On Killing read more like a study of a subject in need research, but On Combat is much more developed and geared towards preparing the reader for how his mind and body will react to a combat environment both during and after the crucible of battle. This book should be required reading for law enforcement and the armed services.

Another great book from Lt Col Grossman (Ret). This book is a little different from his first one (On Killing), which was an over view of stress in combat soldiers over our history. This book is perfect for law enforcement officers and those alike who deal with more violent people then the public on a daily basis. I have been a State Trooper for 6yrs now and this helps me under stand the different feelings I have had during my different encounters while on the Patrol. Just A Really Great Book!

But then I've always been a big fan of Grossman's writings. Very well researched, documented and very informative. His writings will save lives if you apply them-

this is a very well written book. i recommend it to be read by anyone whom has served in life or death combat or may be faced with life or death combat in their job duties. a lot of the information could be useful on the streets for the adverage joe or jane who may become a victim of violence and in search of that edge that could mean the difference between living and dying. I hope that any warrior in todays modern military service will study this book and add its information to their mental arsenal.

I started reading this and was pretty immersed for a while, but eventually set it down for a month or so. A couple weeks ago I picked it up again and tried to resume reading, but it's going really slowly and I find myself more critical.

I've found some really interesting and-- given that I'm an applicant to join law enforcement-- hopefully someday useful information in its pages, but I'm starting to get sick of quotation after quotation, metaphor after metapher, and repetition ad nauseum. Sometimes I think "he wrote this basically so that he could compile all of his favourite (or 'cool-sounding') quotations-- no matter how cliched-- about conflict and aggression from literature and history in one place," and at least once I've thought "if I read about 'the puppy' one more time, I'm going to scream inside my head," and within three minutes I was screaming inside my head. Maybe as an English major in university I'm just used to reading things written by authors who are *authors* first, but jeez... I really want to like this book. To an extent, I do really like this book. But anyone thinking of reading it really should know up-front: this was written by a warrior who decided to try and write about it-- not a writer who knows anything about combat. If you do a lot of reading, it's a distinction you'll want to know about in advance.

I found this to be a great book overall. I bought it to occupy myself during a week long field training exercise which involved a good deal of down time, and learned quite a lot about my job that I never realized in the past. It was well worth the price.

The only problem I found with it is that Grossman's occasional use of hyperbole (referring to children who play video games as "mass murderers") or oversimplification (reducing some very nuanced and legitimate points of contention to "sheep" and "warriors") has the tendency to undercut his otherwise valid points.

As a source of information about the psychological and physiological effects of combat both during and after such an event, as well as the benefits of the right training and conditioning, this book is invaluable and very accessible.

This book is a must read for anyone even thinking about joining the Law enforcement community. I think that it should be a required read for cadets in every police academy

Grossman takes you deep into the many fears, hesitations and simply the unknowns that are faced by many that serve within the military and law enforcement. His studies are simply to understand and the many examples make the read hit home that much better. I would consider this a must read for anyone already serving or intending on serving in either the military or law enforcement field.

Order was quick and very painless. It was at my door step as promised. great service

This is a must read for anyone in law enforcement. It will inspire you to continue on in your chosen proffession. It explains the psychological and physiological impact of stress that is encountered throughout law enforcement. It provides ways to train which can increase your performance under the most extreme stress. Amazing and enlightening. It also includes how media influences children and is leading to an increase in violence in society. The media is not the only reason youth violence is increasing but it is probably the most controllable.

i was forced to listen to this guy before one of my deployments and he is nuts. and irritating. he's never been in combat so it's like listening to a virgin talk about sex. i would take everything this guy says with a large grain of salt. for some entertainment, check out his sci-fi series. hilarious.

This book was recommended to me after an incident that required me to pull my weapon on a couple of people. I had a physical reaction that surprised me, and more to the point scared me. I ordered a copy of On Combat ASAP and began to read it. Frankly, it has helped me quite a bit.

Combat isn't something that most of us engage in on a daily basis. For those of us who are not in the military (or like me, not anymore) or in law enforcement, the odds of us getting into an altercation like this is rare. However, it does happen. There are a great many things that happen that are natural physical reactions that can cause distress to someone. Understanding these reactions, in particular the how and why they happen, can eliminate that particular stressor at a time when you don't need to worry about anything else.

