Prevention Books

This is a very comprehensive book on personal protection. It is far broader than a street self defense manual. It covers all kinds of self defense and safety issues.

It is very broad in its scope. Here are a few of the areas it addresses: street self defense, fire safety, mobs, traveling in strange cities, online shopping, and much more. As you can see, it is far reaching.

Prior to reading this, I never would have guessed that an author could cover such a broad range so well in such a relatively small book.

I would recommend this book for anyone who would like to improve his/her overall personal and family safety. There are numerous tips for parents of small children that are excellent.

You really can't go wrong with this book. It will stimulate lots of thought for most readers.

I read lots of books like this, and I found absolutely nothing new in here. In fact, it looked a bit familiar. With the checklists, the boxed tips, the statistics and the vignettes, it looked an awful lot to me like Be Alert, Be Aware, Have A Plan: The Complete Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Home, Your Family, by Neal Rawls. Really, it looks like Patire got his whole idea on how to present his material from the Be Alert book (which, by the way, was a much much better book). I say don't bother.

I highly recommend this book on all levels. As a martial artist who has done many martial arts, I have to say, this information really rings true. For example, he states, the goal of self-defense should be to "stun and run" - which almost anyone who knows the field will tell you. For example, where I train, we "stay and commit", but most of us are pretty highly trained. I have also done some of the "military martial arts" that Tom describes, and to be honest, in a "bad" situtation that I can't talk my way out of, i count on it to save my life, and I have been trained to "fight through the adrenaline dump" by the Israelis I trained with. But I also realize, most people don't have time to do that kind of training. So Tom's program is really useable for people who don't want to become experts in the martial arts. His book is full of lots of information that can literally save your life (for instance, have a map before you visit a new city, etc.). The book is full of anecdotes of personal protection. I particularly liked his advice on using your eyes to scan a room, and how to confront a "bad guy" who is sizing you up (you basically stare through him to let him know you are not afraid). A lot of his advice comes down to projecting confidence and not being a "victim", becuase universally, bad guys go after people whose body language, eyes, and positure suggest that they are not willing to defend themselves. So this is an excellent book on personal protection that I would highly recommend to anyone, from the beginning to the true pro.

We hired Tom Patire to speak at our annual PTA event here in Chicago. I was on the committee that sought him out after I read his book and saw him on Fox. The book is an updated look into safety and has some similarities of other books in this catergory but it is written in much different, more people friendly format.

Tom takes the approach of easing the reader into different safety issues by relating them to factual events in his life. Because of that the book reads life a story of safety and not like a book of boring statistics. I loved the Tom's Tips but really was intrigued to his child safety training since I am a single mother of two young girls.

What really hit home was how Tom talks about 'seeing from their eyes' and their being the children of the world. The book can be used in different ways. For example it can be used as a guide to safety issues like when you travel or safety at home. It can also be used as a call to urgency because safety is usually not a subject that we like to think about or address.

It gets even better should you attend Tom's talk. Tom is a big, in-shape, charismatic guy that has a empowering way of getting you involved in his lecture which he calls 'Safer Life!' From his opening statement to his closing remarks Tom's becomes the big brother that we all wish we had and presents safety with out installing fear.

I gave his book 5 stars as I did Gavin DeBecker's book. But Patire's talk is the missing piece to the safety puzzle. It's one I would recommend for all people, especially single mom's to attend.

Have A Blessed Day!

Kim K.

A family from my town in Wisconsin recently appeared on the Montel Show. Watching the show one had to feel for the terrible ordeal that the family went through during their violent home invasion. At the end of the show Montel brought out a security expert named Tom Patire. Mr. Patire's comments were for everyday people and his tone and way of speaking showed his compasion for human life and left me feeling empowered. This led me to buy his book. The book is beter than good - it is excellent. It's for all ages from teens to seniors and is filled with unlimted, priceless information on how to keep you and the people you love, safe. Montel open my eyes to what can happen and Tom Patire gave me the information on how not to let it happen or what to do if.

Montel - Great Show!
Tom Patire - Great Book!!

This book was given to me to read when I took my first fire fighter class. My instructor loaned me her copy and I ended up buying my own copy. The tragic events detailed in this book led me into teaching fire prevention and making sure that a tragedy such as this never happens again.

