Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper

Gunnery Sgt. Jack Coughlins detailed account of his time in the Iraq war as a sniper. I like these books from the soldier's point of view cutting through the media & political spin. Jack describes the mindset, precision, mathematical equations & decisions a sniper has to make in wartime. Clashes with upper officers ("Bob" reminds me of the "bob" in Benghazi) and frustration with decisions made from people a world away making decisions who have never been in combat. Leading a team of Marines and forming a platoon of trust and friendship while death is all around.

Jack Coughlin may have been a great sniper, but his arrogance was incredibly off-putting. I only finished the book because it was purchased on a business trip and had little else with me to read. The way this is written, one would think that (a) Coughlin invented sharpshooting, and (b) he won the war on his own. I would rather read a memoir by someone who kicks down doors and fights the enemy face-to-face rather than someone who kills an unaware bad guy a mile downrange.

Jack Coughlin may have been a great sniper, but his arrogance was incredibly off-putting. I only finished the book because it was purchased on a business trip and had little else with me to read. The way this is written, one would think that (a) Coughlin invented sharpshooting, and (b) he won the war on his own. I would rather read a memoir by someone who kicks down doors and fights the enemy face-to-face rather than someone who kills an unaware bad guy a mile downrange.

Autobiography (well, really more operational/deployment memoir) of one of the top Marine snipers of all time, operating from the late 1980s to 2005. He has all of the self-confidence you’d expect from someone accomplished in a risky endeavor, and very little tolerance for low performers (including some officers above him, specifically “Officer Bob” from the invasion of Iraq).

He developed the doctrine of deploying snipers directly with assault units (basically as a modern Designated Marksman role), rather than the pre Iraq model of snipers operating in groups of 1-3 for long stalks and primarily as scouting assets. He scrounged some vehicles (up-armored hnmwv with mk19) from an unfortunate tasking as a headquarters GySgt, and was show more able to hand pick a team of excellent Marines.

One thing I liked about this book is it skipped most of the filler content about life before the action, basic training, etc commonly found in military books. It also showed that as a front line Marine senior enlisted he actually had better knowledge of the geopolitics of the situation than most of the senior leadership at the time. However, keeping it from being really excellent as a book, there was little to take from the book and apply anywhere else. Still a decent read to learn about one man’s experience in the invasion of Iraq, and a good autobiography of a sniper, but maybe not broadly appealing. show less

Sergeant Coughlin is a patriot and a warrior. His book is quite a graphic description of war - some scenes of battle are the modern equivalent of the Iliad in there description of how death is inflicted in war. He also describes the challenges he faced in transcending the bureaucrats (and technocrats) that stood in his way. This is not a lighthearted read, it strips away many layers of euphemism and describes the nature of war from a warrior's personal standpoint. There is a human element in the tough times within his family.

This is less an autobiography than it is a memoir of the author's time in the Iraq war. Note: this book is not the basis for the movie of the same name with Mark Wahlberg. Shooter is an interesting look at a day-in-the-life or a 'war-in-the-life' of a modern day sniper in the Marines. It covers how the author made it to 'sniper school', moved up the ranks, and became the leader of a sniper team. While it does have some personal background--toward the autobiography topic--it is limited, and painful to read in how boring it is compared to war-time action and the stressful and exciting episodes during wartime. There are some other conflicts the author mentions, but the book is mainly about Iraq. And it covers all the aspects a reader would show more want to know: the weapons, how sniper duty is today vs. times past, spotters, relationships with other soldiers, maneuvers and strategy and such--covered in enough detail to satisfy curiosity but not so detailed one needs a PhD to follow it. It reads fast and satisfies. show less

Cataloging-in-Publication Data lists this as both biography and personal narrative. It reads more like a biography. I found it hard to believe that the writers knew so little about Vietnam; and, furthermore even made light that somehow US combat troops were not hardened enough to prevail in that earlier unconventional war. This book was interesting to me, as all war memoirs are, but the tone of this book was off-putting which made it an abrasive read. I was expecting more from someone whom all Americans should respect for his past special operations assignments.