Sniper in Helmand: Six Months on the Frontline

I hesitated between 3 & 4 stars here. However, I am lost in admiration for the courage of these guys, respect the obvious effort the author has put in to this book, and ultimately it gives a crystal clear account of what our troops endure out in Afghanistan. JC has no harsh words for his colleagues or officers but hides very little else. The style is, at times, stilted and sometimes lacks a degree of flow. It reads more like a high school essay (and a very good one, btw) than a running, edge of seat account. Nonetheless, comfortable with my allotting 4 stars after all. Well done our lads, all round. (I was most interested to note how deeply these lads appreciate "luxuries" sent out to them, boosting flagging morales some days, eg. Yorkie bars!) Mr Cartwright makes a valid point too on the superiority of boil-in-the-bag meals for US Forces over what we, in UK, supply. Army top brass - take note!!For those readers who appreciated this account, please allow me to recommend "Red Platoon", giving a very edge of seat account from the US Forces pov, again written by a former NCO in their Forces.

I am 75 and served in the British Army in several theatres over 12 years. Despite the passage of time, the development of tactics and weapons, much of his day to day service remains the same. The reliance upon your mates, as a group which looks after each member, takes the p*** out of them and grieves for every one lost, as if a brother.I really enjoyed his story, it took me back. Told straight from the shoulder, as befitting a sniper.

My father does when I was just 17, he was a very committed sergeant in WW2, but I never had the opportunity to hear his story. Now that I am an old man myself, I have been reading all manner of soldering books to try to gain some knowledge of just what going to war meant. James Cartwrights book is right up there with the best. I was truely sorry to arrive at the end of the book. I cannot give a higher recommendation. God bless our service men and women.

This book received so much negative criticism that I was put off buying for ages. In the end, out of boredom I downloaded it and read it over a long week-end. It's a fairly good account from a young soldier who was part of his company's sniper platoon. NB: that does not mean he was a fully-fledged sniper because to be a member of a sniper platoon you don't need to have passed the Army's full sniper training course - just be one of the top marksmen in the company. By his own admission the author was not a 'fully badged' sniper. Consequently there is nothing in the book on the Army's grueling sniper selection and training. The lack of any information about the author's tour in Iraq is also a mystery. There is a level of detail missing in places but I suspect the MoD put the frighteners on the young author about how much he could reveal. As a whole, the book gets better the further to go.All that said, I found it an interesting read and I don't think it deserves the level of criticism posted to date.

JC should be praised for writing a book that gives an honest account of modern combat. It's rare to see such a book written by a Junior NCO. Yes there are some grammar mistakes, but they don't detract from the storyline. A honest and down to earth account of a Sniper Team's work in Afghanistan.

An interesting book but not on a par with the German sniper exploits of WW2 on the Eastern front say. The author whilt apparently being in a considerable bit of action and danger lacks does not convey his actual sniping experiences very well.This of course may be only my view, it does give a very good illustration of what the Allied Forces were up against in Afghanistan.

I really found the book easy to read, it was almost like I was listening to the author talking and getting something off his chest with the odd fact/comment thrown in that was nothing to do with the story line, just as sometimes happens in conversation.It also makes you wonder about what we can do to say 'thanks for risking your life again and again' and how we can support them when they join civilian life. I'm glad the author's friends wouldn't let him buy a drink in the pub, I hope I would do the same.

Was like it was written without any experienced supervision. The content was repetitive in lots of was. Situations, grammar, punctuation and phrasing, all left me thinking that I had already read the chapter earlier in the book, or causing it to make it difficult to follow where the author was trying to take us. I don't think I will be reading any more by this author.