Antropologo

THE GIFT
OF FEAR
SURVIVAL SIGNALS THAT
PROTECT US FROM VIOLENCE

Gavin de Becker

The author is grateful for permission to
include the following previously copyrighted
material:
Excerpts from Amphigorey by Edward
Gorey. Copyright © by Edward Gorey. Reprinted by permission of Donadio & Ashworth, Inc.
Copyright © 1997 Gavin de Becker
New Foreword Copyright © 2010 Gavin de
BeckerAll rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including
information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

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To the two people who taught me the
most about courage and kindness: my sisters, Chrysti and Melissa. And for my mother, and grandfather, andfather.

Contents
Foreword to the Special Kindle Edition
Chapter 1: In the Presence of Danger
Chapter 2: The Technology of Intuition
Chapter 3: The Academy of Prediction
Chapter 4: Survival Signals
Chapter 5: Imperfect Strangers
Chapter 6: High-Stakes Predictions
Chapter 7: Promises to Kill (Understanding
threats)
Chapter 8: Persistence, Persistence (Dealing
with people who refuse tolet go)
Chapter 9: Occupational Hazards (Violence
in the workplace)

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Chapter 10: Intimate Enemies (Domestic
violence)
Chapter 11: “I Was Trying to Let Him Down
Easy” (Date-stalking)
Chapter 12: Fear of Children (Violent
children)
Chapter 13: Better to Be Wanted by the Police Than Not to Be Wanted at All (Attacks against public figures)
Chapter 14: Extreme Hazards
Chapter 15:The Gift of Fear
Acknowledgments
Appendix One:
Strategies

Signals

and

Predictive

Appendix Two: Help-Giving Resources
Appendix Three: Gun Safety
Appendix Four: Preparing the Mind for
Combat

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Appendix Five: Gavin de Becker & Associates
Appendix Six: The Elements of Prediction
Appendix Seven: Questions For Your Child’s
School
Recommended Reading

Note: Men of allages and in all parts of the
world are more violent than women. For this
reason, the language in this book is mostly
gender-specific to men. When it comes to violence, women can proudly relinquish recognition in the language, because here at least,
politically correct would be statistically
incorrect.
Every story in this book is true, and 90%
of the names used are the actual names of
thepeople involved. The remainder have
been changed to protect privacy or safety.
GdeB

Foreword to the Special
Kindle Edition

In 2009, when Oprah Winfrey kindly dedicated an hour-long show to commemorate the
tenth anniversary of the publication of this
book, my publisher rushed to get a bunch
more copies into print. They put out two editions, including one with a slightly revised
cover.Taken all together, The Gift of Fear has
been published in twenty-five editions, including the first hardback, several paperback

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versions, two audio-books, and at least
fifteen foreign-language versions.
Aside from content, what they all had in
common till now was bulk, weight, ink, paper, laminates, glue, and packaging at every
level—from the plastic they were sealed in tothe cartons they were shipped in. Every copy
spent some time in the back of a truck, train,
warehouse, or storeroom. Given that The
Gift of Fear was a #1 National bestseller in
the US and Canada, imagine how many trips
to how many stores so many people made.
With this special Kindle edition, my first
literary child is now freed from the bonds of
the material world, so to speak, and can sailinstantly, efficiently, and without waste to
anywhere on earth (and soon, beyond). No
more need for the reader to use a 3,000 lb
car to go get a 15-ounce book.
While the paper editions of The Gift of
Fear have indexes listing some notable

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references, this Kindle edition allows the
reader to find every occurrence of any reference, name, passage, subject, topic, or even...