Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author), Michael Ruane (Author) "The bullet was the color of a new penny..." (more)
Key Phrases: sniper victims, county police headquarters, sniper case, Montgomery County, New Jersey, Aspen Hill (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A good deal of new information...By the end...I was sorry to have to stop reading?always a good sign." -The Washington Post



From the Hardcover edition. -- Review

Review

"A good deal of new information...By the end...I was sorry to have to stop reading–always a good sign." -The Washington Post



From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034547662X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345476623
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,227 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping story, October 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation (Hardcover)

I picked up "Sniper" in a book store far from Washington, DC and had to buy the book and bring it home -- I couldn't put it down. Horwitz and Ruane have taken events about which I thought I had heard everything and brought new life to them. Anyone interested in police work, investigative reporting, or how our lives have changed in this time of a feeling of increased vulnerability to acts of violence should read this book. Forget the one-hour TV crime dramas -- this is the real thing.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very suspenseful story, November 19, 2003

By	R. Miller "soldierblue" (Woodstock, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down once I began reading it. It seemed to capture the horror the people in the DC area felt while the snipers were at large. I would have like to have seen more about the police procedurals and the detective work done to catch these guys. I am sure there is a lot more to this story than was told in this book.
However this is an enthralling, scary story that will make you wonder what kind of atrocity will happen next.

13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Basic Information Only, September 30, 2003

By	A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation (Hardcover)

Two snipers terrorized the Washington DC area one year ago, sending fear and panic throughout the area and beyond. I remember it well - I live there. Like millions of others, I watched the news reports on TV and listened to them on radio. We all breathed a huge sigh of relief when the two snipers were captured. And many millions of people wanted to know more. Who were these people? What were their backgrounds? What motivated them? What was it like behind the scenes for the law enforcement officials involved?

Those hoping for detailed accounts in any of the above mentioned areas are likely to be disappointed. `Sniper' does succeed in taking the reader inside the manhunt for the snipers, as the cover states, but only on a very basic level. The book is only slightly over 200 pages long. That's hardly enough space to go into much detail.

Readers will get a general idea of who the two snipers were before they began their reign of terror, but it's not enough. Their backgrounds are only given a superficial treatment and we're told very few facts by the people who knew them. As far as what motivated them to do the things they did? Again, we get a general picture, but that's the problem: it's too general. Readers want to understand what made these monsters kill. They want to see the progressions in their lives that brought on these events.

The police procedures are examined in somewhat better detail, but I could have used more. This was the most harrowing, yet fascinating criminal case in years, but we're not really made to feel the terror, we're not made to feel the tension as evidence is gathered, and we're not presented with enough of the frustration the investigators experienced. Sure, we all know that there was friction between federal, state, and local officials, but what was its genesis? And what about the media? No attempt was made to explain how all the media leaks happened, only that they did happen.

For what it is, a general summary of what happened, but book does a good job. If that was the primary focus of the book, it succeeded. But I wish the book had gone into more detail in all areas. I think other readers will feel the same way.

238 pages - 16 pages of black and white photos (nothing graphic)