Grossman's work is always good and he is one of the pioneers in this field. He deserves his accolades but having read his other texts "On Killing ..." and "Teaching our kids to kill..." I am a fan but noticed the information repeating itself. In truth I was a bit disappointed in that but will never tire of his work.

As a deputy district attorney who prosecutes people who murder and attempt to murder police officers, I have a vested interest in understanding what officers go through during a deadly force encounter. Without a doubt, of all the books and articles I've read, this is the best book on the subject. The discussion of a person's reaction to a deadly force encounter is right on point. From auditory excluson, to visual distortion. For example, I did not understand in one of my cases why one police detective had temporary hearing loss during a shooting with a suspect, but the other person in the car who shot did not. Both were in an unmarked police car when the defendant turned his gun on them. The answer I learned is that the first law enforcement shooter in the car had momentary auditory shut-off (similar to the eye blinking when something comes close) because his body knew he was about to shoot back at the suspect who was outside the car. It's just a little thing, but I headed off a bigger issue in trial by knowing this.

By reading this book, I've had more effective interviews with victim officers, and have been equally effective is confronting arguments by defense attorneys regarding an officer's visual or auditory distortions. This book is a must read for anyone who helps protect the protectors, and especially for those on the front lines of protecting all of us. By knowing what is happening to the victim officer, he or she will be in a better position to explain it to investigators, prosecutors and juries.

My only complaint, is that I think Col. Grossman went off the deep-end when he gets to the chapter on video games, kids and T.V. That's not what I bought the book for, nor do I necessarily agree that he has sufficient support for his conclusions. You can skip those chapters near the end of the book, and still I would give it a 5 star rating.

Read this book before you by anything else. The subsequent books I've purchased, including those from the co-author have fallen quite short.