Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills

Rating:
Summary: The Few, The Proud, The Marines ... More than just words
Review: Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills is an excellent book about the kind of person that has made the United States Marine Corps an elite fighting force. Charles Henderson's review of Gunnery Sergeant Hathcock's accomplishments truely brings out how heroism is not about supernatural acts by supernatural people, but rather it's about discipline, dedication and perseverance. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who appreciates a truely great military story - that's non-fiction

Rating:
Summary: Stunning Read
Review: This was a well written account into Sgt. Hathcock's career as a Marine sniper/instructor. Though I am not a military veteran, I thought this book gave a great insight into the brave men and women who serve our country to this day with distinction and honor.

I will highly recommend this book to people I come in contact with.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: Henderson can write and Hathcock can shoot (and more). This book is engrossing. Henderson takes the life of a brave and skilled sniper and literally brings it to the reader. No story, no matter how great can stand alone without the skilled pen of the writer/story teller. This book has both. Proof: it was just as engrossing the second time I read it. And "Silent warrior", it's follow-up, is near the same.

Rating:
Summary: Hunter
Review:
This book is excellent!This true story about Gunny Carlos
Hathcock is an example of a true marine.Honor, code, discipline, patience, vigilance, bravery.And a little help
from the almighty himself.He definitely gave some and in the
end he gave all. I couldn`t put the book down.A great read.
I would also like to recommend other true story books about
men who served in harms way to protect my freedom and the
millions of other americans who don`t even consider what really
goes on in this country politicly and militarely.Those are
"War Paint", "Warrior Soul", "Blood Warriors" ,and "Seal" just
to name a few.No I`m not getting paid to get people to buy
books.Just passing on good books.

Rating:
Summary: Marine sniper
Review: This book is an amazing book. I really liked it. It never was boring it always had something happening. It was about a sniper how went to Vietnam and sniped over 93 Vietnamese died from him. His name is Carlos hancoth. He was a really good sniper and later became a legend. Shooting was his sport. He would go behind enemy lines and kill commanders and other high ranked officers from the Vietnamese. I would rate this book a 5 because I couldn't put the book down it was too interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Read Silent Warrior instead
Review: This is the original book, written about Carlos Hathcock in 1985.
A second book, also written by Charles Henderson called Silent Warrior in 2000, is also about Hathcock. Some of this book is cut and pasted in the second book.

This book however does not have the detail on the background on some of Hathcock's greatest kills, The Frenchman, the Apache, the North Vietnamese General, and the Chinese Colonel.
It does go into more detail on the heartbreaking aftermath of what happened after Hathcock saved the lives of 7 burning Marines on an APC where he himself, by hanging around on the APC to save the others got burned over 93% of his body. His iron will and a bunch of friends kept him in the service until 1979, when he was retired as 100% disabled, due to MS that had kicked in due to his injuries.

Both books are good, but given the choice of reading only one, I would read the second book rather than this one.


Rating:
Summary: Biography of a Marine's Marine by a Marine's Marine
Review: One of my all time favorite novels. This story lily pad jumps through the inspiring real life of a Marine legend. Gunner Henderson (Author is a retired USMC Chief Warrant Officer) manages to capture the tip of the iceberg of Gunny Hathcock's life and monumental service to his country. For all of us who have went through basic Marine marksmanship, Marine marksmanship instructor training, and those select few who made it as Marine Snipers, this story is a personal look at a legend who helped develop the Marine Corps' legendary marksmanship programs.

This story highlights Gunny Hathcock's time in the Corps trying to take out the enemy to protect Marines and training Marine Snipers to do the same. His real legacy is not the incredible success he had as a sniper, but the impact his influence, and others like him, had on getting the Marine Corps Sniper MOS and marksmanship programs squared away.

Many will read this book and simply focus on the tales of his successful efforts at killing the enemy; however, do not miss the real story Gunner Henderson so skillfully weaves into the story of this man who was a Marine's Marine.

Gunny Hathcock is now on duty with the famed Marines guarding heavens streets; however, he lives on at every firing point where a Marine snaps in, send rounds down range, and where every Marine engages an enemy in combat.

Thank you Gunner Henderson for a wonderful novel and for having given all of us Marines a modern day legend and a testament of the Marine Corps camaraderie that accurately reflects so many of us that have borne the Eagle, Globe, & Anchor.

God bless Gunny Hathcock, God bless the Corps, & God bless the USA.

Semper Fidelis


Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson is one of the most gripping books I have ever read. It is the story of Carlos Hatchcock, the forefather of the Marine Sniper program. This book tells of his epic adventures in the jungles of Vietnam. His deadly accuracy and stealth abilities earned him 93 confirmed kills. It tells of his struggles and bravery in the field of battle. It relates account after account of how Carlos stalked the enemy for days on end and used his excellent marksmanship skills to deliver deadly shot after deadly shot. Charles Henderson's purpose in writing this book is to tell the forgotten story of Carlos Hathcock. Once you start this book, you won't be able to put it down; it puts you on the front line with the brave snipers who gave their all. Marine Sniper gives true testament to the struggles and triumphs of the snipers of Vietnam.

Rating:
Summary: A favorite among service members
Review: Written by two fellow Marines, one of whom served as Hathcock's commanding officer, this tale chronicles the life of the most notorious sniper in Vietnam. Marine Sniper touches on the issues that faced wounded vets upon returning home, the grim conditions snipers dealt with in the field, and the role that Hathcock played in establishing the Corps' scout sniper program.
Another apsect that this book deals with is the stigma that haunts snipers throughout the service in the military and beyond. Having personally served with them, I know they are routinely looked down upon as cold-blooded killers and mercenaries. Ironically, it is often artillery and air units that house the most disdain for snipers, while their bombs and shells indiscriminately kill more than the sniper's selective rounds ever could. Henderson approaches this from the frustated pov of the sniper and how they dealt with monikers like "murder, inc." and similar slurs.
Also, check out the sequel, Silent Warrior, which tells the same story from different points of view. A must read for Marines and all service members alike.

Rating:
Summary: Marine Sniper, Great Read
Review: I originally bought this book a year ago and read it cover to cover in a day. I simply could not put it down, it was that good. Charles Henderson tells the story of Carlos Hathcock from the time he was a little boy and on through him becoming the most famous sniper in history, and even after the war. If your interested in Vietnam and how snipers were used there, this book is a must read. Also check out the sequel, Silent Warriors, it is also a great book.