I have recommended this book to several people both in and outside of the fire service. Everyone that I know who have read it have been touched by this story. I have also given this book as a gift to several students taking their first steps into the fire service so that they never forget the impact a tragic fire can have.

I love to read and I feel that this is one of the best books I have ever read. I am also a firefighter and decided to read this book because it had to do with a historic fire, little did I know that I would love this book for much more than historic and educational reasons. This book was very well written and showed all aspects of this event from the firefighters to the victims themselves. I would recomden this book to anyone who wants a good read, as well as to anyone who is interested in fire history.

This was a fascinating book. I bought it to read on a trip, because of the excellent ratings. We were stuck in a plane on a runway in Dallas for 6 hours. The wait seemed much shorter, because I was thoroughly involved in reading this book.

I highly recommend it.

There are some hard parts to get through describing the fire, but you'll appreciate the Chicago history, the history around the event, what it did to the surrounding neighborhood and how it changed fire codes in the U.S. and likely the world. Your children are safer today because of what happened to these kids.

The book also made me replace all of my smoke detectors!

This is one Chicago tragedy that resonates with me strongly. My former attorney, recently deceased, was a survivor of the deadly fire at Our Lady of Angels Catholic School.

Despite our shared interest in history, he never spoke of the fire during the twenty years in which I knew him. Last year, I found a web site maintained by survivors of the fire and questioned him about the inclusion of his name and that of his sister on the list. His sole response was that the entries were correct. Both had attended school on December 1, 1958, the date of the fire. Our brief conversation proceeded no further. My friend was visibly uncomfortable and I did not make press him with additional inquiries.

Having read this well written account of the fire and the arson investigation, I can understand why my friend preferred to change the subject. This book is compelling, but it is not for the faint of heart. The descriptions contained in "To Sleep With Angels" will haunt and disturb you. You may not be able to read the book without pausing to weep.
I could not read the book in a single sitting.

It is difficult to forget any of the tragic events described in "To Sleep With the Angels." In no particular order, the random images include a father, who rushed to the school with a ladder to rescue trapped children, watching his own son perish in a cloud of toxic smoke as the ladder was too short to reach a high window; a sick ten year old girl had a premonitory dream, but within a few hours the same child felt much better and asked her mother to let her attend school after recess; from an upper floor window, frightened children recognized an adult neighbor, the owner of the local candy store, and began shouting at the woman and begging her to help save them. The terrible list goes on and on as the authors relate the individual memories and recollections of many of the survivors, the families of the victims, the witnesses and the investigators.

More than ninety persons perished that on that cold December afternoon. In addition to ninety-two students, three nuns were also killed in the burning building. A majority of the victims succumbed on account of smoke inhalation. In the aftermath of the fire, a national campaign was launched to improved fire safety at schools throughout the USA.

Almost as painful as the fire itself was the ultimate fate of many of the survivors. Following the tragedy, many local residents began to move away from their formerly beloved parish. Some people would describe the exodus of the families from the blue collar West Side neighborhood as white flight, but others believed that it was simply too painful for many parents and children to continue living in close proximity to the school where their loved ones had died. They needed to find new surroundings in which to live rather than be reminded of the tragedy on a daily basis. There were far too many unanswerable questions: How many additional lives might have been saved if a set of doors had been closed? How many children would have been spared if the fire had occurred fifteen minutes later after the three o'clock dismissal bell? Why wasn't the fire alarm bell sounded at the school more quickly? Firefighters felt that they could have saved many more lives if they had been given the correct building address and had arrived on the scene four minutes sooner.

No one was ever prosecuted for the crime of arson in connection with the suspicious fire. A juvenile offender set the fire, but he could not be tried under Illinois law since the crime occurred before his thirteenth birthday. This same minor was subsequently tried and convicted for a series of arsons committed in suburban Cicero, where his family moved after the fire at Our Lady of the Angels. The authors posit that church and civil authorities sought to shield the identity of the boy on account of his minority. This explanation is wholly credible.

