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Rating: 
Summary: A Seminal Work
Review: Anyone familiar with the Chandlers' "Death from Afar" series knows that McBride's book was seminal in the development of U.S. military sniping doctrine in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and on to the present day. What is less well-known is that McBride's thoughts on "The Pistol in War" (Chapter 10) were key to the development of Jeff Cooper's "Modern Technique of the Pistol" and that McBride's discussion of the "neatest and handiest military rifle I have ever seen" (pp. 335-6) provided the basis for Jeff Cooper's "Scout Rifle" concept. This book should be in the library of every serious student of shooting.
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Summary: Current in todays wars
Review: I took a copy of this book and passed it out to the sharp shooters in my unit in desert storm. I know several USMC snipers that had read it. It is as valuable today as it was in WWI. A no holds barred book about killing.
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Summary: A BIT WORDY BUT THE SNIPER INFO. IS TIMELESS.
Review: IF YOU CAN SLOG THRU THE MIDLLE OF THE BOOK THE BEGINING AND THE END ARE QUITE GOOD. THE SHOOTING INFORMATION IS VERY VALUBALE. I DID NOT START OUT TO READ THIS BOOK FOR THE HISTORY, BUT IT IS ACCURATE AND INTERTANING.
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Summary: No "sob stuff" here!
Review: This is a great WWI memoir, and it gives some incredible insights the makings of a great soldier. As one might expect, Mr. McBride was an extremely tough, brave man. However, this book makes it clear that there are some other, less obvious qualities to the professional soldier. Contrary to popular believe, imagination and individual initiative are among them. Most importantly, though, is a particular mindset. I leave it to McBride to put it best: "Hatred is a slow, calculating, cold-blooded business. There is no time for it in battle . . . I assure you that when I was behind the rifle, the principal feeling was one of keen satisfaction and excitement of the same kind that the hunter knows. That's the spirit. That's what makes good rifleman and good soldiers." If you are looking for poetic prose, look elsewhere. McBride was not an introspective man, full of soulful wanderings about the horrors of war. This soldier was thrilled and eager to participate in war, and joined the Canadian force because his home country, America, was too slow to enter the fray for his tastes. He described the mud of the trenches and the sound a bullet makes striking a human head in hatchet-like, blunt sentences. There is the satisfaction, though, that this lover of war told you the hard truth in every word he wrote. Another reviewer called this book "refreshing" and I will second that. In one segment of the book, McBride describes his distaste for a current war movie of the time of the book's writing, the classic "All Quite On The Western Front." While McBride complemented the scenes of actual battle, the whole show was ruined for him by the depiction of men in battle. The constant emotions, and, as he wrote of them, "facial contortions" exhibited by the actors where in his view ridiculous. Men died quickly, fought hard, and killed one another without a lot of fuss, or "sob stuff," as he called it. I believe H.W. McBride is telling me the truth.
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Summary: Refreshing
Review: Without regard to popular opinion McBride spells out his opinions and experience in the 'War to end all wars'. Not only is his honest (as opposed to 'politically correct') account refreshing, but informative as well. Military buffs and armed services personnel will find a great deal of useful information regarding the employment of small arms. In spite of the amount of useful military knowledge, the book is also lively reading. I recommend it highly!
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