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Just 2 Seconds
Think of every assassination you've ever heard about. For most people, a few of these major ones come to Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Anwar Sadat, John Lennon, Israel's Prime Minister Rabin, Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto. From start to finish, all of these attacks combined took place in less than one minute. And the hundreds of attacks studied for this book, all of them combined, took place in less than a half-hour. Those thirty minutes, surely the most influential in world history, offer important insights that can help today's protectors defeat tomorrow's attackers. This 650-Page Book An original work of new insights arising from ten years of research;
The Five Essential Lessons for protectors;
The Compendium - 400 pages of summarized attacks, near attacks, and incidents against at-risk persons all over the world from 1960-2007, more than 1400 entries;
and the Appendices - More than 100 pages of additional material and resources.
The Five Essential Lessons for protectors;
The Compendium - 400 pages of summarized attacks, near attacks, and incidents against at-risk persons all over the world from 1960-2007, more than 1400 entries;
and the Appendices - More than 100 pages of additional material and resources.
655 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
About the author
Gavin de Becker
34 books530 followersGavin de Becker is an expert on the prediction and management of violence. He has served on President's Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Governor's Advisory Board at the California Department of Mental Health; he now runs a consulting firm which advises government agencies, universities, police departments, corporations, and media figures on the assessment of threats and hazards.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 28, 2008
This is a book about preventing assassination, in three parts.
1. The real substance, about 140 pages long, of the book. The fundamental premise is that assassination can be stopped.
The key principle in the book is that at some point, when the attacker makes some action that cannot be undone, the Moment of Commitment, time stops being on the side of the attacker and becomes on the side of the protector. The sooner the protectors recognize what is happening, the Moment of Recognition, the more likely the attack is to fail. Much of this book is about how to make that time as short as possible, and most of the work is mental--how to keep the mind from wandering, how to position oneself in the best place, etc.
There are some interesting tidbits scattered throughout--25 feet distance between attacker and victim virtually guarantees safety for handgun attacks. 7 feet between protector and attacker gives a surprisingly good chance of preventing the attack. Alert guards can be a strong deterrent to attack--Arthur Bremer (who shot George Wallace) wanted to kill Nixon, but security was too tight. Kennedy's quote that assassination cannot be prevented because a man just has to be willing to trade his life for the president's life is bogus--many assassins don't fear death; they fear failure.
A major point is that in an exercise known as 'time and distance' it is possible to focus entirely on the physical interaction--it turns out that if the protector can be near the attacker (either right next to, or 7 feet away), protectors often succeed. 15 feet is a bit far, but protectors can sometimes succeed. Having a second protector near the protectee helps too, though the "projected" protection--being near the attacker--is better.
2. A compendium of assassination attempts. Kind of boring, extremely long (about 400 pages). Did you know that Charles de Gaulle survived 31 assassination attempts? Colombia is incredibly dangerous. Luck plays a role. Probably a good resource for researchers, but not all that exciting.
3. A collection of "essays" in the form of 13 Appendices (maybe 50 pages). The most interesting one is on the OODA loop--Observe, Orient, Decide, Act--and how the most important stages are the OOD, but many people train for the A. Example: people get really good at target shooting, but in real life, target shooting isn't nearly as significant as being able to make the right decisions. Training must take into account the need to make decisions, and so should focus on real-life stressful situations. (The first part of the book gives some good examples, such as training with life weapons that use painful but non-lethal simunition.)
Some of these essays are interesting, and some aren't.
1. The real substance, about 140 pages long, of the book. The fundamental premise is that assassination can be stopped.
The key principle in the book is that at some point, when the attacker makes some action that cannot be undone, the Moment of Commitment, time stops being on the side of the attacker and becomes on the side of the protector. The sooner the protectors recognize what is happening, the Moment of Recognition, the more likely the attack is to fail. Much of this book is about how to make that time as short as possible, and most of the work is mental--how to keep the mind from wandering, how to position oneself in the best place, etc.
There are some interesting tidbits scattered throughout--25 feet distance between attacker and victim virtually guarantees safety for handgun attacks. 7 feet between protector and attacker gives a surprisingly good chance of preventing the attack. Alert guards can be a strong deterrent to attack--Arthur Bremer (who shot George Wallace) wanted to kill Nixon, but security was too tight. Kennedy's quote that assassination cannot be prevented because a man just has to be willing to trade his life for the president's life is bogus--many assassins don't fear death; they fear failure.
A major point is that in an exercise known as 'time and distance' it is possible to focus entirely on the physical interaction--it turns out that if the protector can be near the attacker (either right next to, or 7 feet away), protectors often succeed. 15 feet is a bit far, but protectors can sometimes succeed. Having a second protector near the protectee helps too, though the "projected" protection--being near the attacker--is better.
2. A compendium of assassination attempts. Kind of boring, extremely long (about 400 pages). Did you know that Charles de Gaulle survived 31 assassination attempts? Colombia is incredibly dangerous. Luck plays a role. Probably a good resource for researchers, but not all that exciting.
3. A collection of "essays" in the form of 13 Appendices (maybe 50 pages). The most interesting one is on the OODA loop--Observe, Orient, Decide, Act--and how the most important stages are the OOD, but many people train for the A. Example: people get really good at target shooting, but in real life, target shooting isn't nearly as significant as being able to make the right decisions. Training must take into account the need to make decisions, and so should focus on real-life stressful situations. (The first part of the book gives some good examples, such as training with life weapons that use painful but non-lethal simunition.)
Some of these essays are interesting, and some aren't.
