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Shock Factor: American Snipers in the War on Terror
From the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Shooter, comes a riveting narrative of how snipers have changed the course of America's war on al Qaida in the Middle East and Africa.
Retired Marine sniper Jack Coughlin (Shooter) and John Bruning pull back the curtain of secrecy to take an insider's look at the dark and misunderstood world of America's sniper force. Long considered the redheaded stepchildren of the infantry, snipers have been loathed by their fellow warriors, called "ten cent killers" by our media, and portrayed as unbalanced psychopaths by Hollywood. Coughlin and Bruning explore the lives and careers of some of America's most effective snipers during key missions, moments and campaigns in the War on Terror.
Part page-turning thriller, part deeply human drama, Shock Factor takes you from the streets of the modern day "Stalingrad" of Ramadi to the skyscrapers of Baghdad as America's one-shot warriors fight desperate battles against all odds, find themselves at the heart of tense international incidents, stalk key enemy leaders, and discover horrific human rights abuses perpetrated by our own allies. Based on extensive interviews with snipers currently on active duty, Shock Factor's gripping accounts of harrowing combat, buried truths and secrets revealed could only be told by snipers to a trusted member of their own elite and cloistered brotherhood.
Retired Marine sniper Jack Coughlin (Shooter) and John Bruning pull back the curtain of secrecy to take an insider's look at the dark and misunderstood world of America's sniper force. Long considered the redheaded stepchildren of the infantry, snipers have been loathed by their fellow warriors, called "ten cent killers" by our media, and portrayed as unbalanced psychopaths by Hollywood. Coughlin and Bruning explore the lives and careers of some of America's most effective snipers during key missions, moments and campaigns in the War on Terror.
Part page-turning thriller, part deeply human drama, Shock Factor takes you from the streets of the modern day "Stalingrad" of Ramadi to the skyscrapers of Baghdad as America's one-shot warriors fight desperate battles against all odds, find themselves at the heart of tense international incidents, stalk key enemy leaders, and discover horrific human rights abuses perpetrated by our own allies. Based on extensive interviews with snipers currently on active duty, Shock Factor's gripping accounts of harrowing combat, buried truths and secrets revealed could only be told by snipers to a trusted member of their own elite and cloistered brotherhood.
326 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2014
45 people are currently reading
669 people want to read
About the author
Jack Coughlin
17 books281 followersGunnery Sgt. Jack Coughlin’s autobiography, Shooter, describes his experiences as the top-ranked marine sniper in the Iraq War.
Coughlin is also the author, with Donald A. Davis, of the Kyle Swanson Sniper Novels: Kill Zone, Dead Shot, Clean Kill, and An Act of Treason.
Coughlin grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts, and joined the Marines when he was 19. He served with the Marines during the drive to Baghdad and has operated on a wide range of assignments in hot spots around the world.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jackco...
Coughlin is also the author, with Donald A. Davis, of the Kyle Swanson Sniper Novels: Kill Zone, Dead Shot, Clean Kill, and An Act of Treason.
Coughlin grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts, and joined the Marines when he was 19. He served with the Marines during the drive to Baghdad and has operated on a wide range of assignments in hot spots around the world.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jackco...
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 17, 2014
I really was blown away by this book, no pun intended. Lone Survivor, the story of Marcus Luttrell was a very popular book. If by chance you read, and enjoyed that book, I think you will enjoy this one as well. In this readers opinion both books were fantastic but I actually enjoyed this one just a bit more. For fans of military non fiction there has been a lot of books on snipers hitting the market as of late. I personally have already read several of these and found this to be my favorite of the bunch. The author does a lot of explaining on the shots taken and the difficulty involved in making those shots while still keeping the action going at a very hot pace. Also throwing in a bit of history of sniping and some background on the shooters really helped vault this to a beyond five star review.
May 11, 2017
This was a really good book i would recommend this book to anyone. This book about a sniper was sometimes very sad and others not wanting to stop reading it. In addition this book tells you a lot about what its like to be a sniper in war. Lastly this was a great book because they made the reader feel like he is in the book.
September 1, 2015
I want to thank Jack Coughlin, author of Shock Factor: American Snipers in the War on Terror and extend my thanks to all the brave men that have taken on the unpleasant duty of become a sniper to protect our country. My prayers are with you all to find peace and a happy life. I also want to thank Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for my copy of this book.
