Customer Reviews

CIRCUS WORLD.

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

When I read Silent Warrior I was expecting to read about more experiences that Carlos Hathcock had while in Vietnam. I had already read Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills (of which I must say two things: 1- is an absolutely magnificent book, and 2- is necessary to get much of anything from this sequel) and found that this book did nothing to live up to my expectations. Instead of reading about new adventures, I found myself seemingly rereading Marine Sniper. Indeed, the only chapter which held my interest was chapter 12- The Valor of Corporal John R. Burke. Besides this, there wasn't another high-point for me.

In the preface, author Charles Henderson writes that over 300 pages were cut by the publisher of Marine Sniper for marketability due to length. Not being able to predict the success of this first novel, this was probably necessary. However, later taking the cut material and marketing it as a continuing story is not fair. The material in Silent Warrior seems to be the extraneous information which was cut, and though while it may add some degree of color and vitality to the event which it describes, does little on its own since the description of the major event is missing since it is in Marine Sniper. In my opinion, Henderson would have been better off to write an expanded version of Marine Sniper with the cut material added to it.

Overall, I would have settled for just reading Marine Sniper, which is a truely wonderful read. Silent Warrior has detail, and I LOVE detail, but this detail seems out of context to me since it is largely about the events in Marine Sniper, and the description of these events is not as complete as in Marine Sniper. I gave this book a 1 star rating because it was a great disappointment.

I read the really bad putdown that the reader from Oceanside hands Silent Warrior and its author. I have read both Marine Sniper and Silent Warrior and found their depictions very accurate. I was in Vietnam as a Marine and drank 333 Beer. I even had a T-shirt with the yellow, red and black 333 label on it. Corporal Burke was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism at Khe Sanh. I have personally read the documentation, and know the Gunny who put Burke in for the Navy Cross (second to the Medal of Honor). Burke was not acting as a sniper at Khe Sanh, but as a rifle squad leader, and had several men on the hill under his leadership when overrun. He saved their lives, and died doing it. It is documented fact, easily obtainable through Marine Corps headquarters. Henderson draws Burke's death directly from what is written in the documentation used to award the Navy Cross to Burke. Did they get it wrong too? The reader's accusation that Burke's heroism and character are false is shameful. With time memories do fade, and Viet Vets like myself and Henderson may remember things differently. Little things like German Tape, so what!

Breathe, Relax, Aim, Stop, Squeeze. The technique taught to all Marine recruits during marksmanship training and an appropriate metaphor for Charles Henderson's follow up to Marine Sniper. Thorough with it's attention to detail as well as enlightening, Henderson includes that material which was cut from his first book about Carlos Hathcock and additional information garnered from North Vietnamese military personnel, including those who had tried in vain to eliminate Hathcock and Jim Land on the battlefield over 30 years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to read about David Sommers who served as Sergeant Major of Second Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California nearly 20 years ago when I made that transformation from slimy civilian to United States Marine and his relationship with Hathcock. The letter to Henderson from Jerry Burke Bouchard, sister of Corporal John R. Burke, will simply bring you to tears.

All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Henderson for bringing Hathcock's story to print again. Every Marine whether active duty, reserve, former, officer or enlisted should have these books in their library. If you haven't read either, then read both. If you've already read them, then read them again.

I have read Silent Warrior as well as Charles Henderson's first book about Carlos Hathcock II, Marine Sniper, and I enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed the first one. Both were well written, and both were inspiring. The life and career of Carlos Hathcock II embody those traits most noble in mankind: courage and devotion to duty, but most of all, concern and love for a fellow human being. Carlos Hathcock II demonstrated that care time and again in risking his own life to help protect his fellow Marines, and especially in risking himself saving men from a burning vehicle. His friend and fellow sniper took this to the ultimate limit in sacrificing his life to save injured men.

I feel that this book, along with its companion volume, Marine Sniper, could be an inspiration, not only to servicemembers, in ALL branches of the military, but also to the public in general.

I'll keep this short. Marine Sniper is an astonishing account of Carlos Hathcock's unique courage and dedication during his service in Vietnam. Anyone interested in the Marine Corps, the Vietnam War, sniping, or military heroes must read Marine Sniper. And if you read it, then you won't have to read Silent Warrior. Why? Because Silent Warrior is the exact same book, except not nearly as well done. The same exact stories - the Apache, the NVA general, the Frenchman, Burke's death, the VC sniper hunt, Hathcock's rehabilitation of his unit upon his return to Vietnam - are retold in Silent Warrior, except in sketchier form, and frequently intermingled with the author's fabricated conjectures about Hathcock's state of mind as he died of MS. Don't buy this book. It is a shameless ripoff, and a transparent money grab by Charles Henderson, who apparently couldn't think of anything new to write so he wrote the same book twice. This is a disappointing waste of money. Avoid, avoid.

A "Silent Warrior" is a sequel to the novel "Marine Sniper." Coming from this non-military reader, I must admit that the novel is excellent. I believe that it does the job in portraying both Carlos Hathcock and John Burke as exemplory Marines.

The stories that are told about Hathcock are excellent and scary. It goes into detail as to how his sniper squads would go on platoons and how they were trained to be snipers. The novel was very informative and awesome. The writer does a nice job of showing the personal history of Hathcock and describing what he did in Vietnam. The writer also takes an intricate approach by writing what the thought process was of Hathcock's eventual victim. I thought this was a unique way of building tension in the novel.

