I am a petite woman and not used to defending myself physically but I believe that basic self-defense skills are important. Now that I have kids I am more concerned with the possibility of carjacking or something equally horrible, and I don't carry a firearm, although sometimes I go through some really bad neighborhoods and I wish I did.I felt that this book was well-written and an easy read. The illustrations are good, as well as the section about "spotting trouble". This book may seem remedial to anyone who has actual marital arts training, but I thought it was really good for me.I only have one gripe. I felt that the font was BIG, almost like the author was trying to fill up space in some places. But I still think that it was worth the purchase price.