After my friend's funeral, his two sisters related that their brother regularly attended memorial masses held to honor those who died in the fire at Our Lady of the Angels. The elder sister, who had also attended the school on the day of the fire, exited the building safely. Her brother was also escaped without serious injury. Their father heard a radio broadcast concerning the fire while driving his car and he was permitted to enter the police cordon to look for his children. He was unaware that they had arrived home safely during the confusion. There was a great deal of crying when the children and parents were reunited at their home that afternoon. These personal stories are not repeated in the book.
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In a bizarre and equally disturbing development, one of the authors of this book was convicted of arson after setting a fire to a storage building opposite St. Benedict's Catholic Church on the North side of Chicago in June of 2005. Thankfully, only property damage resulted from the fire. David Cowan was said to be despondent after losing his janitorial job. The defendant, who was also a former suburban firefighter, was sentenced to serve a three year prison term in December of that same year. He has been paroled. Ironically, he was also the author a book entitled, "Great Chicago Fires" and had reported on fires for various newspapers.

This book doesn't waste time. It picks up on the morning of the disaster when foolish decisions are made one after another, and ends at the very last trial of the villains. In between, the pace is quick and the disaster is described fully without being ghoulishly heavy on gore. The most memorable and heartbreaking parts of the book are in the descriptions of what happened AFTER the fire: the discovery that the children whose hands you were just holding had vanished; the hopeful trips through the hospitals, the inevitable multiple trips to the morgue, and the realization that most of the missing had vanished forever and would never be found. The impact of going to school and seeing that a third of the chairs were now empty. The people who went insane with grief after losing entire families. The couple who had to walk to the cemetery with their baby's coffin under their arm like a package for the post because the undertakers were overwhelmed and overbooked with hundreds of funerals taking place that week, and the next, and the next.

For all its excellence, though, I have two criticisms. One is that too many victims were singled out at the beginning of the book without being "refreshed" later on during the description of the disaster. Did the girl who sneaked onto the boat without telling her mother survive? How about the girl who received an extra ticket at the last moment from a shopkeeper? You have to go back and find it again, which isn't easy since there's no index and I'll bet you won't remember their names.

The second criticism is that the author inserts paragraphs of coolly-written modern psychology and science into dramatic descriptions of events, which is jarring because it tends to break up the narrative. The beginning of the fire is described up to the point where someone opens a door and lets in oxygen, at which point we're treated to a two page introduction to the scientific stages and nomenclatures of fire before we get back to the story. It happens again when the fire is first spotted on deck (two pages on the psychology of panic and mob mentality) and again when people first start jumping overboard into the water (Drowning 101). It's vaguely helpful in understanding why things happened as they did, but it's still annoying.

Prior to September 11, 2001, the burning of the General Slocum was New York City's worst disaster in terms of casualty rate. An estimated 1300 Lower East Side residents, most of them members of St. Mark's Lutheran parish, boarded the steamer on the morning of June 15, 1904 for the annual church picnic at Eatons Neck, Long Island. Barely two hours later, a blaze broke out in a storage compartment, possibly ignited by a carelessly thrown match or cigarette. The steamboat immediately became a floating death trap: although the Slocum had passed a recent safety inspection, the life preservers were rotted, the fire hoses were damaged, and wires immobilized the lifeboats. The captain, William Van Schaick, had also never put the crew through a fire drill. By the time the ship was beached on North Brother Island, over a thousand passengers had been burned to death or drowned. The public and the 321 survivors demanded justice, but never got it. The inspector who certified the Slocum as safe and the ship's owners, who had shied from the expense of maintaining the safety equipment, were not punished for their negligence. Only Captain Van Schaick received a prison term of ten years, but the federal parole board released him after three.

Edward T. O'Donnell has done a first-rate job in his coverage of this forgotten calamity. In addition to recounting the final moments of the doomed ship and its passengers, he explores the corruption of government officials, the callous arrogance of Gilded Age big business, and other factors that contributed to the tragedy and its aftermath. He also helps the reader understand why, considering the high death toll, the General Slocum disaster was forgotten so quickly. His research sources are impeccable: he interviewed elderly survivor Adella Wotherspoon and obtained access to a detailed scrapbook that her family maintained for years. In my opinion, O'Donnell's fast-paced writing style and attention to detail has rescued this story of devastating loss, incomparable heroism, and appalling institutional arrogance from its undeserved obscurity.

