Book Review: Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson

Charles Henderson's 'Marine Sniper' is a dramatized account of the life of a Vietnam War sniper. Based on the life and times of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock - an American soldier who apparently eventually became the posterboy of the Marine Sniper program - the book seemed an interesting prospect at first. One, I love war books and two, I love history books (Marine Sniper is set in the Vietnam War). Sadly, the book was a disappointment.

The amount of melodramatic fictionalization of everything Hathcock did was extremely jingoistic. Dialogues were overwritten with Henderson trying to explain the scene or pace along the narrative with incredibly explanatory (and thus, weird) dialogues. And the focus on battle tactics or history was minimal.

The only thing that made the book tolerable was Hathcock... real, gritty and human in the parts of the book Henderson allows him to be so.

You can buy the book here.