Trigger Men

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

By: Hans Halberstadt

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

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

From A-Z

If you are interested in snipers and shooting and like detail then I feel this is the book for you. The author covers everything from Sniper School selection to actual missions and everything in between. He touches on just about ever aspect of the profession you can think of, from gillie suits to ballistics, rifle choice to hide set ups. Very informative and well written.

One Shot, One Listen

Trigger Men is a great balance of history and heroism. It's clear there was an extraordinary amount of time spent to uncover and tell the story of our military snipers, and their important everyday missions that most of us could never dare to imagine. The only small technical detail I had a challenge with is the fact the orator consistently spelled out S-T-A rather than pronouncing it "Stay" as is the actual practice. However, the story was well crafted and structured in a manner that leant itself to the great blend of history and practical application of the essential skills of the American Sniper.

Fantastic read!

I want to make it clear that my rating for performance on this book does not have anything to do with the reader themselves, but the quality of the recording that was obviously done in multiple passes.

The stories here are great and it is so neat to hear what goes on behind the scenes! Collecting interviews from all of these sources was a Herculean effort that is a great resource for Americans to learn more about the Armed Forces.

Wow, eyeopener

Loved it, learned way more about snipers and tactics than I expected and the narrator was great. recommend take a listen!

Great Book

This is a fascinating book for anyone interested in things military and combat arms in particular. The author, who served in Vietnam, is a good solid writer who knows the military and understands it.
The voice of the narrator, Johnny Heller, is perfect for thhis type of book. He has enough "grit" to sound believable. Some narrators sound too prissy or scholarly, and don't give credibility to this type of work. I found only a few minor mispronuciations, such as "Hue City" (in Vietnam) where "Hue" rhymed with "you." (It is actually pronounced "way"). The book, however, is about the modern sniper in Iraq and Afganistan, and gives great insight to the tools and training of this outstanding and very elite group of young men and women. Highly recommended.
VN Vet