Book description
This edition does not include illustrations.
A cultural and military history of the sniper since 1643, when the first
shot was fired by a sniper during the battle for Litchfield in the
English Civil War, to the present day, when the sniper has become the
embodiment of contemporary military strategy and technology.
Since Robert Greville, Lord Brooke, commander of the Parliamentarian
forces, was struck in the eye by a marksman positioned on the spire of
Litchfield cathedral, the story of the sniper has been one of the
gradual empowerment of the individual soldier over the massed
battalions. As military technology evolved to produce lighter, and
quieter firearms that could strike with accuracy over longer and longer
distances, so the role of the talented individual marksman has become
more central to the outcome of military conflicts.
Andy Dougan tells the story of the sniper as seen in the wars of
Vietnam, the first and Second World Wars, the American Civil War, the
Boer War and European conflicts and up to the present day when the
sniper is not only a battlefield phenomenon but a terrorist in civilian
society of almost phantom-like elusiveness. In three hundred and fifty
years the history of the sniper has, more than any other military
history, been the story of individuals: of high profile victims such as
the Union General Sedgwick, whose legendary last words were 'They
couldn't hit an elephant at this distance' to the celebrated shooters.
Sniping has more mythology than any other aspect of warfare, more
mystery too. That's because the sniper does not participate in a war
fought between huge killing machines at great remove from their victims.
With the sniper, there is selection, identification and deliberate
execution. In short, it's personal.
Andy Dougan, author of Dynamo, has written an engrossing human history
of the men and women who have taken up the gun to expert and deadly
effect. PRAISE FOR DYNAMO:
'We are reminded oncve again of football's power to galvanise nations,
express political will, and carry any amount of symbolic baggage…Dynamo
is written from the heart.' Independent on Sunday
'Just as you think you've read every good book about the war another one
is published… I cannot help but think that it would seem wrong to try
and forget what happened during the last war until all stories such as
this one have been told.' Philip Kerr, The Sunday Times
''This is clearly a labour of love.' Independent Andy Dougan is a
journalist and the author of Dynamo as well as several other books. He
lives in Glasgow.
