Chapter 6
Psychology

Cohen, Elliot and John Gouch. Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War.
New York: Vintage Books, 1991. (E)
This book is an excellent analysis of military failure and examines the factors that undermine armies and lead to stunning defeats. This book is a must read.

Dixon, Norman. On The Psychology of Military Incompetence.
Toronto: Random House, 1994. (E)
This book examines how militaries, that pride themselves on professionalism and competence can in fact develop and promote incompetent individuals to high command. This study explains personality types and conceptualizes that militaries may in fact attract and promote the wrong type of personality. The book also provides a number of biographical and historical case studies as examples to the author’s thesis.

Grossman, David. On Killing.
Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1995. (E)
This book examines the human in battle and the reality of the battlefield including topics like fear, fatigue, fitness, killing and how to train people to kill in such a manner that it is done in a controlled, moral and legal manner. The author examines the reality of the battlefield on the individual and deals with the most basic reality in the profession of arms, namely the taking of another life.

Holmes, Richard. Acts of War: The Behavior of Men in Battle.
New York: The Free Press, 1985. (E)
This book follows, describes and examines the modern soldier from induction through training to battle with all of the attendant implications. This classic work provides leaders with an insight into what their modern subordinates are experiencing and how leaders can understand and intervene to assist as required.

Keegan, John. The Face of Battle.
New York: Viking, 1976. (E)
This book examines what battle is really like from the historical perspective of the soldier. The author uses three battles to provide to the reader a realistic view of war through the eyes of those who fight it.