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42nd out of 554 books
—
642 voters
Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills
Tells the exciting true story of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, a legendary Marine sniper in the Vietnam War.
He's silent, invisible. He lies in one position for days, barely twitching a muscle, able to control his heartbeat and breathing. His record has never been matched: 93 confirmed kills. This is the story of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, Marine sniper, legend of military lore.
He's silent, invisible. He lies in one position for days, barely twitching a muscle, able to control his heartbeat and breathing. His record has never been matched: 93 confirmed kills. This is the story of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, Marine sniper, legend of military lore.
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
October 1st 2001
by Berkley Trade
(first published 1986)
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May 14, 2013
Alex Hamerlinck
is currently reading it
In the book Marine Sniper 93 Confirmed Kills by Charles Henderson (the author of Silent Warrior) is an explosive true story on how Staff Sergeant Hathcock became America’s deadliest sniper. I believe the author’s purpose on why he wrote this book is because he wanted to tell the story of one of the best Marine snipers to ever live and to let people know about him. The main characters in this book are of course Staff Sergeant Hathcock himself and his spotter and best friend Corporal Burke.
In this...more
In this...more
Marine Sniper is the first book to Silent Warrior. It is also a non-fiction book about Staff Sergeant Carlos Hathcock. This book, however, tells you the training that he went through to become a marine sniper and how he decided to become one. It spends a while doing this and then he is shipped off to Vietnam to fight in the war. He then quickly becomes a well known sniper in the war. He makes many kills and then finishes his tour to return home to his wife. But after a few months asked if he wou...more
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A Review of Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills
Recently I read the book Marine Sniper. This book is by far the best book I have read and is inspired by a true story. The action and suspense never stops. This book is not easy to put down for those who love action and suspense books.
While reading this book, I could imagine I was in the audience of the national shooting competition when all went quiet for the shot that decided it all. I also imagined that I was a marine on hill 55 going into the jung...more
Recently I read the book Marine Sniper. This book is by far the best book I have read and is inspired by a true story. The action and suspense never stops. This book is not easy to put down for those who love action and suspense books.
While reading this book, I could imagine I was in the audience of the national shooting competition when all went quiet for the shot that decided it all. I also imagined that I was a marine on hill 55 going into the jung...more
I will perhaps catch some flak for this, but I have to disagree with the majority of the reviews. While the story of Carlos Hathcock is amazing beyond belief, I felt let down by the narrative of Charles Henderson. There is one aspect of this book that is especially bothering to me; I would imagine that the events taking place in Vietnam must have been immensly intense and frightening. For example, mental pressure felt by Hathcock as he 'played hide and seek' with Vietnamese snipers must have bee...more
May 12, 2011
Brian Sheridan
is currently reading it
I am 1/3 of the way done my book.
Prompt 2
The main character of my book, is Carlos Hathcock. He was one of the marines better snipers during the Vietnam war, and holds alot of crazy records, including a huge number of confirmed killed, and the longest distance kill ever, which was just recently broken. If I knew him in real life, I feel like we could be good friends. He seams pretty chill and is very dedicated to his work, and is shown through just how much work he puts on his missions. He stops...more
Prompt 2
The main character of my book, is Carlos Hathcock. He was one of the marines better snipers during the Vietnam war, and holds alot of crazy records, including a huge number of confirmed killed, and the longest distance kill ever, which was just recently broken. If I knew him in real life, I feel like we could be good friends. He seams pretty chill and is very dedicated to his work, and is shown through just how much work he puts on his missions. He stops...more
Will shoot through any romantic notions you may have had
Ok, so perhaps I had a slightly romantic notion about snipers and this book certainly blows that away. This is a pretty tough book to read, not too well written but more importantly it's hard-hitting stuff. The intimate process of deciding exactly when a person's, or even child's life is going to end as described in full.
While I have certainly read plenty of war books and have no illusions about the horror and hell it involves, this book do...more
Ok, so perhaps I had a slightly romantic notion about snipers and this book certainly blows that away. This is a pretty tough book to read, not too well written but more importantly it's hard-hitting stuff. The intimate process of deciding exactly when a person's, or even child's life is going to end as described in full.
