Thank you Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book. This was the second book I read through Netgalley. I think it came up as a recommendation. The Sniper tells the story of Chuck Mawhinney, a sniper credited with the most kills in Vietnam. It traces Mawhinney’s story from his early life, through his enlistment in the military, sharing his stories in the military, and life after the military. Interestingly, Lindsay explains that after leaving the military, Mawhinney’s record as a killer was not revealed until the 1990s when a fellow marine outed him. This notoriety changed Mawhinney’s life, as he experienced some backlash, but also acknowledgement of his killing abilities, ultimately parlaying that into sharing his shooting skills as a teacher and trainer. Lindsay writes this book as a friend of Mawhinney’s, not realizing his background until later in life. Lindsay’s narration has an easy-going quality that kind of undercuts the horror and violence of Mawhinney’s life as an enlisted killer. I found the folksy storytelling to be in contrast to the violence of the book, undercutting some of the events. What was more interesting was Mawhinney’s adjustment to life after the military, and dealing with the blowback from being outed as a successful wartime killer. Although the book is a war memoir, it doesn’t seem to treat the ambiguities of war as ambiguous. It was entertaining, but I was hoping for more from this book.

The Sniper tells the true story of a regular guy, Chuck Mawhinney, who was drafted during the Vietnam War like so many other young men. Luckily, his astonishing talent was recognized by the United States Marine Corps, and he went on to become the greatest sniper in Marine Corps history with 103 confirmed kills. He saved many more lives than he took with a motto of, "Thou shalt not kill my Marines." Chuck became a legend and was content to live his life without people knowing his previous occupation after leaving the service. However, when another marine mentioned his name in a book, Chuck's world turned upside down and that's a shame. The Sniper is a moving depiction of life during and after leaving he left the military. It's a fantastic story that I highly recommend to everyone. It's hard to imagine the things men like Mawhinney have to learn to live with, and they truly deserve to be left to live their lives in peace.

This was an interesting book to read, it was informative without feeling like a textbook. I appreciate the authors writing style and description of locations etc.

I tried, I really tried but I just couldn't make it through this book. I wanted to like it because I'm ex military and I live in Texas but about half way through I put the book away for good. The writing was dull and choppy, the sentences short and non descriptive. It read as if it had been written by my nine year old son. I found the repeated referral to bar fights and the continuous boasting of kill numbers to be a complete turnoff. I had hoped for colorful narrative like that of Black Hawk Down but instead found the book, well, just boring.

I received a complimentary electronic ARC of this excellent biography from Netgalley, the Author Jim Lindsay, and publisher St. Martin's Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Sniper of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. This is an excellent spotlight on the life of Chuck Mawhinney. Both my husband and I have enjoyed this work tremendously. I can highly recommend this biography to friends and family. It's a keeper.

A Marine Sniper in Vietnam, Chuck Mawhinney did everything he could to bring closure to the war. I am very grateful for all that he was required to do as a representative of us, the American people. Thank you, Sir.
pub date March 7, 2023
Reviewed on February 22, 2023, at Goodreads, Netgalley, AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble, and BookBub.

Maybe 3.5 stars..... This is an easy, quick read.....telling this man's story, beginning as a child to present day. He relates how he got to be the Marine Corps' greatest marksman, with stories of growing up & what led him to the Marine Corp. I thought it seemed like the author honored the Marine's wishes in telling his story.....the two put together a good book/memoir.
I received an e-ARC of the book from publisher St. Martin's Press via NetGalley, in return for reading it & offering my own fair/honest review.

I read The Sniper in honor of my father who was proud to be a Marine for twenty years. I was proud of him, too. His service included two tours in Okinawa during the Vietnam War.

The Sniper tells the story of a regular guy who grew up on a farm and was drafted during the Vietnam War like so many other young men. Luckily, the USMC recognized his astonishing talent and he went on to become the greatest sniper in Marine Corps history with 103 confirmed kills. He saved many more lives than he took. His motto became, "Thou shalt not kill my Marines."

The writing here is not stellar but it is not bad either. There is, as expected, a lot of "we went there; shot more bad guys" kind of thing but it is not gruesome or tedious. What I enjoyed most was how Mawhinney learned to read the environment and the people; to notice not only what was out of place but what should be there but wasn't. Chuck Mawhinney was both talented and lucky and I am happy that he came back to lead a happy life. Thank you for your service.

I received a drc from the publisher via NetGalley.

Are you a fan of true military stories? If so, then you need to read this book. This is the untold story of the Greatest Marine Corps Sniper of all Time! Charles "Chuck" Mawhinney was a sniper during the Vietnam War. He has 103 confirmed kills. Charles was living a quiet life when he was "Outed" as the best Sniper. He must navigate the new fame and use his skills of a new purpose. This book was awesome and a definite must read for military fans!

This book was awesome. I have already recommended it to some people who love military memoirs. This was very well written.

Be trained to be a sniper. Love the job. As a soldier to obey the orders.
A killing machine or a human being?
Pull the trigger, but at what time, at least you can decide the moment.

This was an interesting book about Chuck Mawhinney and his military service. I have numerous family members who have served in all of the military branches and always interested in reading fiction and non-fiction books about various wartimes.

It’s impressive to read about his sniper skills at such a young age but it’s unfortunate that after living through the war, he then had to contend with the public knowing about the number of kills he made while serving. I can imagine being proud of such precision and sharing his expertise while also dealing with the mental and emotional issues of killing someone – no matter that they are the enemy. Plus, the public was unbelievably unsupportive of our military serving in Vietnam when many didn’t have a choice due to the draft. Being a wife, mother, sister-in-law, niece, aunt, and cousin to former military, I believe in supporting the US military in every way possible.

My sincere thank you and much appreciation to Chuck Mawhinney for his amazing service to our country. His record of 103 sniper kills was so important to him yet he never used that fact to promote himself until many many years later. Although I was in middle school/high school during the war I never personally knew anyone who fought in Vietnam. Of course I remember seeing it daily on the news but it never really registered what the impact of fighting in this war had on the brave young men who were there until many years later. The description Chuck shared with Jim about returning home after his first tour and going to old hangouts really hit home. His peers must have seemed so very immature to him, compared to the strong bonds he formed with his peers in the Marines.
I found Jim Lindsay’s writing very easy to read and he definitely made Chuck Mawhinney a real man, instead of just the amazing sniper. He has certainly lived his life well in spite of the effects of the horrors he has seen and experienced. I so appreciate Jim Lindsay’s talent in capturing Chuck’s life.
Many thanks to Jim Lindsay, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this just published biography of Chuck Mawhinney.

The Sniper is a brilliant biography of one of the greatest marksmen to ever walk the planet. A blend of coming-of-age, thriller, military history, and comedic tales, The Sniper perfectly weaves the story of Vietnam sniper Chuck Mawhinney in a fascinating read that will fly by as fast as a bullet out of a Remmington.

This story kicks off with the one story I had heard about Mawhinney - in the Arizona Territory in Vietnam, on a peninsula in a river with dozens and dozens of Vietnamese soldiers wading across the river in his direction. From here, you get to learn about everything that led to this moment - from Mawhinney's childhood, to his tales of adolescence, his first kill in the Marines, and everything in between. Author Jim Lindsay dove deep into Mawhinney's life and recounts the moments with crystal clear clarity, bringing Mawhinney's life into a beaming spotlight. This novel has inklings of Lindsay's debut non-fiction novel, The Little Bastards, with hilarious childhood tales of small town living, but also blends the action of a modern military thriller. It is a book that has you nervous, laughing, astonished, and bewildered all within its pages.

It's rare that I read a book in only a sitting or two anymore, but The Sniper was one of those books. I felt like I was sitting at the Idle Hour in Baker City right next to them, sipping Coors Light, enveloped by the stories. Lindsay made this book feel like you were in the room, talking with Mawhinney, right next to him, as he recounted his life story. A brilliant, fascinating, and real tale of heroism from one of the top marksmen to ever live.

Chuck Mawhinney is a US Marine who holds the marine Corp record for the most confirmed sniper kills (and the 2nd most of any US service member in history), having recorded 103 confirmed kills in 16 months during the Vietnam War. He was also the youngest as he joined in 1967 at 18.
After the war he got married and raised a family. He never talked about the war. In 1991 he was outed by another sniper and his life was no longer private. In the beginning he was not happy with the fame, but then came to see that it could be used to train people in long distance shooting.
It was and interesting story if you are interested in the Marines or snipers. It was very long and drug out. I had a hard time finishing this book. He has an interesting history and I enjoyed learning about it. But it could have been a few paragraph paper over a book.

I applaud Jim Lindsay for taking the time and energy to research, listen, and write the story of this American hero. Overall, Chuck's story is both heartbreaking and entertaining. The chapters were brief and made this one a really quick read. I enjoyed the humor and personality that was put into this story. However, there were times where I had a hard time following the time jumps between Chuck's early years and his training/deployment years. Chapter headings like "early years", "training", or "deployment" would have helped solidify the timeline and events. The book felt a little too choppy at times because of the brief chapters. Also, I am someone with absolute zero military background, and found myself googling the terminology and abbreviations quite frequently. This wasn't all bad, but it did slow down my reading and add some intrigue to the story. I'm also not super confident in my geography or history of the Vietnam war, so a map or some more detailed background information would have made this one an easier read. Overall, this is absolutely a story worth telling and reading. I'm so thankful for authors who are willing to document the lives and experiences of our American heroes.

This is an incredible book about Chuck Mawhinney, a legendary sniper who logged over a hundred kills during 3 tours in the Viet Nam conflict. It's a collection of stories about his experiences before, during and after the war, and it's a quick and riveting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this fabulous book.

Chuck Mawhinney was just a small town kid in Lakeview, Oregon, making the same mistakes that a lot of the young men in the United States make. He was adventurous, wild, and dedicated to learning all that he could. Little did he know that his past would shape him into the United States Marine Corps most deadly sniper.

Growing up in a small community in Oregon afforded Chuck plenty of freedoms, many that involved the outdoors and love of family. It all began in the slow-paced town where young Chuck grew up on barstools, the boardwalk buying candy, and hanging out with his grandfather on the farm protecting the cherry trees from the blackbirds. He didn’t have a problem with a hard day’s work and putting traditional blue color work ethic to the test. What he didn’t have was a path forward to growing into a man. Enter the U.S.M.C. They are a fierce bunch of tough men and Mawhinney was given the chance to clear his juvenile record when he signed on to become a Marine.

Chuck Mawhinney was a licensed pilot, a crack shot with a rifle, and also a very mature man once he entered the service. What he wanted was to succeed at whatever he chose to do and you can tell he was very determined. Lindsay proudly shows how Mawhinney dedicated his life to becoming the best version of himself, not intent on becoming the Marine Corps most deadly sniper, but becoming the epitome of the U.S.M.C. motte, Semper Fidelis (“Always Faithful”).

Through numerous nighttime sniper interdictions, daytime patrols, and some questionable women and drug scenarios, Mawhinney’s time in Vietnam is portrayed admirably. In keeping with tradition of the men and women that were forced to endure the dark and gloomy days abroad, only to come home and be chastised by the American brethren, many of the people close to Chuck didn’t even know what he had to do to stay alive. As time heals most things, those people began to see what the Vietnam war had done to America's sons and daughters and move forward. Mawhinney is just one man in the many that had to bear the brunt of war in that God forsaken land, but with Lindsay at the helm you will greatly enjoy this one.

Jim Lindsay delicately navigates Chuck Mawhinney’s journey from small town troublemaker to the United States Marine Corps deadliest sniper. An adventure Mawhinney wasn’t planning for, but one that he didn’t back down from through three tours in Vietnam. Lindsay, with Mawhinney’s permission and exorbitant knowledge, shows the violent side of Vietnam, and the war that many soldiers and marines couldn’t escape. Accepting that the battlefield was his place to shine, Mawhinney performed his job to the fullest extent possible to keep the American warfighter alive.

Very interesting to get such a personal look at the life of an American sniper in the Viet Nam conflict. A “no frills” approach is taken that make for a quick and easily-appreciated look at the life of an American soldier..

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This fascinating book is like a journal recorded during the Marine sniper, Chuck Mawhinney’s, years in Vietnam. During that historic period he logged a whopping 103 kills during his three tours. The reader is also given an upclose and personal view of his lonely and solitary life - both in Vietnam and back home where he no longer fit in. I totally recommend this book to readers who want to explore a character’s psyche as well as the events that form the character.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Chuck was a marine who was known for his accuracy with a gun. He was a legend and was content to live his life without people knowing his previous occupation. When another marine mentions his name in a book, his world turns upside down. This book gave a moving depiction of life during and after leaving the military.