"Ship Ablaze" helps fill in gaps of history that for one reason or other our parents, grand-parents, uncles and aunts. I grew up in that neighborhood and attended the LCMS (Trinity) Lutheran Church on 9th St. and Ave. B., yet I had to wait until late in life to learn of this disaster and the long term impact it had on the area. While the congregation I belonged to was not in worship fellowship with St. Mark's, I am certain that one would find a history of humanitarian fellowship at the time. But, these would be in the old records of that congregation written in German script. We need not only researchers, but multilingual researchers, in this incident as although there were those born in America, they lived a German life. My generation was the first not to speak German from birth. When I went to Germany to live for a while, I find myself very much at home despite the fact that this was post WWII Germany. If there are researchers interested out there who are fluent in German, a place they might want to look at is the resources of the NY Public Library and Concordia Historical Institute, St. Louis (records of the original Trinity on microfilm).

An excellent book about the General Slocum disaster, a 1904 steamboat fire that killed more than 1,000 people, mostly women and children on a church outing. Absolutely mesmerizing from start to finish.

This disaster has been hidden from historical references better than anything I've ever come across. Over 1,000 people die horribly, mostly women and children, and the following has occurred:

The 2004 Microsoft Encarta DVD Encyclopedia makes absolutely no reference to this event.

The book "New York Times Page One" does not show this as one of it's important front page dates.

The book "Chronicles of the 20th Century" (1300+ pages) only makes mention of the ship's owners being found negligent, not the event itself.

The largest loss of life from a single disaster from 1904 until 2001 and they can't mention it! Thankfully, this book does it justice and brings the hidden truth to light.

Dr. Reiss is a pioneer in the field of hormone balance for women. THis book is really every women's best friend when trying to understand the complicated effects of hormone imbalance. But even better than that, he tells you exactly what to do to make it better! This book stands the test of time and should be a continous reference and reminder for each one of us.

I found this book to be highly informative and detailed. Most doctors do not go into this kind of detail or they don't know enough about hormones. My doctor is limited to only the what pharmaceutical companies tell them. I highly recommend this book to any female premenopausal, menopausal or postmenopausal.

This book saved my life, that's how bad my hot flashes, insomnia, mood swing & fatige were... made worse by a woman internist who wanted to put me on high blood pressure medicine (my BP is normal) or a male gyn/ob who told me my symptoms were 'normal' and they'd be 'gone in 10 years' & then offered anti-depressants. Instead, I demanded bioidentical hormones, showed him the author's (board certified gyn) chapters on how to tell your MD what blood tests you need, then with the help of my compounding pharmacy, he was able to write a prescription for tri-est gel (which is covered by insurance) & progesterone caps and within 24 hours, my mood swings vanished, the hot flashes stopped, I was able to sleep, the mental fogginess went away & I was my happy self again. OTC DHEA (every AM) also helped. I've recommended this book to many women. Menopause is a hormone deficiency & there's no reason it shouldn't be treated as one... the problem is, US MDs don't study this in AMA run medical schools. Bioidientical hormones have been studied in Europe & Canada for decades & are being studied in Japan. Since Big Pharma controls/funds research in the US, and bioidenticals can't be patented, there's no research in US medical schools because there's no money to be made from it. As someone who was unable to tolerate Fosamax, my bone density scans showed a 3.3% increase in bone density after 3 months on bioidenticals, DHEA, liquid calcium & 1000 IU of vitamin D. The bone density specialist did a dance & asked me for the name of this book.

This book was recommended by my longevity physician, and I can understand why. It is a great guide to anyone using or considering natural hormone replacement therapy (which is a gift from God and Nature by the way...) This publication is not just about menopause, it is about female (and male) hormones across the lifespan. It helps you to self regulate by learning your own symptoms. And at these prices, everyone should have a copy in the family medical library!

I am now a happy, WELL-RESTED 40 yr old due to this book (and another book: What your Dr may not tell you about PreMenopause) Both of these have saved my LIFE, most importantly my SLEEP!