While I have certainly read plenty of war books and have no illusions about the horror and hell it involves, this book do...more
This was lent to me by a guy at work last week. I told him that I probably wouldn’t get to it anytime soon, and he said that was fine, but I ended up finishing it pretty quickly. It’s the true story of the most prolific sniper in the history of the Marines: 93 confirmed kills in Vietnam. And there were many more unconfirmed ones. The things he had to do, laying in the jungle for hours or days with bugs eating him alive, crawling through all kinds of foul water and jungle slime, are just amazing....more
Marine sniper was a book about an officer in the maries and his job was to patrol the streets from any enemy combat personal. he was known for his eagle eye of a shot because he would rarley ever miss a shot. Every shot he took he had to explain every moment and every breath he took. He also had this book that he kept, like a journal of all the people he had killed. When henderson quites" Marines die as fast from bullets fired by twelve-year old boys as they do from bullets fired by men." (Hende...more
This book is not for the faint of heart or whinny. You may not even agree with the purpose of using snipers in Vietnam or any other war including the war on terror. It's not a "chick" book. It deals with the realities of living for days in the steaming jungles, covered with biting ants and other insects, and not moving a muscle for fear of risking being spotted by the enemy and killed. It's about self-discipline, courage, determination, and a greater goal than their personal safety because they...more
Pining down an entire You get the inside story of a great war hero in which you get to see life as a Marine sniper. Some good leadership lessons as well as stories of heroism mixed in with some near death experiences that make this story very exciting.
It was a bit strange reading the fictionalized parts of what went through the enemy's head and other not so fictionalized parts of bullets flying through the enemy's head.
All in all, it was an entertaining read but also a sad one as you get a gli...more
It was a bit strange reading the fictionalized parts of what went through the enemy's head and other not so fictionalized parts of bullets flying through the enemy's head.
All in all, it was an entertaining read but also a sad one as you get a gli...more
Nov 15, 2012
Zakary Hudson
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes war novels, especialy vietnam
It was an amazing book. One of the best I read in a long time. It goes into great detail about what it takes to be sniper, competetive shooter, and trainer. It not only covers the war but also the personal life of Carlos Hathcock. It not only describes hardships and joys, but gives vivid personal examples of missions and his day to day life as a sniper in Vietnam. If you get well into the book you can almost imagine what it would be like in Vietnam with the imagry used in this book. It is define...more
Ich habe den Dienst an der Waffe verweigert und mit meinem staatlich geprüften Gewissen meinen Zivildienst in einer Blindenschule abgeleistet (Eine fantastische Erfahrung ). Trotz meiner pazifistischen Grundhaltung, habe ich ein Faible für Kriegsromane und Filme. Warum das so ist, habe ich hier versucht in Worte zu fassen:
http://awesomatik.com/2010/09/20/fasz...
Da ich schon so einiges an Militär-Literatur verschlungen habe, wollte ich nun mal einen neuen Blickwinkel wagen (z.B. durch ein Zielfer...more
1 like · like · see review
“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.” This quote from Ernest Hemingway opens the story of one of the greatest snipers the military has ever seen. “There have been many marines,” Henderson writes. “There have been many marksmen. But there has only been one Sergeant Carlos Hathcock.”
The book has some pacing issues, largely due to the fact that real life doesn’t always fall easily into a...more
The book has some pacing issues, largely due to the fact that real life doesn’t always fall easily into a...more
Mar 04, 2008
James
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Students of military history and psychology
The story of Carlos Hathcock, who will probably always be remembered as the most effective sniper in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps. Hathcock fought in Vietnam and, as the title says, killed 93 people that were documented and confirmed, and probably killed hundreds more that were listed as "probable" or "unknown".
Snipers are unusual even among professional military people - they have one of the hardest and most dangerous jobs psychologically, emotionally, and in terms of wide-ranging skill...more
Snipers are unusual even among professional military people - they have one of the hardest and most dangerous jobs psychologically, emotionally, and in terms of wide-ranging skill...more
I was pleasantly surprised about this book. At first, I had a hard time with the descriptions of the jungle and coming to terms with the physical distances Carlos Hathcock was shooting from (like I can't tell the difference in my mind between 700 yards and 1000 yards). But once I got past that, I could begin the appreciate how much work and discipline goes into being a sniper. It gets a little sad towards the end, but it's a testament to how destructive combat is to a person's psyche.