Not only that, but On Combat tells how to deal with the aftermath of a fight, something that is all to often overlooked. This is something that happened naturally ages ago, but now is often overlooked completely. Understanding this has helped me develope a plan should I ever be involved in another incident. Most people will blame themselves for whatever happened, and having a plan in place will help a lot.

The only downside I saw to the book was Grossman's dogmatic feelings about children and video games, but this is really something that can be overlooked. It's not that I necessarily disagree with his take on video games contributing to kids becomeing desensitized to killing, it's just that I think parenting is much more important to prevent things like this.

In short, this book should be required reading by anyone who may find themselves in a fight. You need to know these things beforehand, so order this now and read it before you need the information contained within. It'll help. Trust me.

A former Army Ranger, Grossman takes a reasonable premise that police officers have a "warrior" role but then beats it to death. He describes two personality types on the "battlefield" (Normandy or Newport Beach): either defensive (the zebra) or predatory (the lion). "Which are you: the zebra or the lion?"

The author's dissertations on combat responses, both physiological and psychological, are excellent and VERY in depth. There's much to be learned here and studied. He does injustice, however, to those who have been traumatized by combat or law enforcement experiences with macho statements like, "You create fear, helplessness and horror [PTSD symptoms] by being a sheep. You prevent it by being a sheepdog, a warrior." The author would have done well to read Violanti and Paton's "Who Gets PTSD?"

These meanderings, of course, ignore the complex, multifaceted role police officers face when compared to the screaming paratrooper leaping into battle. Officers play countless, often unexpected roles and see things that tax their hearts and minds in countless ways and make it impossible to maintain a constant "warrior mask" of invulnerability and combat readiness. For this reason, officers are vulnerable to often unexpected soul woundings, fears and horrors that--no--don't make them sheep when they suffer.

Grossman fully supports Critical Incident Stress Debriefings (barring any displays of anxiety or emotion) but seems to attach minimal value to psychotherapy.

The author is at his best in his chapters addressing the impact of violence in today's video games on our youth, as well as the role of violent movies and television. He cites chilling examples of how recent school shootings reflect this implanting and the frightening impact it is having on our society. Excellent reading.

Overall---an excellent book for the military. Some good reading for the few chapters on violence in the media. Good reading for police trainers and debriefers (physical and psychological reactions during a shootout).

Andrew O'Hara, Badge of Life

A former Army Ranger, Grossman takes a reasonable premise that police officers have a "warrior" role but then beats it to death. He describes two personality types on the "battlefield" (Normandy or Newport Beach): either defensive (the zebra) or predatory (the lion). "Which are you: the zebra or the lion?"

The author's dissertations on combat responses, both physiological and psychological, are excellent and VERY in depth. There's much to be learned here and studied. He does injustice, however, to those who have been traumatized by combat or law enforcement experiences with macho statements like, "You create fear, helplessness and horror [PTSD symptoms] by being a sheep. You prevent it by being a sheepdog, a warrior."

These meanderings, of course, ignore the complex, multifaceted role police officers face when compared to the screaming paratrooper leaping into battle. Officers play countless, often unexpected roles and see things that tax their hearts and minds in countless ways and make it impossible to maintain a constant "warrior mask" of invulnerability and combat readiness. For this reason, officers are vulnerable to often unexpected soul woundings, fears and horrors that--no--don't make them sheep when they suffer.

Grossman fully supports Critical Incident Stress Debriefings (barring any displays of anxiety or emotion) but seems to attach minimal value to psychotherapy.

The author is at his best in his chapters addressing the impact of violence in today's video games on our youth, as well as the role of violent movies and television. He cites chilling examples of how recent school shootings reflect this implanting and the frightening impact it is having on our society. Excellent reading.

Overall---an excellent book for the military. Some good reading for the few chapters on violence in the media. Good reading for police trainers and debriefers (physical and psychological reactions during a shootout).

Andrew O'Hara, Badge of Life

Absolutely one of the finest works on current human history both past and present. Mostly read by Cops and Military persons but a great read for everyone interested in the human race period!

This is a MUST-READ! This is geared towards Military/Law Enforcement personnel but can be used in every career! I am not much of a reader...at all. Barely ever finish books that I start. But this one is a finisher! I finished and was hooked on it all the way through.

Anyone who has a concealed handgun license and is serious about the use of deadly force in self defense should read this book.

This book is great, it goes into detail on the different effects your body has on stress and combat. Its also great for giving family, and friends insight into why you put your life on the line for others. If you are in any kind of military or law enforcement role you need to read this book period.

