Be Specific About Books In Favor Of On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
| Original Title: | On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society |
| ISBN: | 0316191442 (ISBN13: 9780316191449) |
Dave Grossman
Paperback | Pages: 367 pages Rating: 4.17 | 7610 Users | 715 Reviews
Declare About Books On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
| Title | : | On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society |
| Author | : | Dave Grossman |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 367 pages |
| Published | : | December 1st 2003 by Back Bay Books (first published 1995) |
| Categories | : | Psychology. Nonfiction. War. Military Fiction. History |
Commentary Concering Books On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
The good news is that most soldiers are loath to kill. But armies have developed sophisticated ways of overcoming this instinctive aversion. And contemporary civilian society, particularly the media, replicates the army's conditioning techniques, and, according to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's thesis, is responsible for our rising rate of murder among the young.Upon its initial publication, On Killing was hailed as a landmark study of the techniques the military uses to overcome the powerful reluctance to kill, of how killing affects soldiers, and of the societal implications of escalating violence. Now, Grossman has updated this classic work to include information on 21st-century military conflicts, recent trends in crime, suicide bombings, school shootings, and more. The result is a work certain to be relevant and important for decades to come.
Rating About Books On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
Ratings: 4.17 From 7610 Users | 715 ReviewsWeigh Up About Books On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
This is a heinously overrated book and is not an accurate appraisal of the psychological effects of killing in warfare. Lt. Col. Grossman founds basically his entire work on a single, faulty survey conducted on some few returning American GI's after WW2, and applies it across the entire globe and throughout all history. Really not a good work.On Killing has a great book hidden away some where inside, but it is a marred by a lack of rigor, inaccuracies, constant repetition, and chapters that have no relevance to the book but are instead a chance for the author to rant. The book is full of things that Grossman made up to support his beliefs and which Grossman refers to as if they are historical fact. for instance Centurions were known for leading their men by example, fighting in the front lines. Yet, Grossman claims that Centurions,
I had originally planned to review this book right once I finished it. Then I planned to write my review on Memorial Day. And I still don't feel like things are settled enough in my mind to properly write this review, but I need to do it sometime so here goes.I picked this book up on a whim. I rarely, -RARELY- read anything to do with war. When I do, it's a story with a war in it. I've never read anything about war itself. This might sound strange, but being a woman, I've had the incredible
The book should not be taken as absolute, peer reviewed fact. While it starts out in an academic fashion and explains the basis for its theories, it later derails into chapter-long rants and moans about how American society is to blame for its treatment of returning veterans of the Vietnam war. Exaggerating and making very emotional, biased arguments.And if that was not enough Grossman, decides to squander his credentials by attempting to perpetuate the disproved myth that violent video-games
One of the main conclusions in the book is that basically most human beings do not want to kill other human beings. In order to teach people to kill other humans, that barrier must be broken. In WWII, many soldiers could not fire at the enemy and chose to fire high so as not to hit anyone. By the time of the Vietnam War, training methods had to be changed to overcome that reluctance.
As a combat vet myself, I can't say I learned anything new from this book as I have lived it all myself,. Yet I strongly suggest you all read it carefully.It will enlighten you to a very important aspect of humanity and the survival instinct that few understand. There is a price for killing and there is a very effective "military machine" to teach the acceptance and support of killing that is a thousand years or more old.That mind altering thousand year plus mind forming machine is set against a
Great book, disturbing in most senses but gives us hope.Why is it hopeful? Because it argues that for the vast majority of humanity, killing another human is a vastly unnatural act. Societies may find a way to battle at every opportunity, but individual humans have a hard time killing another human being.One of Dave Grossman's arguments is that to paraphrase the recruit doesnt want to kill, but only has 20 years of total life experience, while the army has the breadth of history on their
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