For the past few years (after having a 3rd child) from age 37 onward, I could no longer fall deeply asleep, nor get REM/Delta SLEEP and NOTHING would work! (except Ambien)

Well now I've learned about natural Progesterone cream, and other helpful necessary hormones the body may need (and mine did): DHEA and Melatonin, I now use all three of those nearly every night at bedtime: One tiny dab of a natural progesterone cream, (2 sprays equal to 10 mg) of a DHEA spray called Biosom, and a half of a pill (1 mg or less) of Melatonin Plus by Schiff (Found at Sam's, it also contains Vit B6 and L-Theanine,also very important additions to helping Melatonin work).

NOW, I sleep like a baby, every night!
No more Ambien!:)

THIS regimen works for ME, PLEASE do NOT follow my steps WITHOUT checking with your doctor/Naturopath, FIRST!!!

Buy this book (and the other one I mentioned).

OB/GYN's disappointed me by recommending HRT or even hysterectomy, ALL because I simply had hormone-imbalance-related Insomnia and Adrenal fatigue.

My father, a well-intentioned school teacher who never met any situation that couldn't be turned into an object lesson, gave me this book to read when I was 14. There was no preamble, just, "Here." To this day I remember several passages in horrific detail, so I can safely say that the writing was clear, effective, and moving.

I somehow doubt my Dad thought I was going to become a child abuser someday, but this book certainly fixed in my mind the horror that a child can endure at the hands of adults and I believe in my heart that I would never do anything like this to a child. I don't know if it could have that effect on everyone, but perhaps it should be assigned reading--it certainly couldn't hurt to try.

I'm in the Navy. I'm 32 years old with a 3-year-old girl. I think I read this book about a year ago and it touches me every day. I think about it all the time. I picture Ursula, I pray for her, I pray to God she's with him. I look at my little girl with her long, blond locks and think that in around two years she will be Ursula's age. It breaks my heart to know she is learning the alphabet as Ursula did. It causes me to cringe deep down to imagine such an innocent, lovely creature such as a small child would endure torture at the hands of those she was supposed to be loved by and who should have cared for her. The truth is that I finished it in spurts, crying and yelling at the bathroom ceiling when my husband was at work and my daughter at preschool, the only time I could find to devote to little Ursula's story. I see her picture in my mind's eye. I have a BS in Business Admin, and not in Social Work, but I hope to retire from the military someday and find my place in the world helping children instead of residing in the business world, as I had previously planned. I owe it to Ursula, and I owe it to my little girl so I can help her see that people should care for each other and try to make a difference.

How can you read this book and NOT feel compelled to help a child who is suffering...? Children can't protect themselves. Even as strict as our laws are, we need them to address, above all, crimes against children as the most heinous of our society. Protection of all children should be our #1 priority. It's the only way to make our future bright.

I read this book and it took me about a week!! Why??? Because everytime I started to read it the tears just started flowing! It is unthinkable what this poor child went through. I cannot even imagine what the mother was thinking or should I say "monster" because she is by NO means a mother! I can just feel for this little girl, she was so wanting to please her monster to no avail. Right up to the end thats all she wanted to do. HOW can people do THIS??? There is barely a day when I don't think about Ursula and wish SOMEONE had done SOMETHING to stop this! To me it's ridiculous how people can just ignore it or not see it. This world just gets worse day by day. For you URSULA I say the world is cruel. I love you!

I grew up and still live in Central Florida and when this book came out, it was required reading in high school. I will never forget how the book made me feel. It's a very hard book to read and has many emotions all wrapped up into such a small package. I highly recommend this book. It's basically the authors recreating the last days of this little girls life.

This book is the true story of a woman who allowed a live in boyfriend to abuse her child - to death. It shows also how many people the child tried to reach out to (next door neighbors) and how many people witnessed her suffering (doctors, teachers) and did not do anything. It is a horrifying account of a man's desire to control a child's behavior through evil and dehumanizing tactics. Children need to be understood. It is wrong to expect behaviors from children beyond their years, comprehension, abilities. This little girl was a normal child with normal behaviors, and unfortunately her mom chose someone to be with that was unable and unwilling to cope with having a little girl around. It is tragic. Please read it.

Great story, it was hard to read at times. The brutality of the Chetchen terrorists is unthinkable, EVEN BY TALIBAN STANDARTS !!

