, made to constantly look over my shoulder. I can see now that I should have simply ignored the problem - not had anyone contact my stalker, not changed my number but instead have kept the number and just gotten an additional line. For the past 7 years, I have stopped reading the emails that this sick man sends me (I simply save them to a folder...unread). I never acknowledge his existence. That was the *only* right thing I have done in this situation. Now that I have read this book, I feel better prepared to handle situations like have happened in the past. I will be firm in my 'no's!' and unwavering in my speech. This book has helped me learn the tricks of the trade. I am *not* a professional counselor. I am just a person who has had a rough time in the past with people wanting to take advantage of a female's kindness. Thanks to this book, I am far better prepared to handle situations in the future. I think everyone should read this book. And everyone should give a copy to their loved ones. The Gift of Fear is a gift of empowerment!
Rating: 
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: This Book was really good. It's not something that I would normally read, but my sister's teacher talked about it in class, and was commenting on how good it was. When I started it I wasn't really sure what it was going to be about. I thought maybe the entire book was just going to be a story about this girl, and then it went on to explain how she saved herself from death. I really liked how it was so descriptive, and that he did have stories in it. It wasn't just some dumb only informational book. I'm glad I decided to actually finish reading it.
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Summary: Wake Up and Smell the Danger
Review: We in the civilized world spend a great deal of time and effort insulating ourselves from our instincts. We try to be open and friendly with strangers in the mistaken belief that this will strengthen our position within the circle of like-minded civilized people. We teach girls and women to not offend others, to act in a warm and loving manner, to be "nice." We disarm ourselves and call it a virtue. We beat our swords into plowshares. We value "trust." We are idiots. The Gift of Fear will open a few eyes--not enough, but a few. Buy it. But it now. Read it. Twice. Give it to your family and friends, anybody you care about. Buy a carton of them as stocking stuffers. You won't agree with every word De Becker writes, but you'll decrease your odds of becoming yet another preventable crime statistic.
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Summary: The Most Important Book to Come Along in Years
Review: I'm making a pretty bold statement here: 'The Gift of Fear' is the most important book I've read in years (and I read a lot of books). The book has received much publicity from many of places. But unfortunately, many people still think the book is for women (particularly single women) only. Nothing could be further from the truth. The whole premise of 'The Gift of Fear' is that each of us has a little voice inside of us that warns us of danger from others. Animals have it too. But unlike animals, we often seek to suppress our warning signals, thinking "This guy's harmless, what am I thinking?" or "He's just asking to come inside for a glass of water. What's the harm in that?" or "I can't ignore him. That would be rude. I don't want to appear rude." Every day people ignore the danger signals that are given off in response to those who mean to do us harm. De Becker shows us how and why this happens. The situations are endless: robbers, thieves, stalkers, disgruntled employees, former lovers/friends, even murderers. De Becker tells us how to recognize the danger signals and how NOT to ignore them. He also tells us how to deal with people who could endanger us, how to put a stop to threats, and why most restraining orders not only don't work, but usually work to the detriment of the one requesting the order. Yes, this is an extremely important book for all women to read, but don't stop there. Every man and woman should this book, especially if you have a family. Reading 'The Gift of Fear' will not guarantee that you will be completely free from danger for the rest of your life, it goes an awful long way towards that goal. Very highly recommended.
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