
The Gift of Violence
Practical Knowledge for Surviving and Thriving in a Dangerous World
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Narrated by:
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Matt Thornton
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Salome Thornton
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Peter Boghossian
About this listen
In today's modern world, we are largely isolated from the kind of savagery our ancestors faced on a daily basis. Although violence was as natural to our evolutionary development as sex and food, it has become foreign to most of us. At once demonized and glamorized, but almost always deeply misunderstood.
Our hard-earned and hard-wired instincts—our evolved and trained ability to survive and overcome violent encounters—have been compromised. Yet, as even a cursory look at news headlines or a police blotter will reveal the threat of violent crime is ever-present, and those we've entrusted to protect us cannot always be relied upon.
The Gift of Violence tells the story of this vulnerability, providing the average person with all the knowledge they need to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of violence and to increase their chances of surviving a violent encounter. Based both on the author's decades of experience teaching everyday people how to defend themselves and on a rational approach to the scientific data, The Gift of Violence offers clear, easy-to-remember lessons for people of all ages and abilities. It is designed to empower those who've been affected by violence or are concerned that they or their loved ones could be—in short, it was written to help good people become more dangerous to bad people.
Every listener will be armed with the necessary knowledge to harness the power of violence for themselves, and in the process, not just smarter and stronger, but also safer.
©2023 Matt Thornton (P)2023 Pitchstone PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story
Deadly Force, 2nd Edition is a continuation of Ayoob’s mission to educate gun owners on all aspects of lethal force laws. Drawing on more than four decades of experience as an expert witness for the courts in weapons and shooting cases and serving as a fully sworn and empowered part-time police officer for 43 years, Ayoob also educates through his Massad Ayoob Group classes such as the Armed Citizen’s Rules of Engagement.
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Important update of a classic
- By Tim on 05-09-23
By: Massad Ayoob
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Spotting Danger Before It Spots You
- Build Situational Awareness to Stay Safe
- By: Gary Dean Quesenberry, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (ret.)
- Narrated by: Gary Dean Quesenberry
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Continuing on the path of The Gift of Fear (Gavin deBecker) Spotting Danger Before It Spots You is geared towards the average citizen who at any moment could find themselves faced with a violent encounter but may lack the training needed to detect the situation early or react to it appropriately.
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great book beyond awareness
- By Theresa S. on 03-20-24
By: Gary Dean Quesenberry, and others
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Concealed Carry Bible
- A Complete Self-Defense Guide A to Z
- By: Josh Manning
- Narrated by: Sam Werbung
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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When I teach people about self-defense, I teach them about the ins and outs of handguns that are popular, how they work, and how to fix common issues. But how do you find out when the time comes if you will be able to pull the trigger? I want to prepare you mentally and physically, and I want you to know all the laws that may affect you - along with making you a master of concealed carry where you are comfortable, confident, and will know when and how to use it if the time ever comes.
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Fundamentals combined with food for thought
- By Jeff Kotterman on 06-20-18
By: Josh Manning
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The Power of Awareness
- And Other Secrets from the World's Foremost Spies, Detectives, and Special Operators on How to Stay Safe and Save Your Life
- By: Dan Schilling
- Narrated by: Dan Schilling
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In his empowering book, Dan Schilling shares how to identify and avoid threats using situational awareness and intuition just like the pros. Told with wit and wisdom, this compelling guide uses harrowing stories from Dan's special operations career and those of other experts to outline six easily implemented rules you can apply anywhere to improve your personal safety.
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Good information but a miss on delivery possibly
- By HonestBuyer on 04-30-23
By: Dan Schilling
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Seal Survival Guide
- A Navy Seal's Secrets to Surviving Any Disaster
- By: Cade Courtley
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Former Navy SEAL and preeminent American survivalist Cade Courtley delivers step-by-step instructions anyone can master in this user-friendly guide. From random shootings to deadly wildfires to terrorist attacks, the reality is that modern life is unpredictable and dangerous. Don't live in fear or rely on luck. Learn the SEAL mindset: Be prepared, feel confident, step up, and know exactly how to survive any life-threatening situation.
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If I was a Navy seal I could totally do this.
- By colleen on 03-31-15
By: Cade Courtley
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Left of Bang
- How the Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life
- By: Patrick Van Horne, Jason A. Riley
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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You walk into a restaurant and get an immediate sense that you should leave. You are about to step onto an elevator with a stranger, and something stops you. You interview a potential new employee who has the résumé to do the job, but something tells you not to offer the position. These scenarios all represent "left of bang", the moments before something bad happens.
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Easier to follow when read
- By Chris Hutchinson on 04-29-16
By: Patrick Van Horne, and others
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On Combat
- The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
- By: Dave Grossman, Loren W. Christensen
- Narrated by: Dave Grossman
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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On Combat looks at what happens to the human body under the stresses of deadly battle and the impact on the nervous system, heart, breathing, visual and auditory perception, memory - then discusses new research findings as to what measure warriors can take to prevent such debilitations so they can stay in the fight, survive, and win. A brief, but insightful look at history shows the evolution of combat, the development of the physical and psychological leverage that enables humans to kill other humans, followed by an objective examination of domestic violence in America.