Shock Factor: American Snipers in the War on Terror was an eye opening book on how these brave men go into harms way to serve and protect our country. As a widow of a WWII veteran, I can appreciate your sacrifice and after living with a veteran for over sixty years when he came home from the war, I understand the burdens you carry.
Shock Factor: American Snipers in the War on Terror was an eye opening book on how these brave men go into harms way to serve and protect our country. As a widow of a WWII veteran, I can appreciate your sacrifice and after living with a veteran for over sixty years when he came home from the war, I understand the burdens you carry.
February 16, 2019
Thank you all for your service.
I always give 5 stars to books written by the snipers if for no other reason than what they have experienced.
I found this book a little slow to get off the ground ~ for me at least ~ especially since I just finished reading "The Last Punisher", which was absolutely riveting.
This book did eventually get my attention and I was a bit stunned by the military brass hanging their men out to dry at various times, and also by the Rules of Engagement and how that impacts everyone's safety, quite negatively a lot of the time.
This was an interesting book, all-in-all.
I always give 5 stars to books written by the snipers if for no other reason than what they have experienced.
I found this book a little slow to get off the ground ~ for me at least ~ especially since I just finished reading "The Last Punisher", which was absolutely riveting.
This book did eventually get my attention and I was a bit stunned by the military brass hanging their men out to dry at various times, and also by the Rules of Engagement and how that impacts everyone's safety, quite negatively a lot of the time.
This was an interesting book, all-in-all.
July 17, 2018
Rules of Engagement cost a lot of Americans to die
Book was very interesting. This is the second time I read it. Every time one of the units called for artillery support or air support it was denied. The brass didn't want to pay for damage by artillery but would let American service men die. Somebody should been court marshalled and sent to prison. That's an absolute disgrace. Semper Fi!
Book was very interesting. This is the second time I read it. Every time one of the units called for artillery support or air support it was denied. The brass didn't want to pay for damage by artillery but would let American service men die. Somebody should been court marshalled and sent to prison. That's an absolute disgrace. Semper Fi!
March 8, 2020
Excellent read
A new and deeper view into the life and true value of our sniper corps. This book showcases just how effective they are and how impossible it would be to replace their value in war.
A new and deeper view into the life and true value of our sniper corps. This book showcases just how effective they are and how impossible it would be to replace their value in war.
July 4, 2018
5/5: Great book on modern war and sniping.
April 29, 2020
Gripping
Takes you into the heart ache, frustration and determination of some of our hardest working and under appreciated military combat forces. Great read.
Takes you into the heart ache, frustration and determination of some of our hardest working and under appreciated military combat forces. Great read.
April 25, 2015
Thanks in part to several military books and at least one blockbuster movie, probably the two most famous American snipers in contemporary history would have to be Navy SEALS Chris Kyle and Marcus Luttrell. Although both legendary marksmen are briefly mentioned in “Shock Factor,” (the authors do devote most of the third chapter to an Al Anbar Province mission in Iraq featuring Kyle), the focus here is elsewhere. Most of this 318-page, bullet-pierced war diary chronicles the exploits of unknown one-shot warriors; all American snipers in the war on terror.
Spoiler alert! Authors Jack Coughlin and John Bruning begin their salute to America’s deadliest heroes with a working definition of the book’s title. Aimed fire on the battle field creates a primal fear in those who witness all around them death and destruction caused by a lone sniper. When those in the field of fire realize there is no escape, “entire units . . . seize up in the midst of battle.” It’s then when “self-preservation instincts kick in. They will go to ground. They will cease advancing. They will lose control and run. Such elemental fear breeds panic.” Coughlin and Bruning report, “The shock factor . . . is a sniper’s greatest weapon.”
Within these pages, the authors give the reader a ring side seat to America’s war in Iraq which rarely appeared in our domestic media. Here we get a detailed description of al-Qaida bomb making. Here we find “the sniper’s cold equation,” their motivation for pulling the trigger; exchanging one life for saving some of ours. Here we read about the doctrine of “heroic restraint.” (Spoiler alert. It’s “the courage needed to stay within the rules of engagement.”) For those who may have strayed outside the ROEs, there were plenty of Monday-morning, military quarterbacks to scrutinize every decision and action taken in the heat of battle.
Coughlin and Bruning report on one of the tragedies of the Iraqi conflict; the battle of Ramadi. In 2006, that campaign “crippled the enemy.” But, seven years later, after President Barrack Obama previously “ordered a complete pull out from Iraq, forces opposed to the Baghdad government . . . retook Ramadi and Fallujah.” It was the worst possible blow to the American veterans of both campaigns. Residents of both battle-scarred cities “once again faced wanton murder, oppression and violence.”
