Shooter

The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper

By: Jack Coughlin, Casey Kuhlman, Donald A. Davis

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

With more than 60 confirmed kills, Jack Coughlin is the Marine Corps' top-ranked sniper. Shooter is his harrowing first-person account of a sniper's life on and off the modern battlefield.

Gunnery Sergeant Jack Coughlin is a divorced father of two who grew up in a wealthy Boston suburb. At the age of 19, although he had never even held a gun, he joined the Marines and would spend the next 20 years behind the scope of a long-range precision rifle as a sniper.

In that time, he accumulated one of the most successful sniper records in the Corps, ranging through many of the world's hotspots. During Operation Iraqi Freedom alone, he recorded at least 36 kills, 13 of them in a single 24-hour period.

Now Coughlin has written a highly personal story about his deadly craft, taking readers deep inside an invisible society that is off-limits to outsiders. This is not a heroic battlefield memoir but the careful study of an exceptional man who must keep his sanity while carrying forward one of the deadliest legacies in the U.S. military today.

©2005 Gunnery Sgt. Jack Coughlin, USMC, and Capt. Casey Kuhlman, USMCR, with Donald A. Davis (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"The 3rd Battalion has a veteran sniper, Staff Sergeant Jack Coughlin, for whom the war in Iraq was only the latest of many wars; he fought in Mogadishu, too. On the first day of battle at the Diyala Bridge, he had 11 kills. He is one of the best snipers in the Marine Corps, perhaps the very best. When I asked one of his commanders about his skills, the commander smiled and said, 'I'm just glad he's on our side.'" (Peter Maas)

Definately worth reading

Shooter is written in a fast paced, action adventure style of story telling that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It tells the story of the US-Iraq war without trying to hide the facts. Coughlin tells the facts as he knows them but he gives you the whole story. He is clearly proud of his work as a sniper and he?s proud of the United States Marine Corps so Coughlin shares some regrets about things that went wrong, but don?t expect to find any hand wringing about what happens on the battlefield. And the narrator is so good he probably sounds more like Jack Coughlin than Coughlin does himself.

Deadly Story

This is a good book and truly recounts the deadliness of war that men wage on one another. The author doesn't glamorize his acts, but simply recounts them as they fell upon him and his duty as an enlisted marine. This is a good and accurate accounting of the beginnings of the second Iraq war waged in the early part of this decade.

Makes you want to be there...

As a former Marine, I was heartened to hear a real account of combat - and what it's like to deal with both real professionals, and idiot wannabes. Nicely written, Gunney. Thanks for your service. Fair winds and following seas in retirement. S/F

Engaging

An engaging and interesting account. Worth a listen.

Great Story, hardhitting and unapologetic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely recommended for it's stark honesty presenting the voice of our Soldiers in battle.

What did you like best about this story?

The hard reality of combat sniping is shown as well as the changes sniping has undergone, adapting to the needs of the new style of anti-insurgency warfare.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The "perimeter" defense incident regarding the "kill line" in Baghdad shocked and angered me. The author's stark honesty is appreciated but the incident itself left me shaken.

Any additional comments?

Overall a fine story, very informative and entertaining as the sniper's modern style is shown adapting to new terrain and enemies. But not for the squeamish.

Excellent!

A wonderful depiction of the evolution of Marine sniper tatics. A good blend of historical data, with enough yarn to keep the story moving, and interesting.

An engaging book - and a funny reader

I liked the book, but cracked up listening to the reader. He has a speech defect and cannot properly pronounce letter "R". "I laised my lifle and squeezed my tligger". His reading gave a nice soft delively to an othelwise shalp-edged book.

Captivating

This was in interesting book. You never know what really goes on in a war. The media just doesn't show all of the sides. This was an alarming yet, captivating account.

Shooter

This was not what i thought it would be - Dick Hill for me narrated the book with heavy east coast words turned me off. To me i guess the writer thought alot about himself and got into himself too much. Sorry

Pass on this one

Would you try another book from the authors and/or Dick Hill?

Yes

What was most disappointing about the authors’s story?

Boring

Did Dick Hill do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Differentiation is not the issue.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None

Any additional comments?

I love the genre and subject matter. I was very disappointed with this book. 4 books that are excellent are, Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson (Carlos Hathcock story), American Sniper about Chris Kyle, Lone Survivor, and Unbroken. These are must read/listens. Skip Shooter.