Perhaps the best part of the novel was Henderson's writings on what happened to John Burke. I think that he has done the Burke family proud due to his account following research as to what happened on the day Burke died. His story would make an combat veteran proud to be in the military.

Overall the book is great. It was interesting enough to be a page-turner, but it was also informative enough so that it was not boring. The short stories are great, and I would highly recommend this novel for anybody who has been in the military, or anybody who wants to be a sniper. Because Hathcock wrote the rules on being a sniper, so learn from the best.

Henderson has succeded in telling a story that needed to be told. A classic style which keeps you reliving the life and times of one of America's true hero's. The action is thrilling as well as heart beaking. You cannot come away from this book without a true feeling of the dedication, skill, and courage of the U.S.M.C. sniper.

Unlike many sequels this is a complement to the original. If you have not read the first book by Mr. Henderson then do yourself a favor and read them both.

Utilizing materials omitted from his original book on Carlos Hathcock, "Marine Sniper", Charles Henderson fills in some very interesting gaps in this earlier book. Additional information was also obtained from interviews conducted in Vietnam in 1994, particularly with general Gen. Tran Van Tra, Commander in Chief of the Viet Cong. "Silent Warrior" may start a bit slow, perhaps owing to the maudlin and unnecessary fiction of Hathcock reviewing his life upon his death bed, but the action and the suspense picks up fast. Particularly chilling was the account of the sadistic torture methods employed by the notorious Frenchman, Philip Metz, and the Apache. The elimination of both by Hathcock were clear examples of the necessity of taking life to prevent further killing. The telling of his taking out of the Frenchman shortly before he could utilize his particular skills again was very well written.

Hathcock's sniping was so effective and had so demoralized the enemy that they placed a bounty oh his head equal to three years pay. Additionally, under Colonel Ba, a ten-man team of snipers was brought into the area with the exclusive purpose of killing Hathcock and his Captain, Jim Land. The elimination of the leader and best sniper of this team in a tense cat and mouse game of stalking and tracking was extremely well done, both in the act and in the retelling. The shot that brings his counter part to his demise would be unbelievable were it not so well documented.

"Marine Sniper" and "Silent Warrior" are well written books about the life of Carlos Hathcock, the finest sniper to take to the field. His life and exploits are the stuff of heroes, of men larger than mortals. Among Marines he is one of the best known and most beloved of their members. Fitting of Hathcock although written for another are the words, "The elements so mixed in him that all of nature would stand and say, this was a man".

I purchased this book as I have always been interested in the stories behind war. I am not very interested in the war itself, but rather the stories of the people who fight the wars.

This book is a biography of Carlos Hathcock. Being born after the Vietnam War, the name typically would have meant nothing to me except I ran into the son of one of Hathcock's "trainees" and Hathcock's name always stuck with me.

Hathcock was just another Marine in Vietnam. He was an elite marksman with a rifle, yet this was ignored and upon arriving in Vietnam, Hathcock was assigned to a desk job in an MP battalion as a watch commander. After serving as an MP for a while, a "freak" occurrence required Hathcock to use his marksmanship skills to take out an enemy shooter who had attacked the base. The enemy solider was to be taken out at his village. From there, Hathcock's career rapidly progresses into becoming a sniper. The book covers Hathcock's legendary career as a sniper. During two tours of duty, Hathcock racked up almost 100 confirmed kills and numerous other unconfirmed kills. Hathcock became so good at what he did, the enemy offered a $20,000 bounty to the person who killed Hathcock or his partner. The enemy formulated several special groups and executed some brilliant strategies to try and take out the "white feather".

My meager words could never do justice to the author. Reading the book is like watching a poetic war drama. The eloquence the author uses in this book is mesmerizing. The scenes are described in such vivid detail, I felt like I was there, hearing bullets buzz above my head, listening to my heart pounding, watching the blood of an unfortunate soldier soak into the earth, as I see the person next to me squeeze the trigger to silence the enemy soldier's rifle. The stories in the book range from humorous, victorious, heroic, then to disheartening. To the people who are unfamiliar with Hathcock's story, the end of Hathcock's days in Vietnam is shocking, but not surprising. I was most impressed by the humanity Hathcock expressed. He never looked at it as killing an enemy solder, rather he saw his job as saving the lives of American soldiers. I also found some of the stories in the book familiar, as I recognized bits and pieces I've seen in movies over the years (probably the most well-known being the "scope" episode, which is in the movie "Saving Private Ryan". I'm guessing this is based on Hathcock's story).

This is by far one of the best books I have read that cover the life of a soldier. I would highly recommend this book to people interested in the life of a sniper or are interested in soldiers of the Vietnam War.

This is a follow up to Marine Sniper by the same author and is about the subject. If you have read Marine Sniper this book is a good apendix in that it goes more into depth into some of the accounts in Marine Sniper. It also address Carlos Hathcock's life after he left Vietnam including some real tear jerking ceremonies in his honor. If both the books had been combined it would have been great but I guess most people don't like books that long. If you are looking for a pure sniping book this is not for you. If you are looking to learn more about Carlos than you read in Marine Sniper this is a great book.