It’s known inside the State Department and the Pentagon as “the fog of war.” The Iraqi insurgents, who ignored ROEs, “forced civilians to drive into (American) checkpoints around Iraq ahead of a suicide bomber . . . And the most insidious part of this tactic was the propaganda value the insurgents made when American troops killed those civilians.” The jihadists hoped their involuntary forerunners would die. Then and only then could they “trumpet America’s barbarity on their websites.” To add insult to injury, “all too many times . . . our own news outlets eviscerated” those U.S. troops forced to pull their triggers on those same civilians.
As Coughlin and Bruning point out, America missed a golden opportunity to create some positive public relations following the discovery of “many unsavory acts (committed) by the Iraqi Police.” The authors go into great detail to document the beatings the local police handed out to ninety-three prisoners, many Sudanese, inside the Iraqi Police Academy. After Oregon’s 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry were instrumental in getting “the torture at the compound eventually stopped,” the authors suggest it “would have been the perfect counter to” all the abuses caught on camera at Abu Ghraib. A military gag order delayed that story from reaching the public when it was most needed.
While men like Kyle and Luttrell get most of the headlines, documented here are many of the here-to-for untold stories of National Guard snipers, America’s citizen soldiers. Practically on every page, the authors repeatedly drive home “the great lesson of the war on terror.” And that lesson? “Without the men behind the scopes, the soldiers in the street will be forever vulnerable.”
Spoiler alert! Authors Jack Coughlin and John Bruning begin their salute to America’s deadliest heroes with a working definition of the book’s title. Aimed fire on the battle field creates a primal fear in those who witness all around them death and destruction caused by a lone sniper. When those in the field of fire realize there is no escape, “entire units . . . seize up in the midst of battle.” It’s then when “self-preservation instincts kick in. They will go to ground. They will cease advancing. They will lose control and run. Such elemental fear breeds panic.” Coughlin and Bruning report, “The shock factor . . . is a sniper’s greatest weapon.”
Within these pages, the authors give the reader a ring side seat to America’s war in Iraq which rarely appeared in our domestic media. Here we get a detailed description of al-Qaida bomb making. Here we find “the sniper’s cold equation,” their motivation for pulling the trigger; exchanging one life for saving some of ours. Here we read about the doctrine of “heroic restraint.” (Spoiler alert. It’s “the courage needed to stay within the rules of engagement.”) For those who may have strayed outside the ROEs, there were plenty of Monday-morning, military quarterbacks to scrutinize every decision and action taken in the heat of battle.
Coughlin and Bruning report on one of the tragedies of the Iraqi conflict; the battle of Ramadi. In 2006, that campaign “crippled the enemy.” But, seven years later, after President Barrack Obama previously “ordered a complete pull out from Iraq, forces opposed to the Baghdad government . . . retook Ramadi and Fallujah.” It was the worst possible blow to the American veterans of both campaigns. Residents of both battle-scarred cities “once again faced wanton murder, oppression and violence.”
It’s known inside the State Department and the Pentagon as “the fog of war.” The Iraqi insurgents, who ignored ROEs, “forced civilians to drive into (American) checkpoints around Iraq ahead of a suicide bomber . . . And the most insidious part of this tactic was the propaganda value the insurgents made when American troops killed those civilians.” The jihadists hoped their involuntary forerunners would die. Then and only then could they “trumpet America’s barbarity on their websites.” To add insult to injury, “all too many times . . . our own news outlets eviscerated” those U.S. troops forced to pull their triggers on those same civilians.
As Coughlin and Bruning point out, America missed a golden opportunity to create some positive public relations following the discovery of “many unsavory acts (committed) by the Iraqi Police.” The authors go into great detail to document the beatings the local police handed out to ninety-three prisoners, many Sudanese, inside the Iraqi Police Academy. After Oregon’s 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry were instrumental in getting “the torture at the compound eventually stopped,” the authors suggest it “would have been the perfect counter to” all the abuses caught on camera at Abu Ghraib. A military gag order delayed that story from reaching the public when it was most needed.
While men like Kyle and Luttrell get most of the headlines, documented here are many of the here-to-for untold stories of National Guard snipers, America’s citizen soldiers. Practically on every page, the authors repeatedly drive home “the great lesson of the war on terror.” And that lesson? “Without the men behind the scopes, the soldiers in the street will be forever vulnerable.”
