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

Gavin de Becker is our nation’s best-known expert on the prediction and management of violence. In The Gift of Fear, de Becker draws on his extensive expertise to shatter the myth that most violent acts are random and unpredictable, but rather usually have discernible motives and are preceded by clear warning signs. Through dozens of gripping stories from his own career and life, he unravels the complexities of violent behavior and details the pre-incident indicators (PINs) that can determine if someone poses a danger.

Learn to predict dangerous behavior and how to evaluate whether someone will use violence, to recognize survival signals that warn about risk from strangers, to rely on your intuition and move beyond denial, and to separate real from imagined danger.

Gavin de Becker’s work has earned him three presidential appointments and a position on a congressional committee. He was twice appointed to the President’s Advisory Board at the US Department of Justice, and he served two terms on the Governor’s Advisory Board at the California Department of Mental Health. His 520-member consulting firm advises government agencies, universities, police departments, corporations, and media figures on the assessment of threats and hazards. Gavin de Becker & Associates maintains the world’s largest library of threat and obsessive communications, consisting of more than 400,000 pieces of material.