Inside the Crosshairs: Snipers in Vietnam

Rating:
Summary: Great research on the topic
Review: I found this book to be excellent from an historic standpoint of what is a sniper and what do they do. It is not one that has lots of war stories but it does document what snipers did and how they did it. If youre looking of for a bunch of war stories then this isnt it. If youre looking for details and research behind snipers ... then this is it

Rating:
Summary: dont buy no please dont waste your money
Review: I hated this book. The title reads Sniper in Vietnam. I think there was maybe 4 accounts of snipers in vietnam. The book goes back to like robin hood and talking about people being shot with arrows. Come on.....arrows. I bought a book about nam not some book on everything else. If you want a book about sniper history then this is the book for you. If not buy something else.

Rating:
Summary: Good Factual history, without the superman bull!
Review: Mr. Lanning has done a good job of discribing the history of the snipers in Vietnam. He is one of the only authors to include information on the enemy snipers, VC/NVA. Mr. Lanning does not go into wonderful 'superman stories' you read, and now see so much of in other works. While 'Lone Wolf' actions, and miracle shots did happen, Mr. Lanning points out that these were far from the normal operations under taken by both the Army and the Marines. This is a good book that can be easily understood by anyone, no military background needed to decode the cryptic language. The only real flaw I found was the lack of knowledge in what to capitalize. Mr. Lanning is obviously a fan of the Enlisted Marine, since he cannot seem to capitalize the title Army, or Officer. It is sad that a work of such completeness suffers from such unprofessional behavior. Does not say much for Ivy Books either. All in all still worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Very Dry.
Review: Not a very exciting book. Lots of statistics and facts about the formation of sniping units. If that is what you are looking for then this is the book for you.
Ed Kugler's review is right on the money but I enjoyed Ed's book "Dead Center: A Marine Sniper's Two-Year Odyssey in the Vietnam War" much more. I respect both authors for their service to our country.
Thanks Guys!

Rating:
Summary: Detailed, but something's missing
Review: This is an exhaustively researched, well detailed source on the creation of snipers in the U.S. Army. Everything about the history, the weapons used, and the tactics is in here.

However, it's a bit dry, because there aren't enough "war stories." Granted, there are a couple accounts hither and thither, but these are too few, far between, and short to really give you an idea of what it was like to be a sniper.

Rating:
Summary: Michael Lee Lanning tells the story of the sniper.
Review: This is an interesting book that tells the virtualy untold story of the special Army and Marine Corps marksmen known as snipers. The book follows the history of the special marksmen and the development of their weapons. This book is fast-paced and easy to read without military acronyms

Rating:
Summary: Excellent about sniper organization and operation in Vietnam
Review: This is the most comprehensive book regarding the organization, training and the operations of US Army and USMC snipers in Vietnam.

Unlike the other sniper books such as Charles Henderson's Marine Sniper or Ed Kugler's Dead Center that deal with sniper operations down to the personal level, this book approaches the topics from the institutional point of view. And, comparing with other generic sniping books such as Adrian Gilbert's works, Lenning's book is definitely much more organized and comprehensive. However, Lenning does not spend lots of volume dealing with weapons and equipments either (only one chapter). For those who want to know more about the equipments, Peter R. Steinch's works such as The One Round War would be more in depth.

The books starts with a recount of sniping history up to the Vietnam War, then Lenning really dig into the organization and development of snipers during the Vietnam War. Not only the better known parts of USMC snipers, he also covers the less known ones such as US Army and allies, and even devotes a chapter for VC/NVA snipers. He talks about the psychology of the snipers, the tools of trade, training and organization, operations, and, best of all, his own study and assessment of the effectiveness and accomplishments of US snipers in the Vietnam War.

This book is definitely a "must read" for whoever interested in the topic of snipers.

Rating:
Summary: reads like a textbook
Review: While this book was well researched, it reads like agovernment publication... long on facts, short on human interest. There are very few stories from the men who mastered this skill, so don't buy this to read hair raising stories of those that fought for us. Most of the book is the technical history of the art, and thetraining programs set up by various countries. I found it very hard to hold my interst, do not read it in bed uless you want to go to sleep faster. As research it is A+, so I gave it more stars than I normally would have.