The herorism of the Russian soldgers that went all out to save as many children as they could restored some of my faith in humanity.

Great book that is something we should all read because it will happen here sooner or later!!!

This book should be be considered "must read" materials for parents with children attending school. The first 3 parts of the book addresses the terror attack itself and what the terrorists hoped to achieve. The last part talks about teaching your child to survive. In these days and times, children are "locked down" in a school when something happens. If I were a terrorists or just a VT or Columbine nutcase I would thank you for teaching your child to sit and wait for me. Please read this book and help keep your children alive. Even if you only read part 4 of the book, it will be worth it.

Wow! A real eye opener. What has become of the human race?! This book is very powerful. Written to "capture" you from the first page. We live in a world with so very many differences. Wars have been fought from the beginning of time. Children have lost their lives due to "collateral damage". And now, our school are being targeted. Not to destroy, but to use our children as weapons. This book brings out our need to become aware of the dangers that now exist within our own country. "We're not in Kansas anymore".

A fantastic book that connects the dots of terrorist acts in Russia to those in the U.S., the Middle East, Africa and Israel. Should be required reading for school administrators, military and law enforcement officers.

The attrocities committed by the terrorists are difficult to read about, but necessary in order to understand. I applaud the author for recognizing the contributions that can be made by the general population. It has been a long time since the public at large have been engaged in the defense of this country, and that needs to change as soon as possible.

I waited a long time to get this book, because it was sold out everywhere I looked, and now I understand why.

This story is a tragedy through and through. What happened in Russia cannot be allowed to happen here. It's time to stop being politically correct pandering to fanatics. These people do not understand good will, they only respect ferocity that is greater than their own.
Mr. Giduck puts you on the ground, at the school. You will hear the children , you will feel the anguish, and you will become angry. You will not be able to put this book down.
SSG John Tidona
NYG G3 NCOIC

Well written stories in the style of "The Armed Citizen" excerpts in NRA publications. Instead of just focusing on the incident, the author also gives background information on the victim and the aftermath.

Especially interesting were the stories from recent events in the news such as New Orleans during Katrina and Mark Wilson in Tyler.

For those who believe in the right to self-defense, these stories highlight the consequences of using deadly force to defend yourself. Not everyone is going to pat you on the back for saving your own life. For those who believe individuals should rely on some government official for protection, these stories may cause you to reconsider that notion.

Bottom line...a good book that provides much food for thought.

These stories are about people that had a gun when they needed one. You don't hear about these in the paper. You only hear about the ones (Usually DEAD) that didn't have one. Good read!

"Thank God I Had a Gun" by Chris Bird

This is a book of stunning accounts wherein ordinary people protected themselves from assault, for the simple reason that they had a firearm on hand with which to defend themsevles.

Stories such as these, wherein ordinary people defend themselves against criminal violence do not receive much attention in the media. Their stories do not always appear in print or in news accounts. Nonetheless, many Americans do protect themselves and their loved ones on a regular basis. Ordinary people, in their homes and places of business, subjected to criminal attacks, do not always suffer injury and death, if they have the will to survive, and a firearm in their grasp. The unarmed however, are not so fortunate. They become statistics, and end up in the morgue or the hospital on many occasions.

The author is very experienced in the use of handguns and makes his living as a shooting instructor.

Most people, with no criminal background, can purchase a firearm for self defense. The background check takes between 20 minutes to 1 hour generally. After which time, you can leave the store with the means to protect yourself. That, and some affordable self-defense classes in firearms saftey and uses, can make the difference between living and dying, or going through life with nightmares for memories.

A very good and informative read for those who desire to educate themselves regarding the facts of firearms possession. Whether renter, housewife and mother, businessman, or just plain folks, this book is very useful.

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Of course you will not be able to put down the book because you are on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next in each story. Chris Bird doesn't just focus on the story itself like a cheap Hollywood film. Details of each victims personality, what led to the incident, how the police responded and the aftermath (how people who defend themselves feel afterward) gives you a lot of food for thought. There is probably someone who was involved in defending themselves that you can relate to. I bought this and the The Best Defense by Waters, read them in a few days each, and passed them among girlfriends. They make great conversation; we consider the possibility of an earthquake putting us in a situation like the Katrina chapter. Or what gun control means to an older woman who lives alone. Also, knowing what really happens when gunfire is exchanged, you will never look at an action adventure movie or police drama the same again!

