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Summary: An excellent synthesis of a difficult topic
Review: Grossman's well written monograph clearly delineates how the military has synthesized and utilized the findings of scientific psychology to develop more effective combat soldiers. His description of that process is truly enough to make this an interesting book. He also explicates the terrible psychological price that combat veterans must pay for doing their duty. And he is correct in stating that we must take proper care of those who fight for our freedom. However, Grossman's final thesis, that we are "taking off the safety" on our youth by virtue of the ubiquitous violent content in movies and computer/video games should strike the most ominous note, especially in view of the string of school shootings that stained the history of 1998. Worth reading and considering.
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Summary: LTC Grossman is an asset to our Army and our Country.
Review: I had the pleasure of meeting LTC Grossman in 96 at Fort Lewis, Washington. He is both a motivator and a military genius. As a psychology major a loved the way he presented his research and as a soldier I loved his insight into the way we do business. I have shared this book with many soldiers and it has changed their look and motivation on what we do. For everything there is a season....a time to kill.
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Summary: THE CONCEPT OF ANXIETY
Review: This is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. If you look at the concept of "hate" and how it is just as psychologically damaging as killing itself, it really sheds some light on Freudian analysis, among other things. Freud thinks that anxiety is unresolved separation or lack of parenting issues from the parent. Maybe anxiety is much deeper. Maybe it is as Kierkegaard posited: it is an inherent rift in the "self" caused by sin. And what would be that "sin"? Hate. The very first sin (Cain & Abel). His book caused me to think that maybe psychologists are right about guilt being the biggest human problem, but the guilt isn't from unauthentic "selfhood" but rather from hate. The fact that all of us have hated people, and often continue to do so, and as Grossman shows, it is extremely psychologically destructive. And, as the soldier who is required to kill is forced to sublimate the immeasurable guilt (and I personally salute every soldier who has had to bear that terrible burden), which often escapes as PTSD, perhaps it is true that each one of us as members of the human family also sublimate our "blood-guilt" of hate by believing that we are "basically good". We deny our inherent evil in order to avoid the reality of the burden of terrible guilt we carry from hate. Otherwise, the flood of shame would be too much to bear, with no one to bear it for us. Anyway, that's what the book got me thinking about. A MUST READ for anyone interested in the TRUTH of human behavior. Unlike the rest of society, the military is probably the only organization in the world that truly understands human nature, in all of its infamy. It can't afford NOT to - its mission is compromised if its understanding of human nature is incorrect. I believe society needs to take note of military psychology, and this book is probably one of the clearest accounts of one extremely important aspect of human behavior, that has ramifications for many other arenas in society: Law, politics, sociology, etc.
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Summary: The psychology of killing in war and its effect of society
Review: This is an outstanding book from a very intelligent Army officer. If you've ever been curious about killing and killers, READ THIS BOOK. If you're interested in the behavior of soldiers in combat, READ THIS BOOK. If you ever wondered why military training has to be so emotionally, mentally, and physically brutal, READ THIS BOOK. As an ex-soldier in the US Army, this book helped me discover the psychology of the soldier and how the army (unintentionally) discovered how to psychologically condition its troops to become killers. It has also given me insight into myself and how my years in the army has changed me.
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Summary: An excellent argument that people deeply resist killing.
Review: Grossman provides a wide ranging historical and contemporary argument that most soldiers most of the time are virtually incapable of killing unless specially conditioned to do so. His evidence is thorogh and thoroghly convincing. On Killing is a must for anyone willing to question the dominant image of humans as fundamentally vicious and murderous. The 21st century need not repeat the horrors of the 20th. Grossman lays the foundation for understanding why.
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Summary: Great book at first
Review: This research is amazingly unique, and should be part of military teaching doctrine. Nevertheless, the author does not have a lot of material to work from and in several chapters repeats vinigtees. Highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I first heard LTC Grossman speak at the Marion Military Institute dining-in (1997). After his speech I purchased his book. It is written very well and gives an in depth view of the ramafications of killing at every level and the effects it has in society. It should be required reading for military and law enforcement personnel.
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Summary: Best book on how we're teaching children to kill.
Review: Grossman has in this book condensed the huge amount of psychological drivel that has recently been heard on why children kill to a concise and readable explanation. He has outlined how the military has refined its methodology over the years and has succesfully translated that success into our modern culture. This book not only lays open the responsiblility for why our children are killing more and more, it also puts a name on how to stop the violence. This is the finest work on this subject to come along in the last twenty years.
Rating: 
Summary: Good compilation of facts about the psychology of killing
Review: LTC Grossman's book is a great overview of the psychology of killing, in particular relating to soldiers during combat. What it is not is new research. If you want to read one book on the psychology of killing-read this one. If you want to really delve into the psychology of killing-read the books in the bibliography at the end of this book.
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Summary: Required reading!
Review: I am a firearms instructor at the California Highway Patrol Academy, and have found this text to be very useful in the instruction of in-service officers and cadets. When trying to explain the ramifications surrounding the taking of another life and the difficulty surrounding these circumstances it is nice to have a book that can be refered to. The five people in my training unit all have purchased a copy and each is well worn.
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