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Just what I needed.
- By Jonah on 03-21-17
By: Dave Grossman, and others
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Survival Theory II
- The Psychology of Human Desperation, Starvation, and Living Without Rule of Law
- By: Jonathan Hollerman
- Narrated by: Eric Cunningham
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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This book is not a 10-step plan to survive the zombie apocalypse, or a survival guide for natural disasters. It is a discussion on human psychology and physiology, and the threats posed by starvation psychosis during a prolonged, total collapse scenario.
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YOU SHOULD CONSULT AN EXPERT (LIKE ME)
- By Day on 09-21-24
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Sheep No More
- The Art of Awareness and Attack Survival
- By: Jonathan T. Gilliam
- Narrated by: Jonathan T. Gilliam
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Fight back, because we are sheep no more! This personal safety and security book comes armed to the teeth with empowering techniques so you can be your own expert at protecting your life. Weekly, there are major threats, mass killings, terrorist attacks and even weather-related disasters—the list goes on. And this increasingly dangerous world includes more violent and deadly threats that are specifically targeting everyday civilians. You. This is the definitive “safety bible” that links the leading expert on personal safety with civilians. For the first time, you can make educated predictions using the new key questions of “ Who, Why, Where, When, and How” from the attacker’s point of view. No one really expects violent situations to occur—but they do, and usually without advance warning or your control. End the guessing game of safety and security by following the techniques inside Sheep No More. Think like an attacker in order to build better defenses. Your life may depend on it.
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myst read.
- By Thomas C. Walton on 10-12-18
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The Right Kind of Crazy
- Navy SEAL, Covert Operative, and Boy Scout from Hell
- By: Clint Emerson
- Narrated by: Clint Emerson
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Clint Emerson is the only SEAL ever inducted into the International Spy Museum. Operating from the shadows, with an instinct for running towards trouble, his unique skill set made him the perfect hybrid of elite and modern day counterintelligence agent. Emerson spent his career on the bleeding edge of intelligence and operations, often specializing in solo missions that took advantage of subterfuge, improvisation, the best in recon and surveillance tech, and even elements of Hollywood disguise to combat the changing global battlefield.
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Ignore the haters...
- By Witness 22 on 04-08-20
By: Clint Emerson
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The Gift of Fear
- Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
- By: Gavin de Becker
- Narrated by: Gavin de Becker
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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These days, no one in America feels immune to violence. But now, in this extraordinary, groundbreaking book, the nation's leading expert on predicting violent behavior unlocks the puzzle of human violence and shows that, like every creature on earth, we have within us the ability to predict the harm others might do us and get out of its way. Contrary to popular myth, human violence almost always has a discernible motive and is preceded by clear warning signs.
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Decent book severely undermined by last chapter.
- By zachary on 11-01-22
By: Gavin de Becker
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100 Deadly Skills
- The SEAL Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation
- By: Clint Emerson
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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100 Deadly Skills contains proven self-defense skills, evasion tactics, and immobilizing maneuvers - modified from the world of black ops - to help you take action in numerous "worst case" scenarios from escaping a locked trunk to making an improvised Taser to tricking facial recognition software. With easy-to-understand instructions, Emerson outlines in detail many life-saving strategies and teaches you how to think and act like a member of the special forces.
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Only a small fraction of the information is useful
- By Mike Kirby on 11-18-15
By: Clint Emerson
Great information
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Great book
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You don’t need a black belt in jujutsu(I have a purple belt). You don’t need to be a hand to hand instructor (I studied Thai boxing for seven years) this book gave me so much NEW information and re-reminded me of the edge I lost.
A very thorough common sense approach to situational awareness and violence.
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Aliveness
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Essential
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Very insightful and useful!!!
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After completing it, I have a deeper understanding about my personal psychology and how to continue progressing on my life’s path.
Transformative
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Best martial arts book there is.
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The audiobook is narrated by the author. Matt Thornton's speech has likely been honed by his decades of teaching martial arts so he has an excellent narrating voice and it is always a treat to listen to a book narrated by such an author because their meaning and passion is completely unfiltered.
The Gift of Violence cites many classic works of logic, psychology, and evolution, but one book not cited that it reminds me of most is On Aggression, by Konrad Lorenz. While On Aggression is almost exclusively about the evolution of violence and aggression, TGoV is about rebuilding your relationship with violence. Does that mean making you a more violent and aggressive person? No, in fact the moral of the story is quite the opposite. In fact if you learn to embrace and come to terms with your inherently violent nature, you may end up leading a safer and less violent life than you currently do.
It's for everyone
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Inspiring
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