It’s considered prudent of late to announce it when the book you’re reviewing is one you’ve gotten for free. I’ll not only admit, but brag, that I got Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s and Loren W. Christensen’s On Combat as a gift. Col. Grossman (whose Two-Space War books I’ve reviewed here and here) sent it to me in response to a question I asked him about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

A book like this will be of no interest to some of you, and I think the authors would be the first to admit that if you’re one of them, it very likely speaks well of you. But for those involved with violence, whether as soldiers or police officers, or those who love them, or just armchair storytellers like me, this study is both valuable and fascinating.

The art of war has been studied since before history was written. Societies have learned, and passed on, the training and coping techniques necessary to help the warrior to conquer and survive. It’s only recently, as technology has altered the face of warfare in ways unimaginable to our ancestors, that it has become possible—and necessary—to figure out precisely what happens to people in a deadly fight, and what can be done to help them overcome one of the most traumatic experiences of life.

In the first section, The Physiology of Combat, the authors examine what happens to the human body in a battle situation. The intense fear and stress cause the autonomic nervous system to shut down services not immediately essential, which can cause some embarrassing reactions that recruits ought to be prepared for. The authors outline five Conditions: White, Yellow, Red, Gray and Black, increasing states of nervousness that initially bring useful clarity and concentration, but at the higher end take on the characteristics of panic, and become counterproductive. The trick, we are told, is to learn to keep the alertness level around the optimum.

The second section, Perceptual Distortions in Combat, describes the frequently bizarre ways in which the excited mind tricks the body in a combat situation. Tunnel vision and auditory exclusion are very common, and often operate in surprising ways (you might hear your enemy shooting at you, but not hear the sound of your own shots). Some fighters switch into autopilot, doing things they don’t even remember doing afterward. Sight might sharpen unbelievably. Time might slow down. Or, you might become paralyzed or be bedeviled by intrusive, irrelevant thoughts, things that could kill you. Your memory of the event is likely to be hugely distorted, often to your own disadvantage, bringing unnecessary shame and guilt.

Section Three is The Call to Combat. This section discusses effective military training; the fact (for instance) that shooting at realistic targets is a much better form of practice than shooting at bullseyes (and sophisticated paintball games better still). The importance of deciding beforehand that one will kill, if one has to, is emphasized, and the idea that necessary killing must always be traumatic is debunked. Here Col. Grossman repeats the claim that has made him famous—that violent, realistic video games inoculate children against conscience, and are to a large degree responsible for school massacres.

Section Four, The Price of Combat, deals with the normal effects of killing on human beings. The importance of “debriefing” is emphasized—the fact that, when talking the battle over with one’s fellow warriors, one often discovers that one’s memory is distorted, and that the shameful thing one believes one did, never actually happened. A particularly interesting chapter discusses “tactical breathing,” a method for controlling one’s fear response which (I suspect) may be valuable to civilians as well as warriors.

The last part of Section Four includes very useful sections on what to say to a returning veteran, how to reconcile Judeo-Christian morality with the warrior’s calling, and the problem of Survival Guilt. There’s even an appendix with a fascinating examination of Erasmus’ Twenty-Two Principles on How to Be Strong While Remaining Virtuous in a Dangerous World.

As is common in Grossman’s works, frequent breaks are taken for poetry, very helpful in allowing the reader to relate to such extreme (and often exotic) material.

On Combat was an engrossing book for me. I know I will find it valuable in creating fictional battles in my books, but I also believe it may actually help me deal with the stresses and traumas of ordinary life. This book is an education in life, highly recommended.