Feb 10, 2013
Gary Daly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Military Buffs and Human interest
Intense historical account of Marine Sniper Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock (93 Kills) written by Charles Henderson former Marine and historian who 'knows' his subject. At times it's a sensitive and meaningful look into the private and family life of a man performing a military task that even many of his superiors didn't consider 'right'. The argument between the use of napalm and sniper rifle as weapons in battle is in my view moot. a good read of you're in the market.
The exploits of Carlos Hathcock are amazing and he should be recognized for what he did for America. He is truly a hero in my book. The writing of the story was just ok. It was not bad, but I did not enjoy the book as much as I felt I should have mainly because I did not enjoy the narrative. Definitely worth a read if you have any interst in Vietnam, marine corp history or snipers. I still do not know why I decided to read this book, but overall I am glad that I did.
This appears to be a story about an interesting life of a great man, but in its quest to straddle the line between telling an exciting story and recounting facts like a history lesson it fails at both. Skipping back and forth through time does more to disorient the reader and take them out of the story than it does to increase emotional attachment to the protagonist. This could've been a great story, but the writing keeps it from reaching its potential.
Amazing account of how Marine sniping was born. This guy Carlos Hathcock is unreal. For that matter, snipers in general endure so much more than your average soldier could imagine. Crawling 1500 yards in THREE DAYS through 2 foot tall grass toward an enemy encampment? Wow. Very suspenseful and masterfully written.
I could have done without the graphic detail in the end of the book, but I understand fully why it was there.
I could have done without the graphic detail in the end of the book, but I understand fully why it was there.
This was a good book written about one of the greatest snipers in military history, however the way it was written seemed a bit like a biased history. At times it seemed like the enemy was just dummies stuffed with straw, it also seems Charles Henderson was trying to make the book like an action movie. Aside from that though the story about John Hathcock and what he did in Vietnam is great and is worth learning about.
Saving Private Ryan movie scene where sniper shoots enemy through his own scope is Carlos Hathcock true event. Held amazing kill number and longest shot records at the time, during Vietnam War. Amazing story. Mind set it would take to be Carlos Hathcock is quite interesting. Not that well written but very memorable book, and hugely impressive character. Non-fiction.
Marine sniper is about a very courageous man, Sargent Carlos hathcock. It took him massive amount of training, courage and bravery to do what he did. He is a very well respected sniper in his field. This books facts are accurate as it gets because it is told from his point of view so every detail is from him and you feel as if you we're there when it happened.
Extremely interesting book, detailing the skills and intestinal fortitude necessary to do one of the most dangerous military jobs. I personally appreciated the incredible amount of details shared with us about Carlos Hathcock's life, his thoughts about being the world's best sniper, and how he sought to care for all of his snipers so they would make it home alive.
This is written from a friend about a friend. Some of the accounts may not be accurate as the author even states that he at times can only assume that his Sniper-friend would have responded in the particular way that the author portrays. There are some great descriptions about the Mekong Delta and what it was like to be a sniper at war. A good read.
This was a really good book. I truly can't imagine what it must have been like to go through the things that are described by the author. We really can't understand completely what is was like to be there without actually experiencing it. This kind of story really gives a new appreciation for what the men and women who serve this country go through.
This is quite possibly the best account of war I have ever read - if you love everything about Snipers & war, this book will be almost impossible to put down - This snipers story is truly incredible, and some of the missions he's carried out take immense skill, courage and patience.
93 confirmed kills - a world record that has never been beaten.
93 confirmed kills - a world record that has never been beaten.
This is a (mostly?) true account of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock as a sniper in Vietnam. If you do not like war reality I would suggest you not read this book. If you would like an inside look at this aspect of war this would fit the bill. But I warn you, it does not pull it's punches. I gave it a 5 star not because of the killing and gore, but because it is the way it was and sometimes we need to know and understand what can go on in this world. Good luck.....
I cried at the point in the book where Carols returns from Vietnam with such extensive burns from rescuing fellow Marines from a truck explosion that his skin tears when he moves but he still wants so much to shoot and serve. It is a really good book and very inspirational. It proves that one person can have an impact.
Found this book to be very hard to put down but also it was so disturbing to find out how his life went afterwards. To think that this man could give up so much for this country and be treated so badly. It was an honor to read about him and I so repect the person that he was. Wish we had done better by him.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| my opinion | 17 | 32 | Apr 10, 2012 12:34pm |
Apr 02, 2012 10:47am