The gift of fear

I don't have a photo here because honestly, think about the type of book about which people say "don't judge a book by its cover". The book is blue, minus its dust jacket, about 15 years old, and has ancient Sellotape, library labels and barcode on the cover and that's it. Not pretty.

It's called The gift of fear, and is by Gavin De Becker. I requested it via Bonus+ (of which more anon), because it is constantly recommended by Carolyn Hax, a Washington post advice columnist  I have just discovered. It is about violence and how to recognise it, particularly through 'the gift of fear' - our intuition that something is wrong. He argues that this intuition is usually fed by things we've noticed but not consciously recognised.

He covers things like violent employees, domestic abuse, assassinations, and attackers. He argues against the idea of senseless, unpredictable violence - it is usually predictable (if you can recognise the signs) and sense-filled (in the attacker's mind anyway). Some of the cases he cites of people ignoring signs are truly unbelievable, such as the wife who believed that her husband's violence came out of 'nowhere', but maybe the fact that his first wife died as a result of his beatings might have been a sign!

The author survived a violent childhood and now runs a firm that works with government, firms, and individuals to predict , prevent and deal with violence. Sound fascinating? It is. 

Oh and bonus+? It's an arrangement Massey has with over 10 Aussie uni libraries that means staff and students can borrow their books for free. I love it. Access to several million more books? Priceless.