A professor's recommendation that he write his doctoral dissertation on Dashiell Hammett led George J. "Rhino" Thompson, the author of Hammett's Moral Vision, to become a police officer, an instructor who has trained more than 175,000 police officers, and a best-selling author. Researching Hammett's novels led Thompson to change careers from university English teacher to police officer. Then he developed the techniques of Verbal Judo, providing ways to defuse conflict and redirect behavior into more positive channels. Thompson wrote Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion, which has sold more than 100,000 copies, and four more books on Verbal Judo. He is the founder and president of the Verbal Judo Institute, which has offices in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Aside from his well-known courses for police officers, which are mandatory training in several states, Thompson has designed special courses for other people faced with defuse crisis situations, including educators, medical personnel, government workers, business employees, and airline personnel. "Rhino" Thompson received his B.A. from Colgate University, his Masters and Doctorate degrees in English from the University of Connecticut, and completed post-doctoral work in rhetoric and persuasion at Princeton University. "Rhino" has been featured on network news on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and Fox, on the TV programs 48 Hours, Inside Edition, In the Line of Duty, in the Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Sacramento Bee, and in other newspapers and national magazines. "Rhino" and his wife Pam live in upstate New York. They are the proud parents of three-year-old Tommy Rhyno Thompson, and "Rhino," a survivor of throat cancer, has returned to active teaching. His website is www.verbaljudo.com.

Books edited or written by George J. "Rhino" Thompson (with Gregory A. Walker) The Verbal Judo Way of Leadership (2007) Hammett's Moral Vision (2007) Verbal Judo: Communication through Controlled Perspective (1996) (with Jerry B. Jenkins)Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion (1994) (with Michael J. Stroud)Verbal Judo: Redirecting Behavior with Words (1984) Verbal Judo: Words as a Force Option (1983) More information about George J. "Rhino" Thompson Thompson's Verbal Judo website: www.verbaljudo.com. "The Doctor Is in Your Face", an interview by Mike Humbert.