Sniper Elite: The World of a Top Special Forces Marksman

by Rob Maylor, Robert Macklin

Overview

A gritty, no-holds-barred behind-the-scenes memoir of life as one of the world's top snipers

In Sniper Elite, Rob Maylor takes readers inside the closed world of the elite Special Forces sniper, detailing Maylor's dedication to the dark art of sniping and touching on the history of the great snipers who came before him. As one of Australia's most highly trained and successful combat marksmen, he tells the story of his years on the front lines, from his early service with the Royal Marines in Northern Ireland, to action in Iraq and most recently in Afghanistan where he was involved in some of the heaviest fighting in the conflict. He also chronicles his near-death experience in a Blackhawk helicopter that crashed off Fiji, killing two of his friends, and how he would walk for hours, sometimes days, through hostile country until he found the right position. Then, when the moment was right, he aimed, and with absolute precision, put the bullet just where it was going to have the most effect.

Filled with dark humor and the almost religious sense of brotherhood within such an exclusive group of warriors, this is an explosive and revealing combat memoir—and an inside look at the shadowy world of the modern sniper.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466800304
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/06/2011
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	992,755
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

ROB MAYLOR is a former member of Australia's SAS, an elite sniper who saw combat all over the world, including three tours of Afghanistan in 2005, 2007 and 2008. He lives in Australia.

ROBERT MACKLIN is a well-known Australian biographer and historian, with more than 20 books to his credit.

ROB MAYLOR is a former member of Australia's SAS, an elite sniper who saw combat all over the world, including  two tours of Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008.
ROBERT MACKLIN is a well-known Australian biographer and historian, with more than twenty books to his credit.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Prologue
1 The Hunter
2 Marching Out
3 Marching In
4 Out in the Cold
5 And If You Thought That Was Cold
6 Heating Up
7 Hot Shots
8 Cold Comfort
9 Cooling It
10 Hot Shots (2)
11 Making the Grade
12 Mission Aborted

Editorial Reviews

[A] macho memoir of a special-forces badass . . . Maylor toured the world, enduring surprisingly grueling exercises from the artic to the jungle . . . training, horseplay and nuts-and-bolts military minutiae along with the usual fireworks.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A chilling glimpse of the hazards encountered by SAS troops.” —Daily Telegraph

“A rare beast in this genre, this is an honest, insider's account of the dark arts of sniping and special forces.” —Herald Sun

From the Publisher

Another macho memoir of a special-forces badass but with a charming, mildly exotic British overlay. Following the convention of military memoirs, Maylor, with the assistance of Macklin (My Favourite Teacher, 2011, etc.) describes an aimless youth (bored at school, heavy drinking, etc.) before he found himself after joining the marines in 1992. These were Royal Marine commandos, so readers will encounter the traditional sadistic training regimen designed to select those able to endure extreme pain, exhaustion and humiliation. Peacetime warriors kill few bad guys, but Maylor toured the world, enduring surprisingly grueling exercises from the arctic to the jungle, plus unpleasant tours in Northern Ireland before joining the snipers in 1995; military buffs will enjoy his description of their highly technical instruction. After years with no action in sight, he quit the service, married, returned to his native New Zealand, found earning a living difficult and joined the Australian army, where he repeated sniper training. The book is well past the midpoint when his unit arrives in Afghanistan, but it is worth the wait as the author paints a vivid picture of the experience during which his unit patrolled, fought and sniped with varying degrees of success until it was ambushed in one of the biggest battles involving Australian troops. Sticking to his role as a soldier, Maylor shows mild sympathy for Afghan civilians, no hatred of the Taliban, love for his comrades, satisfaction with his performance and no claim that he was fighting for a noble goal. A satisfying stream of travel, training, horseplay and nuts-and-bolts military minutiae along with the usual fireworks.

Kirkus Reviews