Spotting danger before it happens is a skill that can be developed and may even save your life. Understand the threat Build situational awareness Develop personal defenses A mother dropping her teenager off at the mall, a young man leaving home for college, a family about to head out on their first trip overseas. What do all of these

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FOREWORD INTRODUCTION PHASE ONE – Understand the threat Chapter 1: The basics of predatory behavior1.1 How predators choose their targets – The seven-second PROD1.2 Perception1.3 Risk1.4 Observable value1.5 Defenses1.6 Think Like a Predator Situational Awareness in Action: The Foiled Millennium Terror PlotExercise: Target SelectionKey Points Chapter 2: Conducting a self-assessment2.1 Who would target you?2.2 What do they want?2.3 When would they strike?2.4 Where would they strike?2.5 Start Thinking Like a ProtectorSituational Awareness in Action: The Attempted Time Square BombingExercise: Using the Self-AssessmentKey Points PHASE TWO – Build your situational awareness Chapter 3: The basics of awareness3.1 Defining the threat – Perception vs. Reality3.2 The levels of awareness3.3 Understanding the Reactionary GapSituational Awareness in Action: Joey Grundl’s Big DeliveryExercise: The What-If GameKey Points Chapter 4: The next level of awareness – Comprehend, Identify, and Anticipate4.1 Comprehend the situation4.2 Identify what’s important4.3 Anticipate outcomes4.4 The Role of IntuitionSituational Awareness in Action: Ten-Year-Old Danny DiPietroExercise: Environmental KIMs GamesKey Points PHASE THREE – Develop personal defenses Chapter 5: What comes next5.1 Establishing a basis for action5.2 Avoidance – The safest option5.3 Escape5.4 De-escalation5.5 ConfrontationSituational Awareness in Action: Lee Parker’s BackpackExercise: Route PlanningKey Points Chapter 6: Reinforcing your defenses6.1 Improving mindset6.2 Minimizing distractions6.3 Controlling fear6.4 Building ConfidenceSituational Awareness in Action: Julianne Moore Stops a KidnapperExercise: Counting DrillsKey Points Chapter 7: Putting It All TogetherSituational Awareness in Action: Uber Hero Keith AvilaExercise: Six Steps to Spotting TroubleKey Points CONCLUSION APPENDIX ABOUT THE AUTHOR

"A work that is greater than the sum of its parts, and unlike anything else available on this critical topic. This book stands out because of Gary’s incredibly thorough and comprehensive presentation of situational awareness, a life-saving ability to spot danger in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones. I have read many books on the subject, and I can honestly say that no one has even come close to matching Spotting Danger Before It Spots You when it comes to teaching situational awareness. This fundamental skill is key to surviving and overcoming the array of threats that confront the average citizen in the world today. Armed with the skills taught in this book, you will not need to live in fear; you will live instead in a state of awareness and readiness. —Dave Grossman, Lt. Colonel, US Army (ret.), author of On Killing, On Combat, and Assassination Generation, Director, Killology Research Group A federal air marshal offers a guide to observing and evaluating your surroundings. Quesenberry’s nonfiction debut draws on his 19 years of experience as an air marshal, a job that gives him “a first-class ticket into the world of covert surveillance, surveillance detection, and self-defense.” In hundreds of settings, he has been the person paid and expected to know what’s going on and to anticipate and counter any potential dangers. By contrast, as he quite rightly points out, most people relax themselves into a false sense of security by thinking “nothing will ever happen here” or “that would never happen to me.” But even the author’s cursory listing of some of the 21st century’s worst outbreaks of terrorist violence all over the world should make it clear to readers that they can no longer afford such attitudes—they must take a large part of their safety into their own hands. Quesenberry’s aim in his book is not only to change those attitudes, but also to arm readers with the basic perception shifts that will help them guard their own well-being. The foremost of these is “situational awareness,” which the author describes as “the ability to identify and process environmental cues to accurately predict the actions of others.” The adverb is crucial: Readers are gently admonished to discard their reflexive prejudices and assumptions and “identify and process” what they’re actually seeing in any environment (as the author points out, preset perceptions can sometimes blind a person to reality). In quick, sharply paced chapters full of well-chosen anecdotes and bulleted points, Quesenberry instructs readers on how to expand their awareness of the people and things in their immediate area, how to assume an aggressive mindset in order to anticipate how actual predators think, and even the basics of one-on-one self-defense. Much of what the author relates is elementary in nature—travel advisories all over the world urge some variation of situational awareness—but the clarity of this manual makes it stand out. A vigorous and memorable primer on heightening awareness to prevent or counter danger. —KIRKUS Reviews