January 2, 2022
now i will never be assassinated
August 21, 2020
Spectacular! This bureaucrat has seen the security tapes for the killings of Cesar and Lincoln. Americans are smart to pay so many taxes to keep all these people in power.
February 3, 2019
An industry specific read that you can return back to over and over again, as it has an excellent and comprehensive collection of case studies.
January 11, 2018
This is an excellent, albeit niche, text; unlike de Becker's prior book, which addressed a broad civilian market, this one is meant for the personal protection professional.
A general audience topic is addressed in Appendix 12 (Grossman), suggesting that most Americans are sheep. What is meant by that? The view is that we're trained to not think about defending ourselves. We're trained to think that those who do worry about such things are a bit off. We're trained to think that nice, liberal thinking folks who drive Prius cars are somehow immune to the violence of the world.
One example of this is the zero-tolerance of violence in schools -- a fine notion, except for how it applies to self-defense situations. If a child is attacked, shouldn't we want her to fight back, without worry about being expelled as part of a politically correct policy? Personally, I advocate a response to force which is slightly disproportionate -- make it just a bit more uncomfortable for the attacker, so they never consider you as a target again.
Many folks who conscientiously ensure their smoke alarms work in case of a fire, and will only buy vehicles that have plenty of air bags in case of a crash, look askance at folks who (legally) own weapons. Why not be prepared in case of a violent attack as well as we are for smoke in the home?
Law enforcement is not so much responsible to protect you, as to investigate afterward, unless they accidentally are in the right place at the right time and do the right thing (and they have immunity from liability if they do not).
Firefighters show up when the flames are enveloping the building, and EMTs show up after the car's hit the tree. That's why you want smoke detectors and airbags and such. This is why some folks carry handguns or mace or stun guns, learn martial arts techniques, and the like.
Back to Grossman's sheep analogy. He says there are also wolves. (Think bad guys.) Wolves prey upon sheep. And then, there are sheepdogs. They attack wolves who threaten the flock.
Usually we think of sheepdogs as representing our military and law enforcement professionals. But sheepdogs also represent those of us who refuse to be sheep.
Grossman writes, "[Sheep's] only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, 'Do you have any idea how hard it would be ... if your loved ones [were] attacked ... and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?'" [p626]
A general audience topic is addressed in Appendix 12 (Grossman), suggesting that most Americans are sheep. What is meant by that? The view is that we're trained to not think about defending ourselves. We're trained to think that those who do worry about such things are a bit off. We're trained to think that nice, liberal thinking folks who drive Prius cars are somehow immune to the violence of the world.
One example of this is the zero-tolerance of violence in schools -- a fine notion, except for how it applies to self-defense situations. If a child is attacked, shouldn't we want her to fight back, without worry about being expelled as part of a politically correct policy? Personally, I advocate a response to force which is slightly disproportionate -- make it just a bit more uncomfortable for the attacker, so they never consider you as a target again.
Many folks who conscientiously ensure their smoke alarms work in case of a fire, and will only buy vehicles that have plenty of air bags in case of a crash, look askance at folks who (legally) own weapons. Why not be prepared in case of a violent attack as well as we are for smoke in the home?
Law enforcement is not so much responsible to protect you, as to investigate afterward, unless they accidentally are in the right place at the right time and do the right thing (and they have immunity from liability if they do not).
Firefighters show up when the flames are enveloping the building, and EMTs show up after the car's hit the tree. That's why you want smoke detectors and airbags and such. This is why some folks carry handguns or mace or stun guns, learn martial arts techniques, and the like.
Back to Grossman's sheep analogy. He says there are also wolves. (Think bad guys.) Wolves prey upon sheep. And then, there are sheepdogs. They attack wolves who threaten the flock.
Usually we think of sheepdogs as representing our military and law enforcement professionals. But sheepdogs also represent those of us who refuse to be sheep.
Grossman writes, "[Sheep's] only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, 'Do you have any idea how hard it would be ... if your loved ones [were] attacked ... and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?'" [p626]
March 5, 2020
This is a required reading for everyone in my protection agency and recommended reading for all protection specialist I mentor. Gavin has made a science of the business of assassinations. He logically walks readers through the importance of how to use time and distance to more effectively manage threats. If you understand the importance of staying in the moment, coupled with a better understanding of aggressors tactics you understand how to better use environmental design whether constructed or improvised to tilt the odds in your favor. Phenomenal book.
September 5, 2009
This was everything I'd hoped it be. A data-driven book on the methods and meaning behind protective personnel training. Gavin de Becker's no-nonsense writing style has always been one of my favorites; but the way he's organized and presented the relatively short written sections at the beginning of the book is crystal clear.
The data, examples, and studies drive all his conclusions on how to protect people in the best ways possible. The really interesting thing is how the practices of his firm really coincide with the philosophical roots of martial arts.
The data, examples, and studies drive all his conclusions on how to protect people in the best ways possible. The really interesting thing is how the practices of his firm really coincide with the philosophical roots of martial arts.
August 7, 2013
I loved The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker, so I picked this one up too. The title refers to the two seconds when the assassin shoots the target or some other action takes place. The bulk of the material is for the protector, about the processes his mind goes through, what he needs to do to react in time, space, etc. De Becker analyzes the assassination attempt on President Reagan and the actions of those around him in those two seconds. (He analyzes other assassinations as well.) I'm not describing it well, but it was fascinating to read. Sorry I didn't have time to read more of it.
April 20, 2012
Eye opening
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews