Racing Through History Stock Cars Then to Now Book

Thought this was a well written and incredibly informative book. The flow was very readable, and it held my attention throughout the entire book. I found it to be an easily accessible and easy-to-read account on the history of the sniper told, essentially, in conjunction with the growth of the New World [North and Central Americas].

It begins by discussing the earliest 'rifles' built and how they were used by European explorers as well as military [not so much]. Over time the positives of using a long gun were seen and rifles were developed further; moreso for hunters and sportsmen then for the military, but the military came to adopt their use as well. It was interesting to read about how the early settlers in the New World often complained about how the natives could fire three or four arrows before a second shot from the ancient muskets and other long guns could be fired. It was also interesting to read about how good some of the ancient technology truly was, especially by the time of the Revolutionary War.

There were three major sections to the book; each section broken into two or more chapters. Each chapter discusses major improvements in weapons and usage as well as how snipers were used. The first section dealt with the evolution of the long gun and the rifle. The second section deals with the growth of the United States through the Civil War and up to the turn of the century [end of the 1800s]. It also discusses how technology continued to evolve and grow in both the New World and the Old World. The third section covered the twentieth century. This obviously covered the First and Second World Wars, the Cold War and Low Intensity Conflicts, Korea, Vietnam, Beirut, Iraq, and various peace keeping missions [such as Kosovo and Somalia]. The last chapter looks at how much sniper technology has evolved as well as the philosophy behind the mission of the sniper. It also focuses on what the US Army and Marines have determined as their future needs and the technology being developed for their snipers. I felt it was still very readable despite all of the descriptions of long guns, rifles, scopes, and other technology.

I also found it interesting how the US Military's attitude toward snipers has changed over time. Once the unwanted step-children of the military, the sniper is now recognized as being important to the success of Military's mission due to the level and breadth of skills snipers bring with them wherever they are sent. I also found the anecdotes from various snipers to be interesting as well; I felt the author did a nice job attempting to 'get into the mind' of a sniper when trying to discuss what makes a good sniper. I also found the results of the Military's investigation into what makes a good sniper to be fascinating; the ones they thought would make good snipers [i.e. - professionals, sports hunters, trap shooters, etc.] often did not have the correct mindset to make a good sniper. They discovered it was the 'common person' [i.e. - lumberjack, miner, laborer, game warden, etc.] who made the better snipers.

I enjoyed reading this book and am glad to have it as a part of my library.