Note carefully the sub-title of this book. It is not so much on the details of Non-Lethal Weapons but on various aspects of using them. There is also the possibility of mis-use, as there is with anything else.



Somewhat surprisingly, the book starts with trying to define Non-Lethal Weapons, which is not as easy to define as might be expected. Rubber bullet guns, non-lethal at a distance can kill if fired into a person's head at point blank range. And what is non-lethal to a young strong male may not be to a child or elderly person.



From a legal aspect, there are international treaties regarding chemical weapons, which even includes tear gar, a staple of non-letal weapons of the past. (Which again, to people with breathing difficulties ....)



There is also a detailed look at five situations where non-lethal weapons might have been used, or used differently to resolve a situation. The five situations are:



The FBI and the Davidians at Waco

The UN and the Rwandan Genocide

The Peruvians and Tupac Amaru in Lima

The Russians and the Chechens in Moscow

The British and the Iraquis in Basra.