I was very pleased that I learned so much from this book. I am an advocate of personal responsibility and self defense is a part of that. I try to think of ways to keep myself from ever having a confrontation and ways to remove myself from one if it were to happen. This book gives accurate descriptions of how people behaved in these times of stress, and while reading them I automatically inserted myself into the situation and noted how I "think" I would behaved differently were it me. At the conclusion of each story, I was able to compare what actually happened to what may have happened had it been me and I found some of my decisions to be in error. Hopefully I'll never have to be in one of those stories, but if I am, hopefully I'll be able to apply the knowledge gained from this book.

I was very pleased with the depth of this book. The amount of work and research that was done is obvious. This book is intense, with an active imagination you can almost feel the pain and horror this child endured. Excellent job of writing with a presentation that is unique. (Special note to Eric) Thank you for writing this book. Sylvia Baker, CRNI

This book is a book that anyone who is considering a career in any type of child services needs to read. I myself am going into social services and this book made me realize what I will be seeing on a daily basis. Mary Ellen was such a brave little girl and I applaud her for surviving her early life!

The book Out Of The Darkness is an awesome book. It shows the hard time that a little girl named Mary Ellen had to go threw. She has such a hard life, but in the end everything work out. I recommend this book for everybody. This is an outstanding book, everybody should read it.

I'm Eric Shelman, co-author of Out of the Darkness. I just wanted to ask that if you buy this book, come on back and write a review of it when you're done. I've never had anything but positive feedback about it, but others can use YOUR personal experience with it to better judge it prior to purchasing. I thank all of you who have read and commented on our book.

The authors of this book have created a wonderful window of understanding how child abuse/neglect has evolved over the years. This book should be required reading for anyone interested in the human service field. Through the heart-felt story of Mary Ellen, we can see why there is such a strong need to protect children and continue to evolve for many more years. Thank you to Shelman & Lazoritz for telling such an important story.

This book brings to light the daily hazards that exist in everyone of our lives, even if we are completly unaware of them. I am not am alarmist and I don't think this author is nor is this book writen in that way. However it does show in a very real manner the day to day dangers that we as normal people face in evry day life in america. With the number of criminals inceasing and an ever inceasing crime rate, not to mention the over crowded prision system turning convicted criminals loose early from prision we are subjected to more and more dangerous people out on the streets of cities and nieghborhoods then ever before. With this being the hard facts, I think that we all need to look at ways we can keep ourselves and our families safe from these threats as we are out and about in the world and inside our own homes and not rely on the ploice as we did in the old days. This books address' just such subjects, from what to do, to how to do it and what role your children should take in these saftey measures. We make plans with our families on what to do if the house were to catch on fire, so why not make a plan on what to do if someone breaks-in ( a home intrusion ) the most vaiolent crime there is. (violating your families private place even when you are there and endangering their lives)These are just some of the topics discussed in this must read book! As I said before if you are raising a faimily do them and yourself the justice of reading this book yours or their life may someday be saved by what you read. In todays world there is a true saying and this is why this book on how to protect you and your family is so important and not relying on the police to do that for you anymore and that saying goes like this: WHEN SECONDS COUNT THE POLICE ARE ONLY MINUTES AWAY! So we must have plans on how to take care of oursevles. I hope you buy and read this and find it to be as much of a help as I have.

I've been a security and risk consultant for over 20 years and continue to study martial arts and self-defence. I have developed and delivered self-defence, personal protection and travel safety courses for individuals, government and corporate sector and I continue to highly recommend this book to all and sundry. Being able to punch and kick is not the answer. These sort of skills might be useful if you practice regularly but the best option is not to be in that situation in the first place. If you do find yourself in trouble, it will more often than not be the mental aspects and preparation that will get you through.

Stong on Defense includes many of the areas that some so-called self defence books and courses gloss over - the psychological aspects of preparation and above all avoidance. His thinking on preparedness and developing plans BEFORE you get into trouble are spot on. Definitely one of the better books in this area and a must-read for everyone.

