On Killing

The Psychological Cost Of Learning To Kill In War And Society

BY DAVE GROSSMAN

Brief Description:
The good news, according to Grossman - drawing on dozens of interviews, first-person reports, and historic studies of combat, ranging from Frederick the Great's battles in the eighteenth century through Vietnam - is that the vast majority of soldiers are loath to kill. In World War II, for instance, only 15 to 25 percent of combat infantry were willing to fire their rifles. The provocative news is that modern armies, using Pavlovian and operant conditioning, have learned how to overcome this reluctance.

Back Bay Books 1996 400 PP. Paper

$15.95 (low stock)