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Trigger Men: Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, and the American Combat Sniper

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Both a uniquely intimate look at what makes a sniper tick and a harrowing read filled with dramatic war tales, Trigger Men is a book about killing and what it takes to be the ultimate warrior.

Hans Halberstadt takes readers deeper inside the elusive world of snipers than ever before, from recruitment and training to the brutality of the killing fields. Mixed into the thrilling narrative, for the first time ever in their own words, American combat snipers talk about what it is like to kill a man and what it takes to become one of the elite. Based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews, Halberstadt gets inside the sniper mind and shows how Shadow Team confidence led to success that led to even more aggressive operations. Readers will learn how snipers think and interact as a team, how missions are planned and executed, how the weapons work, and even what happens when a bullet strikes its target.

304 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1951

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About the author

Hans Halberstadt

96 books12 followers
I trained to be a documentary filmmaker and worked in that industry for about fifteen years before getting involved with book projects. The basic techniques involved in designing a film project apply just as well to non-fiction books so the transition was easy. The books turned out to be more fun, more filled with adventure, and more profitable than the film work so I gradually took on books rather than films.

Although I hear a lot of people complain about the difficulty of getting a book contract, that has never been my experience right from the start. And I never have "writer's block" or any of the other typical complaints of our peculiar breed. Telling stories has always been fun for me and I will explain how and why in a blog on this site.

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5 stars
161 (32%)
4 stars
176 (35%)
3 stars
123 (24%)
2 stars
31 (6%)
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4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Profile Image for Hans Halberstadt.
Author 96 books12 followers
October 19, 2012
I hope nobody minds if I chime in here -- I wrote TRIGGER MEN and like to see what people say about my books. Perhaps some of you might like to know the story behind the book:

TRIGGER MEN is what we call in the Army an "after-action review" and "lessons-learned" document. I got the idea for the book after listening to MAJ Charles Greene's war stories while I was spending some time with 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th ID, at Fort Hood in 2002. Charles was the Ops Officer at the time but had previously been a member of the legendary 75th Ranger Regiment and had parachuted into Panama as a sniper during OPERATION JUST CAUSE. His stories of his little part of the fight and about his engagements during the fight for the airfield got my attention directed to the sniper mission,and I pitched a proposal for a book on the topic to my beloved editor at St. Martin's Press, Marc Resnick. SMP bought the idea and I spent the next couple of years working on it.

I love war stories for several reasons and use them often in my books. For one thing, I like to use the voice of the person who pulled the trigger to tell the story in his own words, not re-interpreted by me. So that's why there are a lot of first-person stories in TRIGGER MEN -- James Gilliland, Harry Martinez, Charles Greene, and the others each share their own experiences, and you very seldom have the opportunity to hear somebody explain how they carefully put a bullet in another human being, and why...and how they feel about it.

The hardest thing about building the book was finding snipers with kills who would talk to me...and who were not frauds. The problem of fraudulent military claims is huge and I ran into several liars during this project. I think there are more fraudulent snipers around than even Navy SEALs, and there are LOTS of those. The number of American snipers is extrmely small so that made the problem challenging. And then, within that number, the group who had made kills was a small subset. Then, within that group, the ones who would talk to me was tiny. But I was able to get about twenty to cooperate, sorted one total liar out of the mix, and got a good variety of experiences that I thought worked well.

There were two basic reasons that these guys agreed to share thier stories with me. The first was that they knew I was a combat veteran who had fired at people and had been fired upon. The other was that I followed a US Army Sniper School class through all of its training and understood the Army version of the mission at least in its "schoolhouse" foundations.

TRIGGER MEN was published four years ago and has been quite successful. Oprah still hasn't reviewed it but I keep hoping. I give the book five stars because I like the combination of voices and stories and topics. Your mileage may vary, of course, but it is one of my favorite projects of my 67 titles.

Profile Image for Finn.
66 reviews47 followers
September 14, 2022
An insightful gaze into the world of sharpshooters

From Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, Trigger Men takes you through the past decades of sharpshooting in the United States military as well as the good, the bad and the mistakes that happened during that period, each teaching another valuable lesson about the employment of a sniper on the modern battlefield. Many highly detailed descriptions of different situations by snipers from various combat units on the front lines fighting the insurgents. This book taught me that a snipers job involves a great deal of patience and a great deal of math, as well as guts to pull the trigger when its necessary, and the guts to not pull it in other situations.

