On Killing by Dave Grossman (1996, Paperback)

This is a very informative real life account on the psychology of killing.
It dispels the myths and fantasy that Hollywood portrays in the movies on the subject. The author cites many examples and statistics to support his claims. The book was quite interesting and I do recommend it.

David Grossman's credentials served him well when he wrote this book. A lieutenant colonel and psychologist, Grossman dissects the mental attitudes of soldiers not wanting to kill as far back as the American Civil War. As a psychologist he makes a good case for a new category in the population called "The Shepherd." For years it was thought that most people were "normal" and it was the psychopaths who found it easy to kill in war. He goes on to say that the third, new category are The Shepherds; noble, normal people who rise above the typical human desire not to kill, in order to protect the rest of "the flock". (How else can you describe our all volunteer military?)

After WW2, the military had a study to see how behavior occurred on the battlefield. And they discovered that in a natural setting there was the minimum of "shepherds" who did most of the shooting, not even to mention their kill rate. Before reading this book, I did know that in WW2 fighter squadrons, 2% of the pilots did 50% of the shootdowns. But I attributed that more to the rarity of superb flying skills. That stat applies somewhat in a ground war setting as well.

So from this WW2 study, the military used operant conditioning to make sure the firing rate was maximized during combat. For example, in basic training, instead of shooting at white round targets, troops would shoot at human type targets. By the time of the Vietnam War, this type of training was perfected, so much so that the weapons the Military sent out into the field weren't just the M-16's and M-60's, but the soldiers themselves were formed into killing machines, in the absolute true sense of the word. But no one thought to "disarm" these weapons once they were done. Add to that an environment where soldiers were afraid to even show themselves as such in society, and well, I will agree with the one gentleman writing a review here that Vietnam vets did, indeed suffer.

I was in possession of this book in 1998 when I myself was a victim of a violent crime. Fortunately, I escaped with my life, physically unharmed. But that was the longest 10 minutes of my life. And even 9 years later, it's a bit painful to recall. But I will say having this book was one of the best things to help me deal with it. As I said in the title of this review, David Grossman also dissects how modern media, and violent video games specifically de-sensitize young people in the exact manner the military and police agencies work their professional members to do serious, grim tasks. I had seen Mr. Grossman on a few TV shows after Columbine. He made some excellent points you can read about in this book. Whenever there is a violent incident such as Columbine, there is always a cry to pass laws, etc. I am not debating that. But too bad there isn't a way to make a book such as this part of the required curriculum in high school and junior high.

I had borrowed and read "On Killing" before buying, but it is such a book that owning it yourself is almost manditory. The author uses numerous studies from the military and other sources to challenge the culture's conceptions on war and its effects on those it touches. Being a martial artist personally, this is a wonderful reference guide to me and I have advised all of my friends to purchase copies themselves.

As a vet(68-72)I consider this book to be "required"reading by a large percentage of the population! We send our young people into combat for this country and we should spend some time understanding what "effect" this decision means. This book gives anyone the ability to see and understand what it means to fight and kill the another person,unfortunately few will take the time to read and attempt to understand. For many years I suffered with a "misunderstanding" of myself and my acts,this book let me see a different view of myself,and it has made all the difference in the world!
This country is evolved in another war and whatever "side" your on,you should read this book. Troops fight wars,not the CBS news...this book gives any interested party what the true "cost" of war is and should be included in any discussion. If I had my wish, I would issue it to all troops before deployment.