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Police trainer’s reading list: Recommended books for cops on fear, women veterans and more

What’s on police trainer Dave “JD Buck Savage” Smith‘s night stand? A bottle of water, a Glock 17, and these five books.

1.) Flourish by Dr. Martin Seligman
Flourish illustrates the concept of Positive Psychology using stories, including one about how the entire U.S. Army is now trained in emotional resilience.

2.) Good Boss, Bad Boss by Robert Sutton Ph.D.
Good Boss, Bad Boss reveals the mindset of some of the best and worst bosses. Applicable to anyone who works in a team, a central theme is built upon an examination of the way great leaders stay in tune with the reactions they get from their charges, superiors and peers.

3.) The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
The Power of Habit takes a close look at successful people and how they achieved that success by studying and applying the patterns that shape life.

4.) When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans by Laura Browder
A collection of 48 photographs of women veterans accompanies stories from all five branches of the military of American women making sacrifices in the line of duty.

5.) The Science of Fear by Daniel Gardner
Irrational fear can have tragic results. In a look at how people assess risk in a modern age of seemingly looming threats at every corner, Gardner says we shouldn’t fear – but do anyway.

Dave Smith is an internationally known motivational speaker, writer and law enforcement trainer who has been an integral part of the Calibre Press family for over 20 years. As a career police officer, Dave held positions in patrol, training, narcotics, SWAT, and management. In 1980 he developed the popular “Buck Savage” survival series videos and was the lead instructor for the Calibre Press “Street Survival” seminar from 1983 to 1985. He was a contributor to Calibre’'s popular “Tactical Edge” handbook and helped pave the way for what “Street Survival” is today. Dave joined the Law Enforcement Training Network in 1989 and was the general manager of Calibre Press until January of 2002. Now president of Dave Smith & Associates, a law enforcement & management consulting company based in Illinois, Dave has developed hundreds of programs across the spectrum of police & security training needs.

Dave is now a Calibre-Press Street Survival instructor and his experiences as officer, trainer, manager, and police spouse lend a unique perspective to the “Street Survival” experience.

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