The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program by Brandon Webb

The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program Reviews

• 
  Petra isn't very well right now, just reading

  The book is split into two parts. The first part is about sniper programs, both the training and the psychology of the people who train others to kill and those who want to kill. It doesn't offer any insights into this desire to kill, but follows the regular line, patriot, defending country, part of the job. Sebastian Junger's
  War is far more interesting on motivation.
  
  The second part is about the experiences of four snipers. I could never keep them straight. It was a fault of the writing that the characters were so undifferentiated that when their stories jumped around I had no idea which person was having the experience. Worse, I didn't care either.
  
  Two and a half stars rounded up because it was a competent book not awful but not very good either.
• 
  Chris

  I have to admit that I went into reading anything from Brandon Webb with some hesitation for personal reasons. However I was extremely interested to see his take on “the world’s deadliest sniper program”.
  
  I will start off with what I feel present as challenges to this book. First and foremost, don’t let the title mislead you. This isn’t 344 pages of a SEAL’s experience in sniper school; its also not 344 pages of Webb’s personal experience with the program, but rather the story of four snipers and stories from their military experiences. It’s not even four SEAL’s – there is an Army Ranger, a Canadian soldier, a Marine and a SEAL who never attended Webb’s course. Of course there is some mentioning of Webb’s involvement in the development of the SEAL’s sniper school, but that’s not what the book is based upon as the title leads you to believe.
  
  Additionally, as the book unfolds each of the men’s stories are told in fragments, jumping from one to the next and then back again. It’s a little challenging to follow and I can certainly see how some would become frustrated trying to follow along. The one part of writing in this style that I did like, is that the author always left you wanting to see what happened next and ended each snippet with a decent cliffhanger.
  
  The last annoying part of the book that I found was the poor editorial process. I am the first to admit that my spelling and grammar is horrendous, but I would hope that the editor would correct that before going to print. If I can find errors in the text, then someone wasn’t doing their job.
  
  Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read and I often found trouble putting it down. It really takes the time to highlight the four individuals and each of their experiences as a sniper. It also gives you some insight as to what type of individual you have to be to in order to be accepted and succeed in the sniper program and what it take to move from PIG to HOG.
  
  On a personal level the book brought me back some memories, some good, some bad and it made me think a little about the man I am today vs. the man I could have been (but that’s a different story). Also on a personal level I really liked the respect that Webb showed to the other branches of the military. We all know the chip that SEAL’s can carry for having earned their title, but this book didn’t portray the “we’re better than you attitude” that you can sometimes find in a book about SEAL’s, in fact it was the opposite in that there wasn’t any of that at all.
  
  In the end, even though the title is a little misleading, I would certainly recommend reading this book.
• 
  Garrett Mccarthy

  Somewhat self-aggrandizing in a way that isn't seen in comparable books...
  The publication of this book comes at a time when SEAL/Special Operations books are on the cusp of jumping the shark (the book does state that it took over a year for DoD clearance, so it's not all the author's fault).
  There are plenty of captivating stories within that play out in a somewhat predictable fashion and there's not much in the way of new details or information regarding the topic at large (namely foreign conflict, military training, military operations/logistics/tactics, etc).
  
  Would probably be a ~3.5 star book for those who aren't well-read within the genre. Otherwise it's a bit stale, but not too bad.
  
• 
  Lisa

  The first half of the book introduced the training and mindset of snipers and the schools that train them, which was the most interesting part of the book. The second half followed the 4 snipers after their training and into combat. This is where the book does get intense telling the stories about the missions. I don't normally read books of this nature and I was very impressed with the writing and the handling of the stories. Worth the read.
• 
  Rob

  Very in depth, a little dry but pretty solid informative read .
• 
  Chris

  Wow, one of the best military, combat books I have read about the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I even learned some new things about Operation Anaconda I did not know.
  
  I both loved and hated how Brandon would stop the stories of each sniper in mid-battle and leave the reader wanting to know the rest of the story only to begin another adrenaline rush with the next sniper and kept doing it throughout.
  
  I was on a competition rifle team while in the NJROTC in High School and the training of breathe, breathe, breathe, squeeze and I can still picture sighting the target perfectly in the reticle in offhand position and squeezing the trigger for a perfect 10, of course I never had to contend with the wind.
  
  The part about Dirty Diana was hysterical and I have added that song to my favorites list.
  
  I highly recommend this book.
• 
  Darren Sapp

  This is a great overview of how modern-day snipers are trained and operate from an author that knows his business. The latter half of the book jumps around a bit in switching settings, but it's used to cover multiple subjects.
• 
  Parę słów o książkach

  
  "Snajper ma skomponować, zaaranżować i wykonać utwór o nazwie śmierć."
  
