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What did you think about On Killing? I got it for Christmas this year, and - as a former soldier myself - was really intrigued by the first few pages.

scott_s 18y ago
I found it fascinating. He makes a compelling argument - with evidence - that humans have a natural instinct not to kill each other. I had never thought about it in the way he presented it, and it changed how I look at wars and killing in general. His followup to that, how one of modern military training's main purposes is to overcome that natural instinct, also changed how I looked at training and practice of any kind. His interviews with veterans who had killed was both fascinating and heartbreaking. Regarding media, one point he makes that I agree with is the non-chalance with which people kill in movies and tv is ridiculous. Not offensive, just fantasy. It did change how I view killing in entertainment. Simply, in reality, most people won't kill. What I didn't buy was his final argument, which tries to argue that the rise of violence in media has contributed to the rise of violence in society. I did not find his evidence convincing. He just spent an entire book arguing for the value of conditioning through actual training, then claims that viewing violence is enough to make someone do it. Unfortunately, this claim is what Robert Grossman is most famous for. I think that's sad, because the rest of the content are things I think all of society should know, in particular those who know someone who has served. A note on the writing itself: not the greatest. In many ways it reads like someone's term paper. He also tries to make connections to the fuzzy-wuzzy side of psychology at times. But that doesn't stop the rest from being good and worth your time. Honestly, I'd rather ask you what you thought about it. I've never been a soldier, so I'm fascinated to know what soldiers feel about it.
- run4yourlives 18y ago
  Thanks for the insight. Perhaps I'll let you know/blog about it once I'm finished the book... I got 6 books for Christmas though, so it may be a while! :)

scott_s 18y ago

I found it fascinating. He makes a compelling argument - with evidence - that humans have a natural instinct not to kill each other. I had never thought about it in the way he presented it, and it changed how I look at wars and killing in general. His followup to that, how one of modern military training's main purposes is to overcome that natural instinct, also changed how I looked at training and practice of any kind. His interviews with veterans who had killed was both fascinating and heartbreaking. Regarding media, one point he makes that I agree with is the non-chalance with which people kill in movies and tv is ridiculous. Not offensive, just fantasy. It did change how I view killing in entertainment. Simply, in reality, most people won't kill. What I didn't buy was his final argument, which tries to argue that the rise of violence in media has contributed to the rise of violence in society. I did not find his evidence convincing. He just spent an entire book arguing for the value of conditioning through actual training, then claims that viewing violence is enough to make someone do it. Unfortunately, this claim is what Robert Grossman is most famous for. I think that's sad, because the rest of the content are things I think all of society should know, in particular those who know someone who has served. A note on the writing itself: not the greatest. In many ways it reads like someone's term paper. He also tries to make connections to the fuzzy-wuzzy side of psychology at times. But that doesn't stop the rest from being good and worth your time. Honestly, I'd rather ask you what you thought about it. I've never been a soldier, so I'm fascinated to know what soldiers feel about it.

run4yourlives 18y ago
Thanks for the insight. Perhaps I'll let you know/blog about it once I'm finished the book... I got 6 books for Christmas though, so it may be a while! :)