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|  | On Killing by Dave Grossman
The twentieth century, with its bloody world wars, revolutions, and genocides accounting for hundreds of millions dead, would seem to prove that human beings are incredibly vicious predators and that killing is as natural as eating. But Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, a psychologist and U.S. Army Ranger, demonstrates this is not the case. The good news, according to Grossman - drawing on dozens of interviews, first-person reports, and historic studies of combat, ranging from Frederick the Great's battles in the eighteenth century through Vietnam - is that the vast majority of soldiers are loath to kill. In World War II, for instance, only 15 to 25 percent of combat infantry were willing to fire their rifles. The provocative news is that modern armies, using Pavlovian and operant conditioning, have learned how to overcome this reluctance. In Korea about 50 percent of combat infantry were willing to shoot, and in Vietnam the figure rose to over 90 percent. The bad news is that by conditioning soldiers to overcome their instinctive loathing of killing, we have drastically increased post-combat stress - witness the devastated psychological state of our Vietnam vets as compared with those from earlier wars. And the truly terrible news is that contemporary civilian society, particularly the media, replicates the army's conditioning techniques and - according to Grossman's controversial thesis - is responsible for our rising rates of murder and violence, particularly among the young. In the explosive last section of the book, he argues that high-body-count movies, television violence (both news and entertainment), and interactive point-and-shoot video games are dangerously similar to thetraining programs that dehumanize the enemy, desensitize soldiers to the psychological ramifications of killing, and make pulling the trigger an automatic response. AUTHOR: Dave Grossman
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown & Company
FORMAT: Paperback
CATEGORY: History 
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 | Gladiator by Richard R. Watkins, Richard Ross Watkins
An exploration of the lives of Roman gladiators, warriors who battled each other to the death for the entertainment of the masses. In this examination of history's most violent sporting event, readers will learn such things as how gladiators trained and their lasting influence on today's world. Illustrated with b&w drawings. AUTHOR: Richard R. Watkins, Richard Ross Watkins
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Company Trade & Reference Division
FORMAT: Paperback
CATEGORY: History
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 | Native Roots by Jack M. Weatherford
Description not available.Shows how European white settlers used Indian customs and beliefs as the foundation for their new American civilizations. By the author of Indian Givers. Reprint. K. AUTHOR: Jack M. Weatherford
PUBLISHER: Ballantine Books
FORMAT: Paperback
CATEGORY: History
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 | The Massachusetts 54th by Gina DeAngelis
Description not available.Explains the events leading up to the formation of the Massachusetts 54th, a regiment of free blacks, and its participation in the Civil War, including quotations from leaders of the time and facts about African American soldiers. AUTHOR: Gina DeAngelis
PUBLISHER: Capstone Press, Incorporated
FORMAT: Hardcover
CATEGORY: History
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 | Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee, John Hersey, Walker Evans
This documentary work on the cotton sharecroppers of Alabama began as an article for Fortune magazine but was rejected because Agee refused to adopt the sterile, objective voice of conventional journalism. The resulting book, published in 1941 with photos by Walker Evans, ultimately reveals as much about Agee as it did about his subjects. It also served as a new model for this sort of nonfiction writing, presenting full and reverent portraits of three families in every aspect of their lives, rather than recording mere social statistics. AUTHOR: James Agee, John Hersey, Walker Evans
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Company
FORMAT: Hardcover
CATEGORY: History
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 | Singapore by Matt Thomas
Description not available.Presents an introduction to the geography, history, people, and customs of Singapore. AUTHOR: Matt Thomas
PUBLISHER: Child's World, Incorporated, The
FORMAT: Hardcover
CATEGORY: History
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