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

""Remember that the vast majority of violent people started as you did, felt what you felt, wanted what you wanted,"" admonishes the author. ""The difference is in the lessons they learned."" De Becker, founder of his self-named company that designed a system used to screen threats aimed at public figures, grew up in a volatile household in which, at one time, he witnessed his mother, a victim of repeated beatings, shoot at and nearly kill her husband. Here he writes how he learned to sense and move away from dangerous situations. According to him, it is possible to develop survival skills based on intuition that can protect us from people unable to control their violent instincts. De Becker argues that the tendency of TV news programs to air stories of unusual disasters as immediate dangers interferes with our ability to discriminate between real and manufactured fear. A practical if pedestrian guide to enhancing the safety of yourself and your loved ones. (June)