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What would you do if you were kidnapped?
While the precautions presented in this book will reduce the risk, you could still be assaulted. And while there are books that discuss kidnapping risks and what we can do to protect ourselves, the following elements are largely missing:
The book should serve as a practical tool both for kidnapping survival trainers, for people who for various reasons are exposed to the risk of kidnapping and for those who have been through such an ordeal. *************** |
The book is available on Amazon and can be ordered in any major bookstore. Anyone interested in discounted purchase ( minimum ten books) may contact us on [email protected]
Reviews and statements
As indicated on our home page, reviews of this new edition are curently invited. It's predecessor Surviving Kidnappers earned the following praise:
I am travelling widely and have increasingly felt the need for a book like Surviving Kidnappers. In clear, information-filled pages Olav Ofstad has provided everything I wanted. I owe him my genuine thanks, and so will other readers.
Robert B. Cialdini,
Author of Influence and Pre-Suasion
This book provides an indispensable guide to the risks of travelling and living in unsafe areas. It gives a detailed account of the preventive measures that can be adopted, and explains how to survive with body and soul intact should the worst occur.
Gregory M. Reichberg
Research Professor, Peace Research Institute Oslo
I enjoyed this book which cogently and logically profiles the anatomy of a kidnapping, and proposes practical methods and techniques that can reduce the risk of being kidnapped. These techniques are as applicable in enhancing the personal security of a tourist in Tokyo as they are for an aid and development worker in Somalia. The author punctuates the book with short case studies which give both colour and context. While there are many organisations that offer hostile environment awareness training, there is no truly authoritative insider’s guide on preparing frequent travellers and workers in high-risk areas ahead of the specific risk of kidnapping. Surviving kidnappers is now the first such publication.
Tim Curtis
Managing Partner, The Security Cooperative
For a complete review see, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/released-surviving-kidnappers-precautions-influence-strategic-ofstad/
Easy to read,logically structured and built around a variety of scenarios,Surviving Kidnappers can be used for individual requirements, just as much as a reference guide for professionals.Certainly a utility tool that stays with its promise - to help surviving kidnappers.
Colonel Peter Lindqvist
The Norwegian Army
Olav Ofstad has assembled the necessary research, education and experience to create a survival mindset for the reader by providing the mental preparation of living through an unthinkable situation. I find this book useful in providing the reader an easy to understand elements of kidnapping in order to preempt the shock and confusion of being a victim and ultimately arm the reader with key steps to survive the ordeal.
Michael Farrow,
CEO Protective Intelligence Concepts, LLC
If you live in a country where kidnapping is a likely possibility, then you must read this book. It tells you how to handle different situations and what to do depending of the kind of kidnapping. Excellent resource!
Lectus Read
This book was definitely something. When I started reading it I was shocked at how much information the author was putting into it, and then what really blew me away was the variety of kidnappings he was talking about. When I've read about kidnappings in the past they tend to stick to one or maybe two forms of kidnapping, but the author covered everything. From boat to car to plane to jungle and more. It was shocking.
Although this book was heavy with information I wasn't tired of it. Something the author did was quote real-life kidnapping experiences which for me really helped break apart the amount of information I was taking in.
Overall it was a quick and informative read, that might come in handy one day!
Teleri Rees
Surviving Kidnappers is an essential handbook for anyone who might be at high risk of kidnapping. I read it myself even though I'm not at high risks, I enjoy knowing how to handle what if situations and how psychology can work for you. Though it's not written in a very interesting way, it doesn't need to be to meet it's purpose. The great news is that is way easier to read than a DV manual and you actually understand what to do!
Audrey Adamson
Excellent! I've long had an interest in survival. Thorough, easy to read. Highly informative.
Jenny Quinlan
This book was a very informative piece on what to do when the possibility of a kidnapping is around. With the type of information on dealing with kidnapping in different situations I would say that this book would be an essential tool to have read. It is an easy read and written very interesting. Nobody would ever want to be in the situation to have to use what is covered in the book but it's very useful to have this knowledge in the back of your head.
Larissa Lio
I found this book a quick read but highlighted many passages to return to as I feel refreshers of this type of knowledge are never wasted. While this topic was never going to be an easy read I found the practical way it was written sans drama was engaging and it was presented in a logical order. I wasn't drowned by jargon and I had the feeling that I was attending a presentation by a speaker who knew how to maintain his audience's attention.
Schizanthus Nerd
An interesting book with great advice for lots of situations. Well set out under different headings.
Jayne Davies
In some ways this is an odd book, after all, just what are the chances of getting kidnapped? Well, the answer of course depends on where you live and what you do for a living. There are many people throughout the world who probably are at heightened risk – aid workers in conflict zones for example – and this book, written by a Norwegian lawyer and researcher might just save their life. Olav Ofstad certainly knows his stuff, having spent years in conflict zones working with embassies and international organisations and worked in the field of conflict resolution. To be sure some of the information at the beginning of the book about avoiding undue risks in the first place reads like basic common sense, but it isn’t long before he serves up intriguing, and quite possibly lifesaving, psychological analysis.
Surviving Kidnappers takes the reader through the process of being kidnapped, confinement, to (hopefully) release or rescue. Throughout the author analyses the psychological skills and stratagems one might use to survive. This is no gung-ho, wannabe special forces survival manual, rather a serious study gleaned through interviews with victims of kidnapping combined with the insights gleaned from the psychological literature. Topics include building empathy and understanding, utilising cognitive dissonance and cultivating a feeling of reciprocity on behalf of one’s kidnapper.
It would be a shame if this book was only read by those at risk of kidnapping, for as with many such titles the insights gleaned can feed into all walks of life. An appreciation of social psychology and how to influence others can be beneficial to anyone who’s job leads them to interact with others. I personally read a wide range of non-fiction and Surviving Kidnappers has certainly given me a greater appreciation of the psychological underpinnings of severe trauma, as well as a great understanding of psychological resilience.
James Pierson
The world is loving true crime right now! I think this books offers great tips on how to avoid being a victim!
Jennifer Ornelas
