Force Under Pressure: How Cops Live and Why They Die

Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: For those who love crime genre, this is a must read! A book about the life cops written from the heart. The author brings the pages alive, revealing aspects of modern day crime and methods to fight such. An easy to read, funny, shocking, frightening and thrilling book, which lifts the lid on modern police work. Whether a lawyer or a criminal, a cop or an armchair sleuth, this is one for your collection. I could not put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Saving Your Own Life
Review: Force Under Pressure How Cops Live and Why They Die is an easy read even for those of us who are not in law enforcement or in the phychological sciences. Dr. Blum has a gift for bringing us into his world and allowing us to experience the traumas and tragedies our police face willingly and the toll it takes on them psychologically and physiologically. Individual police experiences and its aftermath are met with constructive treatments such as mental conditioning and stress management resources. This book is not meant for the lay person but I can use many of the techniques discussed in stressful areas of my own life. I have given copies of this book to police officers I know and hope they pass it on to help save lives.

Rating:
Summary: Saving Your Own Life
Review: Force Under Pressure How Cops Live and Why They Die is an easy read even for those of us who are not in law enforcement or in the phychological sciences. Dr. Blum has a gift for bringing us into his world and allowing us to experience the traumas and tragedies our police face willingly and the toll it takes on them psychologically and physiologically. Individual police experiences and its aftermath are met with constructive treatments such as mental conditioning and stress management resources. This book is not meant for the lay person but I can use many of the techniques discussed in stressful areas of my own life. I have given copies of this book to police officers I know and hope they pass it on to help save lives.

Rating:
Summary: Officer Survival and Family Survival Text
Review: Force Under Pressure is a book written by a psychologist with a deep appreciation of law enforcement tactical operations, especially those requiring deadly force. I had read only the first chapter when I stopped and got a pen and highlighter and began making marginal notes identifying key ideas and phrases for later use. Dr. Blum demonstrates a clear understanding of the ambiguity, confusion, high risk and severe time constraints that accompany law enforcement tactical encounters. He describes the effects of stress on human thinking and why perceptual distortion can lead to false conclusions. Each of the learning points is amplified by a actual situations. The book concludes with recommendation for surviving deadly encounters, not only physically but mentally and spiritually as well. This book is now one of the texts in my library on crisis decision making.

Rating:
Summary: Officer Survival and Family Survival Text
Review: Force Under Pressure is a book written by a psychologist with a deep appreciation of law enforcement tactical operations, especially those requiring deadly force. I had read only the first chapter when I stopped and got a pen and highlighter and began making marginal notes identifying key ideas and phrases for later use. Dr. Blum demonstrates a clear understanding of the ambiguity, confusion, high risk and severe time constraints that accompany law enforcement tactical encounters. He describes the effects of stress on human thinking and why perceptual distortion can lead to false conclusions. Each of the learning points is amplified by a actual situations. The book concludes with recommendation for surviving deadly encounters, not only physically but mentally and spiritually as well. This book is now one of the texts in my library on crisis decision making.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Text for Police Use of Force Instructors
Review: I have been a police officer for 20 years and a Defensive Tactics Instructor for 17 years, this book highlights the psycological data that has taken me 10 years to learn and condensed it into a easy to read text. This book should be read by all police officers and possibly by all recruits in the academy. It should be a mandatory text to be studied by all police use of force instructors, this includes firearm instructors. Any instructor who is serious about teaching their students effective techniques of survival need themselves to understand the psycological process of a lethal threat encounter and be capable of imparting said knowledge to their students. It is the mind that must be trained and the body will follow. Good work Dr. Blum.

Rating:
Summary: Force under pressure
Review: I have read a lot of books pertaining to police work. This is the first one that I have had the opportunity to read that is written for police officers. This book is geared for a police officer to read. It brings up many insights into officer safety, feelings of guilt and sadness, along with how to deal with them. The only negative thing that I could say about this book would be that it is written almost in a "school book" or informative style. I think that the author could have used othre angles to make it a little more interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Force under pressure
Review: I have read a lot of books pertaining to police work. This is the first one that I have had the opportunity to read that is written for police officers. This book is geared for a police officer to read. It brings up many insights into officer safety, feelings of guilt and sadness, along with how to deal with them. The only negative thing that I could say about this book would be that it is written almost in a "school book" or informative style. I think that the author could have used othre angles to make it a little more interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Mandatory Reading for Instructors & Supervisors
Review: I just finished this book after adding it to my collection of prep books for promotion (someday). Dr.Blum's prose is detailed and informative, without crossing the line into technical jumbly. Make no mistake: This book should be mandatory reading for all officers at every level. Don't wait until your first traumatic incident to buy this book; get it now and use the preparation techniques described. I only wish this book had been handed out the first day after leaving the protective walls of the academy...

Rating:
Summary: Techniques to condition the officer's decision-making
Review: Lawrence Blum describes the sources of danger, injuries, and victory to police officers in a down-to-earth, readable style. Blum's man point is that there are missing "ingredients" in the training and socialization of police officers. In his book, these ingredients include techniques and tools to condition the officer's decision-making and concentration during conditions of emergency; internal controls necessary to maintain the will to survive; and aids that will prevent officers being defeated by any threat. Blum offers tools to help police officers cope with unanticipated or rapidly changing encounters.