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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.70443373092
EAN num: 9780312336851
ISBN number: 0312336853
Label: St. Martin's Press
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: May 01, 2005
Publishing house: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: April 28, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 166036
Studio: St. Martin's Press
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
With more than sixty confirmed kills, Jack Coughlin is the Marine Corps' top-ranked sniper. Shooter is his harrowing first-person account of a sniper's life on and off the modern battlefield.Gunnery Sgt. Jack Coughlin is a divorced father of two who grew up in a wealthy Boston suburb. At the age of nineteen, although he had never even held a gun, he joined the Marines and would spend the subsequent twenty years behind the scope of a long-range precision rifle as a sniper.In that time he accumulated one of the most successful sniper records in the Corps, ranging through many of the world's hotspots. During Operation Iraqi Freedom alone, he recorded at least thirty-six kills, thirteen of them in a single twenty-four-hour period.Now Coughlin has written a highly personal story about his deadly craft, taking readers deep inside an invisible society that is off-limits to outsiders. This is not a heroic battlefield memoir, but the careful study of an exceptional man who must keep his sanity while carrying forward one of the deadliest legacies in the U.S. military today.
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Rated by buyers 
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this autobiography largely focuses on the author's tour in iraq (operation: iraqi freedom), and while it does provide some brief glimpses into the mind and training of a sniper, the job they have to do, and the burden they carry, most of these positives are notably eclipsed by the endless complaining about the lack of action (re: fighting), macho head games with personnel he runs into, and redundant observations (ie. no emotional attachments with targets, no joy in killing even though it has to be done). all these factors significantly slow the pace of the book down until the subsequent fire fight. in addition, the level of writing is a bit amateurish even with the assistance of a credited author. i would've preferred more detail regarding training, preparation, and skill settings rather than the glossed-over descriptions provided.
the book isn't a total loss. the fire fights that are described are often times somewhat exciting, and it's interesting to get another perspective of the war in iraq as many of the operations often times coincide with other written materials by former marines on the war and have some overlap.
note that i have the utmost respect for men and women serving in the armed forces and the sacrifices made. i do not doubt the validity of coughlin's stories, his toughness, or his skill. unfortunately, this autobiography falls short of my expectations based on the jacket description and the positive reviews from other readers online.
Rated by buyers 
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The author relates his successful struggle with the USMC top brass to utilize the skill sets of Scout/Snipers in front line battle situations, rather than relegating them to taking out occasional designated targets. The editing is very poor leaving the reader the task of grinding through some very sophomoric prose, none-the-less, the story is worth the grind.
Rated by buyers 
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We're all raised hearing things like, "Don't hit your brother," and "Be a good boy," etc. So how does one go from being taught to "be nice" to being a trained killer? Shooter takes you inside the mind of a sniper. The author is a trained professional, and takes his "art" (as he refers to it) very seriously. Because he and others like him are experts at their job, American lives are saved. He admits to being haunted by his former targets in his dreams and is open about the strain of being deployed had on his marriage. Recommended.
Rated by buyers 
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While the title suggests it is an autobiography the majority of the book is concerned with the authors time in Iraq during the campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
The author was an experienced sniper with previous combat experience before going to Iraq. What comes through clearly is the very aggressive attitude of the Marine Corp and the author's desire to participate in the fighting. This is counter-pointed by an incident late in the campaign which obviously left a deep impression on the author and highlights the difficulties of modern fighting and trying to prevent civilian casualties.
What also comes through clearly are the problems of trying to maintain a family life and being in an elite military unit. These problems led to the author's marriage breaking down and to his decision to leave the Marine Corp. He also details some of the frustrations he found serving with some people who are less than professional and his disgust at one person in particular being rewarded for his service was another reason for leaving the Corps.
All in all, an intersting book with insight at what motivates a sniper but I would have liked to see more about the author's life other than in Iraq.
Rated by buyers 
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Shortly into the story it becomes pretty evident that this wasn't the "confession" of an honored and admirable soldier. This is not a warrior who wanted to share his story with the world to ease the burden of killing men who were fighting for their beliefs, even if those beliefs where not the same as his.
Jack was a soldier and sniper who saw "the dumbest man in all of Iraq" in the very first day of battle. The Iraqi fighter was not dumb to Jack because he watched him do something truly stupid, like load bullets into his AK47 backwards. This fighter was "the dumbest man in Iraq" because he was 1/2 mile away and felt secure and concealed enough behind a thick bush to attack from that position (remember that these soldiers are fighting based on experience and not from years of hardcore training like our Marines). Jack took this son/grandson/cousin/fathers/brother/friends/Iraqi soldier's life from his family. I honestly believe that the Iraqi fighter should have been killed because he was attacking our countrymen. However, I would respect Jack a little more if he treated a man that was so destitute in his beliefs he was brave enough to attack an entire force of American soldier, with a little more grace and respect. Instead, Jack takes credit for his cold bore 1000 meter (hahaha...oh but his rifle was already zeroed into the EXACT, no kidding he says it in the book, distance of the target haha) shot that saved an ENTIRE BATTALIONS MAIN COMMUNICATIONS HUBS from the ONE GUY ONLY PACKING AN AK47.
Sorry for the brief ramble, but this book is filled with complete ego. I am ex-military and have been hunting and shooting for 17 of my 25 years on this earth and I have more respect for the deer/elk/beer/mtn. lions that I harvest than Jack has for the soldiers he has killed in battle. Through the book I was trying to tell myself that a sniper has to have an inflated confidence in themselves, but this was ridiculous!
By the time I finished I thought of Jack as a supply and backline soldier who wanted to try to convince SOMEONE that he was good at his job as a sniper because he couldn't convince the Marines. It seemed that he killed not only because it was his job, but because he enjoyed it as well.
~Cam
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