4/5, a highly informative view of the world through a snipers scope
Profile Image for Martinez.
5 reviews
May 1, 2008
This book is about my dad and i am reading this and i love it Because I want to be a Sniper. Awesome book to learn what it is like to be a sniper and how much training and rules for snipers.
436 reviews16 followers
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May 13, 2009
You probably don't need my review to know whether you'd like this book. If you would enjoy sitting in a bar with a bunch of special forces soldiers and hearing their crazy war stories and learning all about how to shoot someone in the head from 2000 meters away, you should read it.
Profile Image for RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN.
760 reviews13 followers
May 5, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “SNIPERS: FROM VIET NAM TO PANAMA TO IRAQ!”
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A sniper’s preferred method of killing people is when they are not expecting to be killed. “This is the story of the ways people are selected and slain, sometimes at long range, sometimes at very close quarters, by soldiers who are, in effect, invisible to their targets. This is the story of the art and science of precision long-range marksmanship and the effect of a bullet on the human body. It is about ambush, battle, mayhem, slaughter, winning, losing, living, dying, and war.” “The sniper community is incredibly tiny; add up all snipers from the Marines, the U.S. Army, the SEALs, and the Rangers who are behind a gun in a combat zone at any one minute, and they will add up to about a few hundred men and no women.” “Add up the kills these snipers make and compare them to the results of infantry battalions and brigades and divisions, and you’ll find that many of them individually make more kills than entire battalions or brigades operating at the same time in the same area.
I am a Viet Nam era veteran and I find the study of the changing landscape of battle since the time I served extremely interesting. I believe the biggest change is in the evolution of the “SNIPER”. One of the most powerful components this book provides is detailed reporting of not only the role “sniper/scouts” play in the current war in the Middle East, but also their prior roles in Viet Nam and even Panama. (Operation Just Cause). The United States has absorbed a hard earned education. Whereas in the past, a couple of snipers or marksman would accompany a battalion and all their armored equipment, now in today’s urban, building to building fighting, the battalion and armored vehicles support the sniper teams.
This book details the training required not only in structured schools, but also in on-the-job-training, when the need for additional sniping/scouting/spotting personnel is immediate and on the battlefront. One of the real life stories involves successfully adding two cooks to the sniper team. This tale is at its absolute best when being narrated by actual snipers. At times the author bogs down the flow with too much minutiae about the weapons themselves. I have read many sniper books recently, and this one not only doesn’t pull any punches about the “unique” mindset of the type of individual that would fit the parameters of a successful sniper, it also doesn’t shy away from the celebration accorded the up close and personal ending of an enemy combatant’s life.
The author and “ALL” the snipers portrayed, make it blatantly obvious to anyone who has ever served in combat, that more care and regard to the “RULES OF ENGAGEMENT” (ROE) are observed by our American troops in a week, than all our enemies combined do in a lifetime. I shudder at the thought of how many American lives have been lost while we go through chain of command before we shoot, as compared to terrorists walking into schools, restaurants and places of worship, and with no conscience at all, destroy uncounted civilian lives from toddlers to adults.
It takes a very, very, unique individual to be a United States Sniper. And as it’s obvious to see, the ranks of these highly qualified warriors must increase for us to be successful in today’s type of war. It should be noted that one of the main pre-requisites as stated in “DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SNIPER TRAINING FIELD MANUAL FM-23-10 SECTION 1-3 (Washington DC,1994)”: “THE SNIPER MUST BE ABLE TO CALMLY AND DELIBERATELY KILL TARGETS THAT MAY NOT POSE AN IMMEDIATE THREAT TO HIM. IT IS MUCH EASIER TO KILL IN SELF-DEFENSE OF OTHERS THAN IT IS TO KILL WITHOUT APPARENT PROVOCATION. THE SNIPER MUST NOT BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO EMOTIONS SUCH AS ANXIETY OR REMORSE.”
Profile Image for Motorcycle Tourist.
131 reviews
April 6, 2025
When a uniformed, conventional force is engaged, complicated machines like F-15’s, Apache helicopters, and M1A3 Abrams tanks rule the day. Foot-soldiers are useful to finish the softened enemy. But in unconventional warfare, where the Taliban retreat to urban areas and shed their uniforms, most of the expensive weapons are useless. Riflemen rule the day with a simple bolt action gun.
Snipers must detect, evaluate, and decide to engage. His decision includes ethical, moral, legal, technical, and tactical decisions with about five seconds to respond. Shooting is only 10% of the mission, but without that 10%, the rest doesn’t make much sense. Snipers inflict a terrible kind of psychological warfare which destroys the enemy’s will to fight. More than any other combatant, snipers have a personal relationship with their victims. They watch the vapor trail of the bullet and see the impact. People often tell stories of snipers having nightmares nightmares, but none of the men interviewed in this book had such nightmares. “I have been told that I am an emotionless assassin … I don’t know if I suppress the emotions that other people think I am supposed to feel, or if I have built such a strong moral case for each shot I have taken that I am emotionally protected.”
“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” For an 835 meter shot, the aim point will be about 15 feet above the target and will be dropping at a steep angle when it hits. A delay of 22/1000 of a second occurs between the unlatching of the trigger to the initiation of combustion of the propellant. In that short time, a walking person will have moved one inch.
Profile Image for R.C..
502 reviews10 followers
March 13, 2020
Gives great insight both into the mechanics of sniper operations/weapons and into the mindset of snipers themselves. I read this for reference on military operations and combat sniper use and wasn't disappointed. As the book does deal with one particular group of guys, sometimes their "war stories" repeat each other, as you might expect. Also, as the author points out early, this book is not for the squeamish, as it deals with the actual messy business of killing, on the ground, in the particular context of urban warfare in the Middle East. Very informative!
10 reviews1 follower
May 15, 2019
Ok, some good stories by individual snipers. Some repetition of battles and areas of operation by different snipers.

