Customer Reviews

Safe In The City: A Streetwise Guide To Avoid Being Robbed, Raped, Ripped Off, Or Run Over

5 star:		(4)
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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a professional security specialist, I can say without hesitation that this book is one of the best written on the subject of street crime. MacYoung and Pfouts know their subject intimately well, and their research into criminal psychology is more thorough than a semester of Criminal Justice in college! I tested the veracity of this book while working as a private investigator; my bosses were retired police detectives, and they were firmly impressed with the knowledge these "civilians" possessed. If you want to safeguard yourself on the mean (and not-so-mean) streets, I highly recommend buying this book and putting its recommendations to use. By the way, I live an hour outside of New York City, and I have seen and identify with much of co-author Pfouts' experiences in the Big Apple. This book is not to be missed.

Debunks many foolish myths about the how's and why's of violent crime. Covers aspects of life at home, in the car, on the street, etc., and deals with many different types of crime. They write about LA and New York in particular, and what they say may seem extreme to readers in safer locales. But this book contains valuable lessons for everyone. Full of useable, specific ideas for keeping ourselves safe. Has a "gritty" and thoroughly authentic flavour to it, and the authors aren't afraid of offending people sometimes -including us readers. That's great, because sometimes we need a jolt to help us face reality and do something about it.

I have read dozens of self-defense books and this one tops them for praticality, real-live experiences and humor. The authors do not describe martial art moves or fighting. Rather, they describe the 5 stages of an assault: The intent, the interview, positioning, the attack and the reaction. After putting violent crime into that perspective, I began to see the mistakes that led up to my own problems with being assaulted as a teen and ripped off as an adult. All of the signs were there.

Authors Marc MacYoung and Chris Pfouts describe common scenarios that people do not learn until it is too late: the squeegee guy who will snatch your watch when you try to pay them, the teen who will slap a guy's date to draw the guy into a fight with a pack of teens, how a car jacker approaches a car, how to drive away without getting shot. They also talk about the early danger signs of a trouble maker. Like the guy who broods, talks violence and has an addictive personality.

I think that several books could be written from some of the information in this book. For instance, women who are most likely to be raped are between 18 and 25, like to party and are already contemptuous of men. The book also gives good advice for young women at a party such as bringing a friend or sleeping in their car. (Otherwise, they might wake up to find someone like their friend's boyfriend on top of them). Much of this book's advice is from actual interviews with criminals and crime victims. Some of the book's comments might rattle some people, but it does not have to be politically correct to keep the reader out of trouble.

Chris Pfouts has some true accounts of violent encounters, including getting shot. He gives a blunt view of New York crime. Marc "Animal" MacYoung describes crime in Los Angeles. He constantly had me in stitches over his observations and encounters. (As he catches a thief in his car and the thief explains, "Your car? I thought that it was my car?"

Read a copy before you visit either city. It could save you a lot of heartache.

Doug Setter, Bsc. author of One Less Victim: A Prevention Guide and Stomach Flattening

If you have never read a book or seen a video from Marc "Animal" MacYoung, you are in for a very different experience.  MacYoung relies on many of his own street experiences to pass along information and techniques. This results in some wild tales and the liberal use of "street" language throughout the book.  (Sometimes I wonder if Paladin puts their authors up to this). You'd probably not want your mother to read this, but for the reader who needs to get streetwise fast, take advantage of MacYoung's experience and skip the beatings of your own.

Brad Parker, Defend University

Fairly good advice given using LA and NY city as models. I can only speak for LA but alot of things he says about it now seem dated. If you've never been to either of those cities, he will make you afraid to go, but as a life long (50 years) resident of LA whose never had a problem, I have to take what he says about LA and NY too with a grain of salt. Then again, perhaps I've just been lucky. Come to think of it I did have a battery stolen out of my car at Venice Beach in 1985 not to mention the time I was robbed, raped, beaten, assaulted with a deadly weapon, and had a nuclear device go off under my car. But that was in Compton. Being a white guy I should have known better not to go there but I had heard about this dude with some really good crack and... LOL

Imagine a pack of wolves circling a... fox. The moment the pack strikes (topic reaches the answer) lord redfur has beamed to (choose) astral plane, ufo, vixen's burrow. The book reads as if someone copied loose files from Animal and Pfouts, it holds no truth which is not known from "crime prevention" tv or local police. Sadly, I hoped I would be wrong with Animal, but his works declined after Violence, Blunder & Cheap Shots. The one crime I found is that trees are killed to give useless dabbling a bookform. Please begin electronic texts.