The End of Killing, Rick Smith
The End of Killing, Rick Smith
List: $18.99 | Sale: $13.29
Club: $9.49

The End of Killing
How Our Newest Technologies Can Solve Humanity's Oldest Problem

Author: Rick Smith

Narrator: Brian Troxell

Unabridged: 9 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Lantern Audio

Published: 07/05/2019


Synopsis

Technology will make killing a thing of the past. The gun is antiquated technology, and it is responsible for tens of thousands of senseless killings every year. Humanity has accepted that killing is an unavoidable fact of life—but Rick Smith argues that it doesn't need to be this way and that we have the means to make the bullet obsolete in our lifetime. Smith is the founder of TASER (now Axon), and in this book, he demonstrates that we are on the cusp of a world in which killing is neither required nor acceptable. That change won't come by way of stricter gun control laws. No, what holds us back from making an overdue and necessary shift in how we think about weapons is our skepticism about new technologies and their potential. Smith has devoted his career to understanding why and how we kill each other. In The End of Killing, he reviews the history of weaponry and warfare as well as the latest technologies in crowd control, surveillance, and artificial intelligence. He delves into the big, thorny questions about how technology is creating more tools for police, homeland security, and military, and offering more options for our personal safety and our justice system. With clarity and conviction, he challenges the conventional wisdom on these subjects, showing how technologies that appear strange and scary at first can be the key to making the gun a relic of the past. In our current impasse of dead-end debates about gun violence and police brutality, Smith offers us a clear roadmap into a safer future. Thought-provoking, insightful, and controversial, The End of Killing will make you reconsider the violent world you inhabit—and imagine the safer world on the horizon.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bernie on May 21, 2019

Before one dismisses this book based on its seemingly pollyanna title, I’d suggest one think of it as an opening volley in what promises to be a series of crucial debates that will play out -- one way or another -- in the years to come. I believe Smith, founder and CEO of TASER and Axon, did a great......more

Goodreads review by Stan on December 31, 2019

I received this book in the mail unsolicited. I looked at the cover and immediately decided that I was not interested in reading it. Frankly, there was no discussion about why I should read it nor an ask. The book just showed up. Here I am at the end of the year and I had one more book to read to co......more

Goodreads review by Mark on July 28, 2020

Thought provoking. A passionate and pragmatical call to embrace technology alternatives to guns and other lethal weapons. Smith tells stories of how things could be assume continued improving in existing technology. Repeatedly calls for society to evaluate new technologies / policies based on how it......more

Goodreads review by Ash on August 15, 2022

This one's equally parts deeply inciteful and goddamned infuriating. Smith has been working at this sort of thing for awhile; guy's the reason police even carry non-lethal weapons (for all the good it's done), and nearly everyone worth a damn who has had violence as part of their profession agrees w......more

Goodreads review by Rodrigo on April 24, 2021

The book is perfectly written. It not only includes compelling stories and phenomenal content, but you can see that the person behind the book is beyond success with knowledge and ideals. There are clear paths to reduce violence and Rick points them out in this book. It’s a must read for anyone in s......more