What Others are Saying About Into the Kill Zone....

"Into the Kill Zone is a startling and important book-a stark, no holds barred journey into the minds of the people who have made the ultimate decision. Klinger's prose captures the adrenaline, emotion, and split second decisions his subjects faced in the field. This is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered about what it takes to face a life and death struggle, and win."

-Christopher Whitcomb, author, Cold Zero: Inside the F.B.I. Hostage Rescue Team

"In Into the Kill Zone David Klinger goes where no one has gone before, telling what really happens in the minds and bodies of men and women in combat. With compelling narrative and powerful detail he shines a spotlight on the reality of violent conflict with a clarity and reality that makes most books on combat-fiction and nonfiction alike-seem like mindless pornography by comparison. Anyone who wants to know what it is really like to go into the kill zone should read this book. Police, military, and those who love them; military and police history readers; and readers of popular fiction should all read this book. Future depictions of combat should and will be held against the standard set by Into the Kill Zone."

-Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, author, On Killing

"This book is a must read for every police officer, police executive, and member of the general public who wants to know what it’s really like to shoot someone. From the gritty, piercingly painful opening to the haunting, solemn ending, Into the Kill Zone reads like a novel and is almost impossible to put down."

-Daryl F. Gates, Chief of Los Angeles Police Department, retired

Read Mr. Gates' complete review....

"A cop who has to shoot to kill is often 'hurt' as much as his target. Every police officer knows that, although the public has no realization of how painful the damage can be. David Klinger's remarkable book: Into the Kill Zone: A Cop's Eye View of Deadly Force, is wonderfully written as he relives his own story of being forced to kill, and recounts other cops' similar ordeals. Intense, gripping and shocking, the reader is pulled into the desperate scenes Klinger recreates. Not for the faint of heart, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the human side of law enforcement. Highly recommended!"

--Ann Rule, author, The Stranger Beside Me, Small Sacrifices, and Green River, Running Red

"Into the Kill Zone is unlike anything else in print. It is a must read for anyone interested in the oft-times violent world of law enforcement."

-Robert D. Keppel, Ph.D., author, The Riverman and Signature Killers

"Written by a former police officer turned criminologist-himself once involved in a fatal shooting-Into the Kill Zone offers unique insights into the experiences of officers who have had to make split-second decisions about whether or not to use deadly force in the line of duty. Drawing on scores of first-hand accounts told by police officers, some of them still struggling to deal with the aftermath of shootings in which they have been involved, this gripping book will be of interest to a wide range of readers-from criminologists, social psychologists, and law-enforcement officers, to sociolinguists, story analysts, and other humanists concerned with narrative as a basic sense-making strategy."

-David Herman, Professor of English, North Carolina State University

"Into the Kill Zone is one compelling book. It takes the reader inside the hearts and minds of America's police officers as they face danger and grapple with the awesome power they possess to take human life."

-Gil Kerlikowske, Chief of Police, Seattle Police Department

"This is a very special book. No one should presume to discuss police violence until they have read it and thought deeply about what it has to teach those of us who have been fortunate enough not to have faced the decision to use deadly force."

-Rodney Stark, Professor of Sociology, University of Washington

"Nobody has ever before done what Klinger has accomplished in Into the Kill Zone. By presenting the most detailed and private thoughts of officers who have shot citizens, he has made a unique and major contribution to the literature on policing."

-James J. Fyfe, Ph.D., Deputy Commissioner of Training, NYPD

"Police shootings are mercifully rare, but are frequently controversial. David Klinger fills a void by helping us to understand these volatile incidents, drawing on the eloquent narratives of the officers involved."

-Hans Toch, Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, SUNY

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