Out of Nowhere: A History of the military sniper (General Military) [Hardcover]

Martin Pegler (Author)

Book Description

Series: General Military | Publication Date: October 13, 2004

From the American War of Independence to World War II, the history of the military combat marksman is one of indifference and cost cutting. Despite the proven effectiveness of the rifleman in battle, for most of the 20th century snipers were regarded as little more than paid assassins. It was not until the Vietnam War that the undeniable effectiveness of the sniper was fully appreciated by the military, and with the advent of the 21st century, the sniper has become one of the most vital battlefield specialists. Illustrated throughout with colour and black and white photographs, this chronological study of snipers details their evolution, training, weaponry and tactics. It also includes material from the author’s first hand interviews with the veteran snipers whose skills and extraordinary courage have made them the most greatly feared specialists in warfare.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is the best book of its type to be published so far. -- Mark A Keefe IV, Editor-In-Chief, American Rifleman

About the Author

Martin Pegler was born in 1954 and educated at Hampton School. He has a BA Hons in Medieval and Modern History and an MA in Museum Studies, both from University College, London, and he is currently Senior Curator of Firearms at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds. Martin enjoys shooting historic firearms, and has participated in many shooting competitions. He is the author of a number of books including 'The Military Sniper since 1914' (Osprey, 2001); and 'Firearms in the American West 1700-1900' (The Crowood Press, 2002), and he has also contributed to a number of magazines. In the 1980s he had the privilege of interviewing many World War I veterans about their wartime experiences, and the recordings are now part of the sound archives of the Imperial War Museum, London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (October 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841768545
• ISBN-13: 978-1841768540
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive introductory history of the sniper, January 1, 2005

By 

moviemusicbuff (Walnut, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Nowhere: A History of the military sniper (General Military) (Hardcover)

This comprehensive history of the military sniper traces the development of the sniper from 1500, the American Civil War and European wars, WWI and WWII (in both the European and Pacific Wars), limited wars from 1945-85, the Vietnam Conflict, and the present. It is filled with anecdotes of snipers, B & W and color photos, and a brief description of the weapons used. What fascinated me the most were chapter 6 (Russian snipers from 1936 - 1945), chapter 7 (German Snipers in the Eastern front from 1941-45), chapter 8 (the American sniper in the War against Japan in WWII), and chapter 9 (the American sniper in the European front in WWII). In each of these chapters, the author describes the training, the rifles / ammunition used, and the combat performance of the snipers. What fascinated me was the development of the American sniper in WWII, since these American forces had to start completely from scratch in developing the skill of sniping. The author Martin Pegler does a great job of blending technical information with anecdotes and descriptions of the combat performance / training of the snipers. This is an excellent introduction of the history of the military sniper for any military historian or enthusiast.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Knowing more about sniper, January 31, 2005

By 

Jean Francois Brousseau (Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of Nowhere: A History of the military sniper (General Military) (Hardcover)

Being involved in shooting, I have always been fascinated by these persons we call Sniper. Out of Nowhere is a very large book, full of photos of famous and other not so famous snipers and their personal histories. This is a great book if you want to know all about Sniper and Riflemen history.

This is not a "how to", but a great book about what is Sniping and it evolution through time.

I strongly recommend it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting book, April 12, 2005

By 

D. Stell "dfstell" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of Nowhere: A History of the military sniper (General Military) (Hardcover)

I'm about 3/4 done reading this book and can recommend it to anyone interested in military history. It is not at all a "how to" book, but more a history of how snipers have been used in war since the development of the rifled barrel.

There is a ton of detail about the rifles used and the scopes that were mounted on them. In a few places it gets a little tedious, but the author has obviously done his homework.

Not an exciting book by any stretch, but you do feel like you've learned something at the end.