I bought this book a few years ago and was astounded by it's quality. Strong
analyzes assaults and murders pointing out mistakes and suggests tactics. Women especially should read this book. Fore thought will empower them if a crisis arises.
A take away message that I will always remember---never let him take you to crime scene #2(a place of his choosing)as it will only get worse.

This book is a must read and should be passed on to others. The slaughter at Virginia Tech was the reason I revisited Amazon and recommended this book.

It's a good book, but hold off on buying it for a few days. The sleazy sellers here on Amazon have jacked their prices all the way from $25 to $80 (and even $199!) in one day, based on a small uptick in interest from one website recommending the book.

Wait ONE WEEK, then check back, and buy the book for it's standard price of $25 or so. Don't let these sellers rob you.

This is absolutely one of the best books on self defense that I have ever read.

Sanford Strong has written an excellent primer on personal protection. As he says, this book is not about crime prevention; it is about crime survival.

Much of the book has to do with the right mindset which is a critical element in surviving. Many people are seriously hurt or killed because of lack of mental preparation.

The author uses numerous case studies to illustrate his points and has plenty of data to support them. His four rules of survival are key. One could follow these and be in a much better position to survive a violent encounter.

His commentary about mindset is essential. Here are some of his points: Expect to be injured. If the fear of injury is paramount, you will not have the will to escape. If violence strikes you, the police will not be there to protect you. Don't ever believe a criminal. If he is just planning to rob you, there is no need for him to move you to another location. Your best chance for escape/resistance is at the beginning.

In the action area, his focus is on escape. Too many self defense 'experts' advise you to use numerous techniques. I believe that these have their place, but the most important thing to do is get out of there. Remember that violent criminals don't follow Marquess of Queensbury rules.

I could go on about this book for a long time. The bottom line is that it is excellent and is a must read. Buy it; read it; absorb it.

Rusesabagina starts his book with a most memorable entry:
"This is a work of nonfiction. All of the people and events described herein are true as I remember them. For legal and ethical reasons, I have given pseudonyms to a handful of private Rwandan citizens. Each time this is done, the change is noted in the text.
My name is Paul Rusesabagina. I am a hotel manager."
With those simple words he solidifies the ultimate strengths and weaknesses of the book.

Overall, An Ordinary Man is an excellent book, written by someone who actually experienced the terrifying happenings of Rwanda. In fact, the author is responsible for saving 1,268 people. However, he maintains that he was just merely doing his job; he was simply a "hotel manager, trained to negotiate contracts and provide shelter for those who need it" (204), nothing more and nothing less. The book is a simple read, but do not think the simplicity of his words undermines their significance. It allows his book to reach a much larger audience, and, in doing so, he is able to call out that the "tools of death [can become] reappropriated. They [can become] tools of life" (204).

In the end, Paul Rusesabagina provides us with shimmering hope, in light of tragedy. He reminds us that ordinary men have the ability to ward off evil. Ordinary men can do what is right, what is decent, and what is just. Ordinary men hold this power. He reminds us that there are good people who stand in the face of evil. There are those who can make a difference, and those are the ones who must act: because there is an evil out there. There is an evil we must all fear every day: the indifference of good men.

Like all the other book that I order at this time this book give their perspective on the affect of war. The class inwhich these books are being used is based on the affects of war from different nationallities.

Surprisingly everyone else rates this as 5 out of 5.
It is good, but not that good.
Paul's writing style is a little dry at times, and shows his limited education.
It is also a littel disjointed , and doesn't give enough insight into characters that he had known before the genocide, and they could have been expanded with further background.
The book took longer to read than it should have, and did not hold my interest or intensity as others on this subject have.
Nevertheless, it is a great adjunct to understanding the movie "Hotel Rwanda" , from which this film was based.
Still an essential part of everyone's library, but I would probably not read it twice.
Derek

My product arrived in time and in very good condition!

would definitely purchase again

This autobiography was written very well. The author was committed to getting the facts out without glorifying himself. Done very well. I appreciated being told about the genocide in Rwanda without all the gore. I understood perfectly what he was describing without seeing it on screen. I learned so much from both his experience and his trials trying to get help from other nations. Great book!