Good insight from several different snipers .
Experiences from different wars are told.
Good firsthand stories, told from snipers from different backgrounds and units.
481 reviews
April 10, 2020
Very interesting book. A lot of good information about the various training that is now offered to the snipers of the various branches of service. The stories of snipers in Ramadi and Beirut were amazing to read.
Profile Image for Robert.
Author 9 books40 followers
July 10, 2018
Wow, I liked this book very much. It kept me interested. Enter the dangerous world of the Sniper, a special breed for sure. I highly recommend this book if you like war stories and the like.
238 reviews1 follower
August 15, 2020
Accurate, in depth and page turning. From an outsiders perspective I have to give a lot of respect for the intellect that sniping requires. This is a great book.
Profile Image for Medusa.
621 reviews16 followers
October 19, 2021
If you enjoy reading about GWOT era snipers as they were up until 2008, you'll enjoy this book. It's pitched more toward a general reader than a nerd / specialist, but as a quick read available on Scribd it's just fine. I listened in one sitting on a road trip out to a rifle class at one of my favorite places, so that probably colors my review positively despite some repetition and rough spots.
Profile Image for Martin Koenigsberg.
985 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2018
Really interesting and fun book. If you are looking for a complete history of Green Berets- you have to go elsewhere. But if you want the SOF war in Vietnam as it was lived- this is your book. Halberstadt went to talk to the old salts in the late 80s and early 90s, so the memories are relatively fresh- with plenty of the humour you expect from old Grognards. Events that happened along trails on SOG missions- frank discussions of trips to town for R&R, and cool discussions of the Chinese and Montagnard teams these guys led. The most interesting to me were the tales of Bartering frontline gear for things like Deuce and a Half trucks! Just an wonderful insight into this war from the Green Beret's perspective.
I've read a bunch of books on this topic- so was able to see other perspectives of a few contacts I had already read about. Like in one the radio guy- on a trip I read about gives his take on it. VERY cool when that happens. There's a good discussion of the LEGEND Walter Shumate- he of the legendary mustache and epic achievements in the highlands, Cambodia and Saigon. Never a dull moment in this book.
The constant trip to Bawdy houses precludes recommending this book for any but kids at least 16. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast -PURE GOLD. This book will improve your understanding of the war- but also help with Scenario/Diorama development- sort of every second PAGE! Just a treasure trove of SOF /SOG/base defense stories. Read it- you will love it too.
Note: There is some casual racism in this book- The Montagnards HATED the Vietnamese who did not treat them well-the SOF guys are almost always holding themselves above the fray- but sometimes come down HARD on the Vietnamese. They LOVED their "Yards". Men who worked with both groups are more understanding of both.
1 review
April 3, 2012
I found this book to be very interesting. I have never read a book about sniping before, and I though the author did a good job of describing the job of a sniper all the way from training to shooting out on the battlefield. From the very first page, I was drawn into this book. I could not set it down. I also liked how the author shared information about challenges snipers face in life. The most interesting part in the book to me was the stories of the snipers. Yes, there is more than just stories such as ballistics, but the stories made me feel like I was there next to the side of the sniper. As I read, I thought jumping from story to story of different snipers became a little confusing because there was not too much coherence between the stories. There was a lot of stories and some of the pictures that contained a lot of graphic material that might be suitable for some people. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. If you do not like stories with graphic material, then I would warn you to read this book. If you are war story junky, then this book is perfect for you.
Profile Image for Mark Sequeira.
123 reviews12 followers
Read
August 4, 2011
Just okay I'd say. Random short stories of various sniper teams operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc. I think the book could be considered quite callous but that should not come as a surprise considering we are talking about snipers after all. The writing leaves much to be desired and the brevity of accounts left me jumping from location and situation to new location and situation where I never felt I understood much of the context. I think they got caught trying to be a popular account and yet a definitive one at the same time. Interesting to those interesting in long guns and distance shooting as well as military buffs. Others shouldn't be fooled by the cover - You may be disappointed.
Profile Image for Eddie Puente.
16 reviews1 follower
November 30, 2012
Great insight into the life of a sniper. author explores many of the techincal aspects of the skills needed to be a sniper. Several chapters of "war stories", most of them are good and believable, one or two seem to add a bit of Hollywoodism in the action. Overall a great book. Author is a veteran of the US Armed Forces and has written more books about the special operations group in the military. Look forward to reading more of his books.
Profile Image for Robert  Garcia.
161 reviews10 followers
July 27, 2011
Great collection of stories of an easy read on the guys who are head and shoulders above the normal soldier and take the warrior's spirit to a different level.
I enjoy reading about these men who dare to become something special when they themselves just focus on their missions.
True professionals.
Thank you.
Profile Image for Dustin.
337 reviews4 followers
November 14, 2015
Overall, not bad. It jumps around a little bit, and some of the material repeats. It's a mix of modern sniping stories, mostly covering the most recent Iraq adventures, and a brief history of the modern process in which today's snipers are trained. It's an entertaining enough read, but if you want more in depth details, I'd recommend 'One Shot, One Kill'.
Profile Image for Dr. .
807 reviews
June 13, 2010
The majority of the book revolved around the description of the profession and the weapons, instead of the actual engagements, yet the stories were interesting, the language minimal, and the insight enjoyable.
Profile Image for Carmen wells.
27 reviews3 followers
May 12, 2011
Some fascinating information about bullet trajectory and distances, but overly technical at times. His writing is also a bit choppy and discombobulated; some paragraphs seemed misplaced with the content in the rest of the chapter, and a several chapters were left open-ended.

