Safe at all times, by Janet Rodgers

anet Rodgers is a British, female (surprise, surprise :) police detective with a wealth of experience from London. She is also the author to: "Keep Yourself Safe" - a similar book written more for the British or European market.

"Safe at All Times - Protecting Yourself and Your Family in a Dangerous World" is aimed at the American market (USA), and so a little paranoia has been added to the equation. Nice people, but somewhat strange - our American friends :) Before you get the wrong impressions it should be added that the book, as well as "Keep Yourself Safe", is good. In fact, very good.

Both books are about basic, yet vital and highly effective security measures, attitudes and actions. The American version here goes one step further than "Keep Yourself Safe" as it adds a little more paranoia like mentioned earlier. By all means, it's easy to smile at this - but I'm sure we would stop smiling all together if the "unthinkable" happened here... In our quiet corner of the world we may come across as (ok, then - we are) a little naive. We are so protected - or so we like to believe. It should be added also that Rodgers talk about the real hazards to our well-being, health and life: Accidents, cancer, life-style diseases, environmental hazards etc. - and that violence, robberies, and violent attacks are a threat to us mainly because we perceive that as something outside of our control.

This book is divided into various chapters dealing with different security issues. One chapter is about security on the streets, at home, at work, in the car, on public transport, and on travels abroad. Another chapter deals with selfdefense techniques - different defenses against various forms of attacks. You have personal attacks, like robberies, stalking/following, harassments, sexual violence and violence at home. Then Rodgers discusses children and teenagers: How safety and security begins at home, raising streetwise kids, safety at school, and safety at college. The last chapter is about safety for our senior citizens - in and around the house.

This book (as well as "Keep Yourself Safe") scores well because it is very logical and methodical in the way it is built. Further it has a balanced view on how to deal with violent encounters - no machismo bulls... here! I guess the fact that it is written by a British police woman helps. Me, I'm happy as long as I don't have to read about how hard and tough self-defense is. Both books by Janet Rodgers are hereby warmly recommended to you!

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