Trigger Men

Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, American Combat Sniper

By: Hans Halberstadt

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Combat veteran and author Hans Halberstadt takes listeners deeper inside the elusive world of snipers than ever before, from recruitment and training to the brutality of the killing fields.

Shadow Team is probably the most productive sniper team in American military history, accounting for 276 confirmed kills in a six-month span with no casualties of its own. The team's leader made what was - and may still be - the longest range kill with a 7.62mm rifle. For the first time ever, team members explain what it's like to kill a man and what it takes to become one of the elite.

The tragic tale of Headhunter Two is altogether different. This four-man sniper team from a regiment known within the Corps as the Magnificent Bastards was killed in 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq. Their deaths not only caused a reevaluation of sniper tactics and techniques but also created a desire for vengeance that was exacted nearly two years later in dramatic fashion.

Based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews, Halberstadt gets inside the sniper mind and shows how snipers think and interact with each other, how missions are planned and executed, how the weapons work, and even what happens when a bullet finally strikes its target.

There are only a few hundred snipers from all the services put together in combat at any one time, making this true inside story a rare and important event.

©2008 Hans Halberstadt (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"For those looking for a thorough primer on the role of the military sniper in today's counterinsurgency missions, this is a solid introduction." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great account

I appreciate the raw and uncensored accounts contained in this book. Helps me to better understand what our warfighters go through, as a civi that's very important to me.

This is it

As a shooter myself, this is as good as it gets. I have listened to this book over 10 times- to learn a tremendous education.
Nothing so far compares. The best of the best.

Solid 3 across the board.

I read several reviews about this being a book that gets really repetitive to the effect of snipers kill people and are awesome, REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT. I've also read that review about other special warfare non-fiction and usually found it to be false, but it's dead on here.

Don't get me wrong- the book isn't bad and it's not intentionally repetitive. The repetition comes from the fact that it's basically a series of personal narratives of snipers from all walks of life from Army to SEAL to zero military background civilian State Department contractor. Each has about an hour or so and you have to figure when these guys sum up their lives and opinions in an hour you're going to get a lot of really fly-over type information. There are lots of viewpoints from lots of people which makes this book more about perspective than detail.

There are fascinating parts and there are parts that you might think were just copy/pasted from several hours earlier that for all you know could be a verbatim repetition because you've heard so many similar sets of words since then.

Give it a chance, but if you want to listen to something else first, don't worry about it. This one will still be there.

The Technology of Killing

My review title sounds a bit gruff, the book is really about so much more. Despite some nice character background, it's basically about killing during times of war and other crises. It's also a very technical book - although well-written and not THAT hard to follow. (I'm not a weapons enthusiast, but I do LOVE a good war story!) Nor am I a war enthusiast, however my admiration for American soldiers and what they go through seems to deepen with each war story I read. This is a well-researched and sound book - recommneded.

Better than Shooter

Don't bother with Shooter by Coughlin. This is much better. Halberstadt actually gives details about sniper training and HOW they do the things they do. Also, this book features the perspectives of several different snipers for a more rounded view. Very informative