Gavin de Becker

Gavin de Becker is widely regarded as a leading expert on the prediction and management of violence. He is the best-selling author of The Gift of Fear, Protecting The Gift, Fear Less and Just 2 Seconds: Using Time and Space to Defeat Assassins. In 1980, he was selected by President Reagan to be Director of the Special Services Group, responsible for the logistics and safety of public figure guests of the first family. He then served at the U.S. Department of State, working on the official visits of Prime Minister Thatcher, Korean President Chun, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and others. His work has earned him three Presidential appointments and a position on a congressional committee. He was twice appointed to the President's Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Justice, and was a principal advisor on the federal research project into mentally ill people who stalk public figures. He served two terms on the Governor's Advisory Board at the California Department of Mental Health. He is currently co-chair of the Domestic Violence Council Advisory Board. He has appeared as an expert on every major news show and has been interviewed several times by Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, Maria Shriver, Sam Donaldson, Mike Wallace, and Ed Bradley. He's been profiled in TIME and Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, the New York Times, and many other publications. Mr. de Becker's first book, The Gift of Fear, was the Nation's #1 bestseller - on the New York Times Bestseller List for seventeen weeks. It is now published in thirteen languages. In 2008, Oprah Winfrey dedicated an entire show to commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the book's publication.