The book On Combat by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman presents a ground-breaking study of what it takes to perform, persevere and survive the toxic nature of deadly combat as a soldier in foreign lands, and a police officer within the streets of urban America. The book was written by two warriors who have been to war and done all that was supposed to be done. The book is concerned with what takes place in human organism under the stress of a serious battle. Additionally, it deals with the effects of the battle upon the nervous system, memory, auditory and visual perception, breathing and heart. Then, the book illustrates new findings in research on the measures which can be taken by warriors to prevent debilitations like these in order to stay, persevere and win the fight (Grossman & Christensen, 2007).
The book reveals the warriors’ nature. These are men and women who are compelled to train their bodies and mind in order to go to places left by other people because of war. After the examination of the incredible effect of the limited number of true warriors in battle, the book present an exciting and new research on how to train the mind and become inoculated to fear, stress and pain. The book explains the events which occur to the warriors after a battle. Furthermore, the book indicates how emotions like self-blame and relief can represent healthy and natural ways of feeling about having survived a given combat. Grossman’s work also presents an informative and fresh glance at posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and the nature of preventing it. In addition, the book entails the nature of surviving PTSD in case it occurs and the ways of emerging out of it even stronger. Lastly, it deals with the nature of assisting the people still experiencing it.