Why do I ALWAYS feel guilty after killing somebody?

Anybody who has ever heard Barry Eisler speak knows about the non-fiction book he touts, On Killing : The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman.  After hearing him again mention the book during his recent tour for Killing Rain, I picked up a copy and am about halfway finished with it.

I understand why he talks about it so much.  The book is a well-researched and utterly fascinating look at how the mind works under the extreme stress of combat. Turns out, even though a gazillion people have died on the battlefield, the typical GI Joe has an aversion to killing people.  The average soldier shoots over the heads of his enemies, if he shoots at all.   (Most combat deaths are the result of artillery fire.)

The upcoming sections on how leaders train foot soldiers to get over this aversion promises to be equally interesting.  Anybody who writes (and reads for that matter) about crime would do well investigate this book.