  W Szkole zabójców Brandon Webb chce przybliżyć Czytelnikom nie tylko program szkoleniowy oddziałów SEALs ale i konkretne misje, w których uczestniczyli znani na całym świecie żołnierze uczestniczący w misjach w Iraku i Afganistanie. Doskonałym przykładem jest Chris Kyle, którego historia została opisana, ale i sfilmowana. Bohaterami są także osławieni Nicholas Irving, Jason Delgado oraz Rob Furlong, a także Alex Morrison. Książka zawiera nie tylko fragmenty opisów z ich dzieciństwa i wczesnej młodości, które miały decydujący wpływ na późniejszy los, ale i opisy treningów pełnych krwi, potu i głodówek, które wychowały i zahartowały tak znakomitych żołnierzy.
  
  W niewielu książkach o SEALs, czy snajperach jest możliwość poznania przebiegu treningu i metod działania komandosów, jednak autor nam to zapewnił. Nie wspomniane zostały jednak specyficzne metody i zachowania tych żołnierzy, a książka została w całości zatwierdzona w Departamencie Obrony. Mimo wszystko zawiera mnóstwo naprawdę ciekawych informacji, które mogą przydać się osobom wiążącym swoją przyszłość z wojskiem, ale i zaabsorbować osoby, które nie planują mieć z tym styczności, jak ja.
  
  W książce zwrócono uwagę nie tylko na stronę fizyczną treningów sił specjalnych, ale i na psychiczną, która jest równie ważna. W trakcie wojny nikt nie może sobie pozwolić na to, by snajper po oddaniu strzału się załamał lub też zaczął strzelać do kogo popadnie, dlatego kursanci przechodzą mnóstwo testów psychologicznych, zanim dostaną zielone światło na wyjazd na front. Wielu te testy oblewa, bo nie wszędzie wystarczą mięśnie i chęć strzelania, o czym należy pamiętać! Siła psychiczna to połowa sukcesu dobrego żołnierza.
  
  "Misją snajpera jest dawać życie, odbierając je innym."
  
  Czytanie historii tych kilku żołnierzy było dla mnie trudne, tak jak dla autora z pewnością było pisanie. Brandon Webb starał się w swojej książce przemycić jak najwięcej faktów. Udało mu się ciekawie opisać treningi i obserwacje snajperskie, by każdy wiedział z czym muszą się liczyć przyszli żołnierze, ale jednocześnie zadziałał na emocje. Wspomnienia trudnego dzieciństwa dla tych mężczyzn często nie były przyjemne, ale opisywanie pierwszego postrzału, pierwszego zabójstwa... Nie było to łatwe w odbiorze, ale wydaje mi się, że nie odczułam tego nawet w minimalnym stopniu jak wspomniani wyżej snajperzy, którzy opowiadali o tym, jak te pierwsze ofiary pamiętają do dziś.
  
  Autor zwrócił uwagę na coś bardzo ważnego, co zazwyczaj się pomija (!), a mianowicie: na wojnie żołnierze giną od nakierowanych na nich, ale i przypadkowych kul, zabija się po to, by wyeliminować wroga i zapobiec dalszemu rozwojowi wojny. W przypadku snajpera odległość (i najczęściej wysokość) robią swoje, więc żaden strzał nie może być przypadkowy. Snajperzy przed wystrzeleniem najczęściej przed godziny, a nawet dni obserwują swoją przyszłą ofiarę, niekiedy widząc ją z rodziną. Muszą się jednak liczyć z tym, że jeśli nie oni wydadzą pierwszy strzał, zginąć może ich oddział. To na nich spoczywa wielka odpowiedzialność i należy to docenić niekoniecznie kwiatami, i transparentami, a pamięcią o tak dzielnych osobach.
  Jest to bez wątpienia warta uwagi pozycja, nie tylko o snajperach, treningach i strzelance, ale i o psychice człowieka, poświęceniu dla kraju i wielkiej odwadze.
  
  Oczywiście należy pamiętać także o rodzinie poleg��ych, która po nagłej śmierci syna/męża/brata często zostaje sama z kosztami pochówku. W tym celu autor założył Fundację, która wspiera finansowo takie rodziny, a kwoty zbiera dzięki datkom, które zdaniem Brandona są przekazem, że poświęcenie żołnierzy nie zostanie zapomniane. Fundacja Brandona Webba zajmuje się także szkoleniem dzieci poległych żołnierzy. Poczytać o niej, a także ją wesprzeć można pod tym linkiem: redcirclefoundation.org
• 
  Dachokie

  Elite Snipers Aren’t All About Shooting …
  
  This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free copy of the book.
  
