On Killing by Dave Grossman

From The Week of August 16, 2009

LTC. Grossman, a now retired lieutenant colonel in the US Army, has authored here a work that is as astonishing as it is disturbing. An expert in the study of killing, LTC. Grossman discusses the methods used by militaries the world over to teach their soldiers how to kill. The first half of the 20th century may have been the bloodiest in human history, but On Killing argues that, in fact, most of the soldiers in those wars deliberately fired their weapons inaccurately, in hopes of avoiding killing another human being. However, as the century wore on and military instructors began to incorporate psychological techniques into their training methods, the kill rate for the average soldier shot up, along with an equivalent rise in cases of PTSD among soldiers. It is a provocative argument, but one that LTC. Grossman backs up with statistics and research. His argument has frightening implications for armies of the future which may be completely desensitized to the harsh realities of war. (4/5 Stars)