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Summary: personal introduction to military sniper action in vietnam
Review: I am way out of my genre with this book, i don't read much military history, virtually no personal stories like this one. I got the book as a result of reading a recent NYTimes article on sniper action in Iraq and i wanted to know more.Like the famous speech scene in PATTON where he says make the other poor guy die for his country, this book has a central welcome to the sniper school speech, pg. 95ff. "Your units selected each of you to become snipers because you are good Marines--men who are well disciplined... courageous...duty-bound...and loyal to your country and your Corps. You have been screened and found to be in top physical condition, mentally sound, and very patient. Each man here has demonstrated to his commander that he has good moral character and a strong sense of values, amony which he holds life sacred.
...
I know that as grunts, it was easy for you to feel justified in killing the enemy when he attacked you--he was trying to kill you. If you attacked him, he also had a choice to give up or surrender--you did not murder him, because he died trying to kill you. That's self-defences.
"As a sniper, you do not have that luxury. You will be killing the enemy when he is unaware of your presense. You will be assassinating him without giving him the option to run or fight, surrender or die. You will be, in a sense, committing murder on him--premediatated." I realize what Charles Henderson says about Carlos Hathcock tells me as much or even more about Henderson then it does about Hathcock but i finished the book admiring the both of them. Not seduced by action and adrenaline/testosterone-flow but grungingly respectful of the truely heroic which rises above the masses of men to distinction. Hathcock for his behavior and his committment to fundamental values and Henderson for the excellent writing without glorifying killing or blood lust. It's a good book. Appears to stick to the facts with a minimum of exaggeration, it is thoughtful and underneath it is a desire to present the best in the military tradition of the Marines and the developing tradition of the sniper/scout. I ordered the next book in the series, something i had not intended to do when i bought this one. Thanks for reading this short review. i hope you enjoy the book as much as i did. richard williams
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Summary: Interesting
Review: Awesome book about Vietnam! Carlos is becoming pretty popular now a days!
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Summary: A chilling story of survival, selfless sacrifice and heroism
Review: This was my first foray into combat memoirs. Since I dislike gruesome violence in film (I walked out of Apocalypse Now and have not seen Private Ryan, for instance), I was unsure if this type of book would be for me. This true story is so compelling, it was hard to put the book down. Henderson's courage and heroism is truly awe inspiring. The killing and gore is graphic, to be sure, but unlike Hollywood's productions, the violence is not gratuitous, but a matter-of-fact description of what Henderson and his colleagues endured. A chilling story of survival, selfless sacrifice and heroism like no other.
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Summary: Simply awesome.
Review: It's amazing how something as simple as paper and ink can describe someone so well that it makes you feel as if you actually knew the person. This book not only does a great job on telling Hathcock's life in Vietnam, it does it in a way that puts you there and then as it happens. I was not able to put this book down for more than a day; it just keeps you going and going... and nothing better to read non-stop other than the life of such a great man as Carlos Norman Hathcock II, Rest In Peace.
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Summary: Well written, a great tribute to a great man
Review: This novel follows the military career of Carlos Hathcock, one of the biggest names in modern military history. The author does a spectacular job with the arduous task of describing the Vietnam conflict and describing a fairly dull subject matter like precision marksmanship. A person that has no knowledge or background in military history or marksmanship can easily comprehend this book. The esoteric jargon of the Marines and of shooting are well presented in footnotes where needed. Thumbing through the eight page bibliography, it is apparent that the author did a large amount of research for this novel, and in my opinion he presented all of the information very skillfully. Being a former Junior Olympic Shooter trained by a Marine coach has made me well versed in the language of the sport, which the author seems very comfortable presenting in the novel. It is a very fluid read, and one of the best modern books I have read. Read this book, you won't be able to put it down.
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Summary: Marine Sniper
Review: I need the hardback copy.
Can I get it????
