Raised in an upper-middle class household where toy (and real) guns were not allowed and in the shadow of the movies and TV of the 1970s through the present, I've grown up a little curious as to how I would fare in a situation where it was kill or be killed. How would I do as a soldier ordered to kill?

Grossman's detailed examination is carefully laid out and supported by impressive facts and numbers. But the book does not get bogged down in detail. If you're interested in this topic, you will not be bored or disappointed.

Other reviewers have commented on Grossman's stance on video games. If one reads that small section carefully, Grossman is not talking about console(Xbox, Gamecube, or PS2) games or those on your PC. He is explicitly discussing those few video games found only in arcades where the player stands before a large screen and using a light gun, "fires" at targets in front of them, a situation very similar to that of soldiers and police officers training for "shoot/no-shoot" situations. And actually, some of these games do present negative "conditioning" for harming innocents, which Grossman doesn't mention. Yet I do understand there are games that are too graphic in their depiction of violence, even on the console and PC systems. However, I believe game designers are growing aware these days of the lines to not cross.

What is Grossman's point is that standing there, firing a (albeit plastic) handgun at human targets is very similar to what the military and police forces are doing for their soldiers to become conditioned to fire without question. This indeed is a worrisome concept.

Great points:
1. Grossman's findings about the amount of muskets in the Civil War at Gettysburg that were double/triple/... loaded because men pretended to fire and then look busy reloading.
2. The crunching of numbers and kill percentages across the major US and other conflicts. Fascinating in terms of the psychological conditioning that takes place between them to increase kill rates.
3. Grossman's analysis of what went wrong with vets returning from the Vietnam War. Their support structure here in America was almost nonexistent for all the trauma they had to endure in battle. I hope the government works hard in terms of soldiers returning from the Middle East to give them a great support system. We owe this brave souls so much for their sacrifice. Grossman's book makes me want to thank every vet from every war that I see from now on. From Grossman's writing, it's apparent that civilians cannot grasp what soldiers go through and the toll it takes on their psyche.

I now have a better idea how hard it is to do what soldiers have to do and live with. Thanks to Grossman, in the very least, my screenplays and stories will be more sensitive to the violence they describe.


A Wife's Review   February 7, 2000
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

As a wife of a Viet Nam Veteran, I lived with a man that has suffered with the memories of that terrible war. For thirty years I have tried to understand what war was like. Everytime we started to talk about it, I could see how painfull the memories were. There seemed to be no way to break through the barriers that prevented us from being able to "talk about it." Then, I noticed a dramatic change in the man I love. He was more open and willing to discuss his role in Viet Nam. When I asked him what had made the difference, he handed me this book. I couldn't wait to read it. Although a lot of the facts and statistics were hard for me to understand, I continued to read. By the time I had finished reading, I had the answers I needed.

I would like to thank Colonel Grossman for releasing my husband from the memories and feelings of guilt that plagued his life. The book On Killing, it is strange to say this, has brought us closer than we have ever been.

To the other wifes: I very highly recommend this book. It may not answer all of your questions, but it will give you a better understanding of what the act of killing involves and the impact it can have on those that have experienced the worst of all evils, the taking of another life.


A Vietnam vet agrees   June 24, 2001
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

It's been 30 years and the experience of combat hasn't left me yet. In all that time, I've searched for answers as well as ways to turn off the sights, sounds, thoughts and feelings that sometimes come close to overwhelming me. But I never knew why. Now I have an insight into the experience which has turned out to be the watershed event in my life. Because I'm working on a novel in which combat is a significant part, the title of Dave Grossman's book, caught my eye: On Killing. Well, that's what it's all about, isn't it? Killing? I didn't know what to expect, but was fascinated by what I found. I discovered that only 15 to 20 percent of the front line soldiers fired their weapons in WW II, but that 95 percent of us did. I didn't know that. I know that when there was contact, virtually everybody in my platoon was firing, but didn't think that was unusual. Come to find out: it was the training. We were trained differently... and it worked! We became different. And we paid a price for that "better" training. Whether the forces which decided on our training knew there would be consequences or not, they took no steps after our time in Vietnam to prepare us again for civilian life, to restore our Ph balance as it were. We came back still poised to fight, still oriented toward fulfilling our training. I lived it, but I didn't understand it. Not till I read this book. I immediately sent a copy to another Vietnam vet friend of mine, and he found the same answers and healing that I did. It put the experience into perspective, supplied many answers to questions that had not even yet been formulated. I'm very grateful. Very. Needless to say, I would recommend this book to everyone, not just to vets, but especially to them. Read it and learn, brothers.