  There are a lot of books about elite military units and their roles/exploits in a variety of modern conflicts, but few explain the core detail the nature of their talent and training. THE KILLING SCHOOL provides selective insight into the training of the world’s best snipers and how they transform their lethal skills so effectively on the battlefield.
  
  Brandon Webb, a “former” SEAL sniper who headed an elite sniper training school that included Chris Kyle as one of his students gives readers an inside view of the making of an elite sniper. For those who think Webb may be providing the elite sniper playbook for the world to see, the answer is no. Webb states up-front that while he gives us a peek into the elite sniping school, his book has been cleared by the military hierarchy.
  
  What I liked about this book is that Webb keeps things interesting from beginning to end. Rather than simply outlining a “we did this” and “then do that” format, readers get snippets of the progression from talented, but raw, sniper trainee to the select few talented enough to make it through the program (a micro-percentage of those who try). While detailing the training aspects, Webb incorporates the stories of four elite snipers who’ve utilized lessons-learned in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The four snipers detailed are an Army Ranger, a SEAL, a Canadian Special Forces Operator and a US Marine … a varied group of extremely talented men exhibiting their skill-set in a variety of hair-raising situations. Webb weaves the exploits of these four men in an effective manner that keeps readers on the edge all the way until the end. Each of the four men get equal time in the book and the segments detailing their combat experiences always end in a cliff-hanger scenario that makes you look forward to reading what happens next, but you have to go through cliff-hanging moments of the other three men first. Webb does this all the way through, so there is a continuous teasing effect that keeps the entire book exciting.
  
  I found the training tactics section interesting as well. While the end result of the school is geared towards producing expert shooters, the school is more about mastering mental and physical skills that don’t even involve a rifle. It’s hard not to imagine putting yourself through the training as you read and quickly realizing why so few make it through the course … some of the training seems almost impossible to get through (I especially enjoyed the section on stalking). What readers come to realize is that the school doesn’t produce a killing robot, each successful candidate has the ability to maximize individual talents and minimize weakness to become a balanced warrior that can function at both the highest physical and mental level. These individual skills are illustrated by the storylines of the four individuals as they are all put in unique situations that capitalize on their varied proficiencies. Most of the survival instincts exhibited by these men involved the ability to apply logic, math, physics and all senses-at-once in order to get through certain scenarios. In other words, an elite sniper’s assets include brains as much as brawn and bravery.
  
  I loved this book because it gave me more insight on how truly elite these snipers really are and we are given tangible results with the four individual storylines. Webb reveals himself to be an excellent storyteller with an ability to detail and keep things exciting. I found some of the mental training information explained in the book to be applicable for civilians (I even managed to incorporate the practice of “eliminating the focus on negative aspects” to help my daughter overcome a mental-block involving a difficult gymnastics skill … outside of her training gym, no less). An informative and thrilling read.
  
• 
  Jonathan Wylie

  Other reviews would say the choppiness at the end of the book is bad. I liked it because it made me want to keep reading. I thought it was an engaging book with interesting details. As an educator, I appreciated Mr. Webb's desire to be a great educator and learn how to write curriculum. This has caused me to be more engaged with the work that I do and to be more intentional about teaching towards objectives.
• 
  Medusa

  Although a better editor would have been a help, as would more careful audiobook proofing, and despite the kind of odd chronological jump-arounds, I enjoyed this book and found it to contain some interesting anecdotes and data - enough to differentiate it from or at least earn its place among other books on this topic (for example, Nicholas Irving’s own book, meaning no disrespect to that book). 3.5 stars, available at this writing on scribd as an audiobook.
• 
  Randall

  Great read
  
  I really like the look at sniper programs over time and how they compare to each other. It's interesting how similar they are and the vast differences in the approach to the material.
• 
  Ra Fe

  Excellent book. The only negative was the confusing presentation or organization of the four stories of the snipers he details in the book. Overall, a fascinating look into a world that most will not see or experience.
• 
  Chris

  Good book but the action jumped between 4 snipers and it took some getting used to.
• 
  Mark E.Tabor

  Start to finish, a great read!
• 
  Ken Hamner

  Excellent book.
• 
  Elsabet

  Just for all my more conservative goodreads friends: I enjoyed this book--it was informative, and quite fascinating--however, there is a lot of profanity. You are forewarned.