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Summary: Gripping
Review: This is an excellent (albeit reasonably brief at 280 pages) read. As no doubt you know by now gentle reader this is the history of an extraordinary soldier and sniper in the Vietnam war. Hathcock was a talented shot, who with uncanny skill in the battlefield reached such a stage of notoriety that the NVA put a bounty of three years salary on his head. His exploits are legenadary and show that Hathcock was as brave as a lion. At one stage him and his spotter took on a company of NVA regulars in a five day running battle. Perhaps even more telling, there is some attention paid to Hathcocks sheer tenacity in recovering, and returning to duty after suffering severe wounds. This is actually pretty inspirational stuff, and shows the sheer force of will that Hathcock had. Readers with an interest in rifle craft, the Vietnam war, and general military history will enjoy this book. I think that even a casual reader of military history will enjoy this as well. One gripe mind you- the photos in the edition I have are of very poor quality indeed and show very little being printed on newsprint as oppossed to glossy paper. Most disappointing. Grade: A-
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Summary: One of the BEST military biographies ever written
Review: I first heard of Carlos Hathcock when I was in the Air Force. I heard of him from Roberto "Bobby" Barrera, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran who was riding on the same AMTRAC as Hathcock (an AMTRAC is an amphibious armored vehicle) when it rolled over a hidden mine and was blown-up. Barrera credited Hathcock with saving his life, along with that of many fellow Marines aboard that vehicle. Bobby read us the story of that event from this very book. Later on, I heard the story of how Hathcock engaged a Viet Cong "mule" bringing guns and ammo down the Ho Chi Minh train on his bike. Hathcock fired a round that destroyed the bike and left the boy shaken, but untouched. However, the youngster grabbed one of the AK-47s he was carrying on his bike, inserted a magazine, and began searching for the sniper who shot his bike! Carlos fired again, killing the boy. Another famous story I heard tell involves the sniper vs. sniper showdown. Carlos and an NVA sniper were tracking one another, both intent on killing before they were killed. Both had their guns sited on each other, but Carlos got his round off first, which went right through the other guy's scope, into his eye, and killed him instantly. Most recently, I heard of Carlos Hathcock again through firearms manufacturer Springfield Armory. They recently introduced a new version of their fine M1A rifle (a "civilized" M-14 battle rifle) called the M-25 "White Feather" Tactical Rifle. Definitely the most advanced rifle that Springfield has ever produced, and it comes with a facsimile of Hathcock's signature engraved on the receiver. I thought it was an excellent tribute to Carlos, especially considering that he liked that M-14 rifle much better than the M-16. Finally, I found this book; "Marine Sniper;" and after hearing about exploits of Carlos Hathcock for so many years from so many sources, decided I needed to read about him for myself. Having just finished the book, I must confess that this has been one of the most enjoyable reads that I've come across in the past several years. Even my wife; who has no interest in the Marines, snipers, or Vietnam; found the book to be extremely well written and very enjoyable. I read a LOT of biographies, especially those concerning American military heroes. Yet this book by Charles Henderson stands head and shoulders above them all. Henderson does a superb job writing a book that an average Marine recruit would be able to comprehend, yet it is detailed and interesting enough for even an officer to enjoy. Rather than writing in the dry, boring academic style that so many biographies are made up of, he wisely chooses to write a "story" about Hathcock, and the book reads more like a fine novel than the typical end-noted, scholarly biography. But that doesn't mean the book is short on factual information or research, for there is more than enough information to soothe the savage nit-picker. Just about any Marine Vietnam veteran and/or competition rifle shooter can verify most of the information in this book, if you don't believe in it yourself. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have Bobby Barrera to verify the horrible incident where a mine hidden in a road blew up the AMTRAC he and Hathcock were riding; both men suffered severely from that attack. Yes, there are some areas in this book which are obviously "fictional" in that Henderson wasn't able to interview the dead Vietnamese that Hathcock had just killed with his rifle. So there are thoughts and words put to these real-life characters that may or may not be true --we'll never know. But Henderson uses this technique very sparingly, and when it is used, is done in a very effective, professional manner that makes for a most interesting read. It is also quite obvious that this book was a labor of love for the author, and the loving care in which Hathcock's tale is told is evident on every single page of this book. Henderson holds Hathcock in very high esteem, as do innumerable fellow Americans, fellow Marines and fellow competition shooters. It is rare to find a book like this, and I am eternally thankful to Charles Henderson for writing it. Now I too can finally understand the high esteem upon which so many people hold Carlos Hathcock. I know I will be telling my children about him, and pray to God that they grow up to be even half the man that he was.
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Summary: Marine Sniper - One Shot, One Kill, One Great Story
Review: Great story. Well written and full of detail on weapons, tactics, military etc. We need to hear more about people like Carlos Hathcock today. I'm sure we have them out there fighting for our country. I hope their stories aren't smothered by political correctness.
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Summary: Bogus
Review: "All-true" says the back cover on this book. That, amongst other things, is not true. There are hundreds of facts in this book which any reader will instinctively know are products of the writer's imagination. I read that Hatchcock meets his wife-to-be, and she sees his white straight teeth, and then I see a picture of Hatchcock further back in the book. Hatchcock's creator must have loaded a shotgun with teeth and unloaded it into the sniper's mouth. That got me think that many of the other facts in this book may be equally wrong. Furthermore, I lose interest when the VCs talk to eachother when I know that the writer couldn't have known what they thought or said. Doesn't matter that Henderson says that these conversations are the only things that are invented in his preface. I don't believe him. Henderson obviously thought that this story would be more thrilling if he made it "closer" to the characters. Not so - it only makes the story less believable. The Vietnam war is fascinating when you read the accounts of somebody who's actually been there, and who tells it just as they experienced it. You will not find that in this book.
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