Title: On Killing
Author: Lt Col Dave Grossman
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Date: 2009
Pages: 377
On Killing (book review)
Lt Col Dave Grossman was an army Ranger soldier, paratrooper, and then later became a professor of psychology at West Point academy. He takes on looking at a subject that is often talked about, but often with little evidence to back what is being said or believed.
The majority of the book looks at the military and how people can shoot to kill or how they are unable to shoot to kill when they are in combat situations. Dave shows statistics that that prior to the Vietnam war, there was a very low percentage of men who would shoot to kill someone in combat, even when their lives depended upon it.
Once this is shown, he begins to show the psychological impact of having to shoot to kill. He points out over time how wars had changed from very close combat to distant combat, allowing for easier killing.
Getting men to be willing to kill was a process that the military took to break down one’s inhibitions to killing. During the Vietnam war the percentage of people who were willing to shoot to kill rose dramatically to nearly 90% or better.
The same process that the military uses to break down the inhibitions, he points out, are the same things being done with children in America. Killing and violence are so common in movies and video games that killing becomes commonplace and acceptable.
I highly recommend reading this book if you are concerned with the high level of killings that are occurring in America, although there are some parts that are extremely graphic and not for the faint of heart. This book is also not written with a Christian perspective or belief at all, which would bring in many other factors as to why the level of killings are rising in America not covered in this book. It is easy to read and understand and will keep you captured to read more and find out where he is going with his thoughts.
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