How to cope with a backstabber

I don't know of a more challenging situation than being on the wrong end of an adept corporate backstabber. I checked my favorite reference for this kind of thing, It Takes More than a Carrot and a Stick, (Wess Roberts, 2001). Wess says, "Heaven doesn't want them and the Devil is afraid they'll take over Hell."

As far as being a peer who's on the wrong side of one, though, there isn't a lot of advice to give. Wess suggests keeping your interactions to a minimum, giving them as little as possible to work with, and exposing their backstabbing when you have enough evidence to make it stick. None of these sound like they'll get you where you need to go.