The text is directed to lay individuals as well as to sociologists, criminologists, mental health professionals, and others studying emotional and environmental factors that make a person vulnerable to a criminal act and the motivations provoking stranger assault. Based on recent psychological, criminal justice, and security research, the text explains the mind, motivations, and methods of assailants; precautions needed to avoid a confrontation on the street; and the behavioral impacts of an assault on victims and near-victims. Additional sections present a scale on which to measure one's personal attractiveness to a criminal; the specific risks for children, elderly persons, and persons with disabilities; the differences between forceful and nonforceful resistance; and the advantages and disadvantages of carrying or using weapons for self-defense. Based on interviews with victims and offenders and advice from crime researchers, psychologists, and self-defense professionals, the text emphasizes how to avoid a criminal assault before it escalates to violence. Figures, tables, photographs, index, and appended list of support groups