Profile Image for Jonathan Jeffrey.
106 reviews4 followers
October 20, 2011
I've read a lot of books on snipers both fiction and non-fiction, so I didn't find much surprising in the book.
For someone with less backgrounding, this book is chock full of operational details drawn from the Iraq war.
The book's editing/organization was not to my taste.
Profile Image for Stephen Nuchols.
78 reviews7 followers
August 28, 2015
This is a very good book. It is a little slow in the beginning but it explains a lot of technical info. The later part of the book, the words of the snipers themselves if very enlightening. There is no PC BS just true statements in their own words. I recommend this book.
Profile Image for Kevin.
245 reviews3 followers
July 24, 2008
Excellent book about snipers and what goes into being a sniper, highly recommended.
15 reviews
September 13, 2008
currently reading this, have read sevl other sniper account books, Hathcock's being another recommended one
Profile Image for Avi.
283 reviews1 follower
October 12, 2008
a 4 on a scale of 1-10. I thought it would be much more action packed, but it was far too technical for my taste
3 reviews
February 26, 2009
great book. a gorry but accurate look into the life of a sniper in the modern military
Profile Image for Chris.
2,071 reviews29 followers
April 18, 2009
Color pictures not for the faint of heart. Liked it so much I had to buy it.
26 reviews
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July 23, 2009
Good read on modern sniper warfare.
527 reviews
August 19, 2010
"An interesting read. Not great writing, as much of it comes from the people who lived the sniper life."
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews

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