Phu Nham

by Barry Sadler

An American sniper with the highest record of confirmed hits has orders to strike at the Vietcong--one by one--with such painful accuracy that the enemy will fear him above all others

285 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

American author, musician and former green beret.

To the general public he is most known for the hit single "Ballad of the green berets"

After his musical career he decided to write a series of novels centered around the character "Casca Rufio Longinius" Who is cursed for piercing Jesus on the crucifix with a spear and is forced to forever remain a soldier until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

In the mid 1980s Sadler moved to Guatemala City where he was shot in the head one night in a taxi. He spent 7 months in a coma and died more than a year later.

Reviews

[Phillip Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a duel between two antiheroes since you can't feel much regard for snipers and their work. Barry Sadler gives the reader a mediation about why men kill in war as well as an adventure story. The Vietcong sniper Ngu and the American Rossen are both mission killers but you wonder if they like what they do. These men don't care for ideology but seem to do it as a game that ends with a duel instigated by Ngu to prove who is a better sniper. What went through my mind as I put the book down was how psychopaths can be useful to governments who need someone to do their dirty work.

[Jesse Boring · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was minimally entertaining but mostly poor writing by an average high school graduate or even a high school dropout...

[colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

read 06.22.84

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read about snipers during the Vietnam "War"