This is a truly incredible book. The praise it receives is absolutely justified. Chapter after chapter of good information, useful to people other than police and military, rolls out of the authors. The chapter on tactical or combat breathing was worth the price of the book alone. The writing is well done. The pace is quick. The anecdotes & stories used to illustrate the points the book is making are wonderful. There is almost nothing not to like about this book.

But, there is too much emphasis inside the book on media violence leading to the increasingly violent world. The authors make a valid, well researched point, that, yes, indeed, violent media can lead to desensitiazation. What they don't point out is that broken homes, cradle-to-grave welfare, and decreased personal responsibility also help to lead to a more violent society as represented in other books. The authors dwell for a considerable amount of the book on violent media without taking the same look at other causes. Further, everything else in the book belongs there. It's all about what happens before, during and after combat. Root causes of violence just don't seem to belong. Their inclusion almost feels like a wart on the beautiful face of the book. It does impact the overall affect.

Just gloss over the sections and chapter on media violence and every other word in the book rings with power and truth and substance. I'm going to be referring back to this book over and over again.

This book is a key to understand what is and what do a warrior.
It is not a harsh lecture but it is very precise.
I read at first "On killing" of the same author and it was as good as this one.

I was very impressed with Dave Grossman's "On Killing" several years ago so when this book came out I knew it would be good. Mr. Grossman doesn't disappoint. I've trained in the martial skills for over 25 years and trained law enforcement and the National Guard. I also keep contact with many serving members of the armed forces both presently in the field and after they've returned. I've recommended this book many times to troops AND THEIR FAMILIES. I emphasize the latter, because this book may be the one place to get a real insight into what those who put their lives on the line for the rest of us have to deal with. I won't go into long details about the book as reviews below cover the book very completely. If you want to know what it takes to pull the trigger and deal with it afterwards...this is the book.

ON COMBAT is a great book which helped the person I purchased it for get through a very traumatic event. It is nice to have a book out there that can help someone with similar experiences. No one likes to talk about things like that, so at least they can get some comfort and understanding from reading about like experiences.

This is an awesome book, and I completely fail to understand why the Army neither has it for sale on base nor brief troops before deployment using this information.

Grossman doesn't do any empirical research of his own, but he saves the reader from having to read many other books and piece together the knowledge. It is based largely on the experience of police officers, which until Afghanistan/Iraq were the people who most frequently dealt with combat. But it is still applicable.

I read it some years after reading On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, and before a loved one took off for his second deployment. I also had the same loved one read it. Then, when we couldn't it at his temporary duty station, I had to read it again and do a book report - so he could brief the people in his unit who had never been shot at for real. I really think the Army should be doing that to all new soldiers, to mentally prepare them.

But I agree with other reviewers in that it is also fantastic reading for the average American and in particular for the friends and family of soldiers/law enforcement. It gives a small window into a world we'd otherwise never get a good look. And I find having the base of knowledge this and 'On Killing' and several other books (like Down Range: To Iraq and Back, by Cantrell/Dean, for instance) give the spouse/loved one/friend a way to be a better ear should your military/law enforcement loved one want to talk to you. It seems to make them more willing to talk to you than if you were totally uneducated.

Grossman has put together what is a very important book for our generation, and I only hope that more people read it - either to prepare themselves, or to better understand the new generation of combat veterans.

If you believe yourself a sheepdog or warrior, you MUST READ THIS BOOK. It explains who we are and why we do the things we do (that I always thought were instinctive).

An in-depth look at what happens physically and pshychologically to humans in combat. Law enforcement officers and military folks should absolutely read this book. In fact, since everyone has the possibility of being involved in a violent situation at some point in their lives, I would encourage anyone to read this book. It's very well written and a facinating read.

"ON COMBAT" is a MUST-READ for anyone in law enforcement, jailers, corrections, etc., as well as for anyone serving in our military!

I am very greatful that I have gotten to read such an amazing book at the start of my career instead of at the end. This book has put many pieces of the COMBAT puzzle together for me. It offers great insight into what goes on inside a warrior when crap hits the fan. It is most important piece in my collection and I guarantee it will be at the top of yours.

I highly recommend this piece to anyone who runs to a battle instead of away from one or anyone who is in the support system of our modern day warriors. I can understand why this is required reading material for several law enforcement groups.

The real life stories make the book very interesting and well worth the price and time. Thanks to all who made this book possible. It will be read several more times.