Stalk and Kill: The Sniper Experience [Hardcover]

Adrian Gilbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

The combat sniper is given the opportunity to tell his own story: what it feels like to look down a telescopic sight and observe the face of the "target"; the ordeal of the operations conducted behind enemy lines; and the exhaustion of hours spent waiting motionless for the perfect shot. Using painstakingly researched first-hand narratives, Gilbert considers the origins of military sniping during the American Revolution and its development during the nineteenth century, from the wars against Napoleon through the Civil War to the British colonial campaign. But it is in the twentieth century that the sniper proved most deadly, and Gilbert shows the major role that the modern sniper has played in both world wars and the more recent conflicts. A detailed and graphic examination of one of the most difficult and dangerous military skills.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Military insiders would do well to eyeball this stalwart survey of an important yet understudied martial art. British historian Gilbert (Sniper: The World of Combat Sniping, 1995) begins with the American Revolution, works his way through major and minor wars, and concludes by pondering the role of snipers in present-day Bosnia. He writes, for example, of the Kentucky long rifle, which with its longer barrel and smaller bore became the best hunting weapon of its time (with a marksmanship potential highly prized by a nation of hardy, dead-eye hunters). British regulars, on the other hand, burdened with their inaccurate ``Brown Bess'' muskets, suffered heavily from canny, mobile American sharpshooters; Gilbert opines that the gap separating war and hunting can at times be a small one. He has interviewed many combat sniper veterans and ably researched memoirs of past wars. To hear him tell it, the ideal candidate for snipership is lonely but patient, meticulously observant, and highly self-disciplined--with an impeccable knowledge of fieldcraft and nerves of steel--who can conceal and camouflage himself, as well as stalk and shoot. Trained snipers, he points out, also make excellent advance scouts, artillery spotters, and intelligence gatherers; by virtue of their training, they can save the lives of comrades and raise the morale of their unit while warding off large-scale enemy attacks. Some soldiers may perform well in the heat of battle, where the objective is to rout, face-to-face, an enemy who otherwise would slay them. Yet the very same soldiers, as Gilbert notes, might not kill an enemy quite so sanguinely at a distance--a subtle moral nuance. An expert treatise on a martial specialty, though repetitive of the author's previous work. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

"No sniper library can be complete without a copy." --USMC Sniping

"An authoritative history and description of sniping...brings to life the patience, tenacity, and skill required by the successful sniper." --Combat and Militia on Sniper

"Brings new insight into the art of sniping...accounts of engagements are excellent...a most interesting book, well researched. Excellent." --Military Illustrated on Sniper

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; First Edition edition (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312170300
• ISBN-13: 978-0312170301
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,868,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Limited in depiction of "sniper experience", January 11, 2004

By 

quietforester (Clarksville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stalk and Kill: The Sniper Experience (Hardcover)

The history of sniping provided is the usual standard stuff; like most books, this book begins its account from the American Revolution, continuing through the American Civil War and the World Wars to approximately the last decade, although "stalk and kill - the sniper experience" goes a long way back before that and should include the use of weapons other than firearms. In depicting post-World War 2 sniping, the author limits himself to theaters in which the British had influence (Falklands, Korea, Yemen etc) and the experiences of the British Army, various English mercenaries, and the SAS. He fails to discuss "the sniper experience" of Russia's wars, or the Caucasus, Africa, or the Middle East. While the book's best focus is on the First World War, it does not particularly shine even in portraying that theater. Overall a lackluster book of fairly limited scope.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellant, June 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Stalk and Kill: The Thrill and Danger of the Sniper Experience (Mass Market Paperback)

i would recomend this book to any body interseted in snipers and the tactics that snipers use to get with in killing range of their target, this book was very interesting and informative

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Factual, November 14, 2008

By 

R. Houck - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stalk and Kill: The Thrill and Danger of the Sniper Experience (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a fairly good book, however. I prefer stories about a person's experiences. This is more generically about snipers. It covers what it takes to be a sniper, the skills,the training, the experience if you will. If you don't know a lot about snipers and wish to discover more, not a bad book to buy.

by a

US ARMY SNIPER