April 11, 2023
Some decent stuff in here from a technical point of view but more cheerleading and less “we fckd this place up, we made the problem we are now bleeding to fix” then there should be. 2.5 stars and that’s generous.
November 22, 2014
I have always been fascinated by the stories of snipers, so this book was a natural selection for me. It doesn't read like a novel although parts of the book were pretty exciting. The role of the sniper was expanded for me. Snipers are effective in all sorts of situations. The story is told with the Middle East as a backdrop - the war against terror. Often snipers are described as necessary evils, controlled psychopaths and it is troublesome for those men who are extremely patriotic, and the sniper schools are the first to be shut down in peacetime or during budget cuts. All in all, this was a very informative book.
January 20, 2016
This an intense book. Had me riveted to it. An eye waking experience. Not being there you have no idea what goes on. It was tense and heartbreaking. It made you aware of the trials and sacrifice every and any soldier has to go through. The quick decisions that must be made of life and death of themselves and others. They all deserve medals and and much more respect for all they and their families give up and go through. Much appreciation for all you do for our country. Must read. I won this book from Goodreads Giveaway. I greatly appreciate receiving and being able to read it.
November 25, 2014
This covered three different pieces of the Iraq War: SEAL snipers in and around Ramadi, 2006, Marine snipers in Anbar province, 2004, and Oregon Army National Guard snipers in Baghdad, also in 2004. The last was possibly the most interesting to me, given that SEAL and Marine snipers have had other books written about them.
The writing was clear and easy, with only a little repetition and a few obvious spelling errors that spellcheck clearly missed: rifles have sights, for instance, not sites.
The writing was clear and easy, with only a little repetition and a few obvious spelling errors that spellcheck clearly missed: rifles have sights, for instance, not sites.
December 14, 2014
All I can really say is WOW!! Matters not what you hear and see on TV as this book really takes it to the next level and brings it to you in such a real way. It makes me appreciate what our brave troops have gone and are going through in modern warfare. I would recommend this book to everyone and since I was a lucky GoodReads winner of this book I will be sure to pay it forward to another friend.
December 7, 2014
I love when I read a new book and learn something new. This book was very detailed and I learned several new things. Also I know from reading this book that I am a wimp and being a sniper is not the career choice for me. It elevated my level of respect and pride towards these unsung, quiet heroes.
January 11, 2016
This a great modern sniper story, and one of the first ones I've read that gives the National Guardsmen that served in Iraq
the credit they're due. Usually these only cover Marines. And although the author is a retired Marine sniper, he's quick to spread the praise for all of the uniformed fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. I definitely enjoyed it.
the credit they're due. Usually these only cover Marines. And although the author is a retired Marine sniper, he's quick to spread the praise for all of the uniformed fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. I definitely enjoyed it.
January 15, 2015
This book should be read by all, so as to remember the men who are fighting for our way of life. I have read all of Coughlin's Kyle Swanson books, so this was, for me, an added insight into his world.
On a separate note: The editing was horrible.
On a separate note: The editing was horrible.
January 24, 2015
I thought that this book was a great book. It had lots of action and I also liked how the chapters were setup. Each section is about a different sniper and in those sections are chapters on the sniper. I thought it was cool that there were a few different snipers in the book.
March 8, 2015
Fascinating, intriguing, and gripping stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this look into the psyche of snipers and would recommend this book to anyone willing to look at war from a soldier's perspective. It was highly insightful without becoming too political
November 20, 2014
I Received this book as a goodreads giveaway!
This book is amazing! It truly is amazing how they think and have to react i could not put this book down this book will not disappoint!!
This book is amazing! It truly is amazing how they think and have to react i could not put this book down this book will not disappoint!!
December 23, 2014
An excellent read. Tells the story like the media cannot.
February 13, 2015
A very good book overall. It's important to know what the men and women who serve have done for this country while many do not realize it.
November 20, 2015
I enjoyed the first half (or so) of the book more than the second half. A number of editing errors (sneak peak, where instead of were....) detracted from the flow of the text.
February 25, 2016
great read
I have read several of his sniper books and enjoyed them all.
looking forward to more books by the author.
I have read several of his sniper books and enjoyed them all.
looking forward to more books by the author.
July 1, 2016
This book will surely have your heart thumping.
January 16, 2017
Makes a good case for snipers.
November 20, 2014
An excellent study of snipers during the War on Terror.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews