The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers

This is why while browsing on Amazon when I came across this 312-page soft cover book (The Reaper: Autobiography of one of the deadliest special ops snipers by Nickolas Irving with Gary Brozek) I decided to purchase it. This book is a memoir of Nicholas Irving in which he gives an interesting and detailed story of his early years up to his training and development as a U.S. ARMY sniper. The eleven chapters provide a chronological history with 24 color photographs. Some of the chapters covered include: “They call me the Reaper, a near and colorful miss, a ranger in the making, a long day of reckoning, rumble in the rubble” and many other topics. This is a book that is a page-turning fascinating read. If you like military biographies, you may want to check out this book. I found it to be a great read. Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Season of the warrior: A poetic tribute to warriors).

It wasn’t a bad read. Pretty easy read that held your attention well enough. Kinda jumped around a bit but not bad enough to set it down. It needed more editing. Grammatical errors and mistakes like the accelerations of gravity that should have been caught and corrected. Those things aren’t on Irv. He’s a warfighter. Those errors are on the “professional” writers. I do recommend it for anyone interested in GWOT deployments but understand that it’s a bit unpolished.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Nicholas Irving, "The Reaper." The stories, experiences, and insights he shares kept me engaged from beginning to end. His firsthand account of military service and the challenges he faced made for a fascinating and memorable read. As a big fan of Nicholas Irving, I appreciate the honesty and detail he brings to his writing. This book gave me a deeper understanding of his journey and accomplishments. One of my personal goals now is to meet him someday and have him sign my copy in person. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in military history, special operations, or inspiring real-life stories.

Not really an autobiography as much as a highly readable account of a single deployment in Afghanistan, but the author comes off as an intelligent, honest, and highly skilled soldier. I've often wondered how the members of our professional military can endure multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan without becoming disillusioned by the futility of attempting to help liberate people who neither want nor appreciate that help, and, in fact, see them as both infidels and invaders. Irving describes that burgeoning disillusionment beautifully, with no rancor or bitterness, and Brozek does a fine job of capturing his feelings and giving his story flow and interest. The truth I took from this is that even the best soldiers, and Rangers are definitely some of the finest, most disciplined and skilled soldiers in the world, cannot liberate a people unready and unwilling to liberate themselves. We may have accomplished some nebulous geopolitical goals in those wars, but liberating Iraq or Afghanistan were probably not among them. It makes me wonder whether our efforts were ever worth the life of even one Corporal Kopp, much less all the lives we sacrificed. While it makes me proud to read about men like Nicholas Irving and the men of his Ranger platoon, I can't help thinking that we owe them clearer goals and worthier causes if we're going to ask them to risk their lives for us. Such men are the backbone of this country, and their lives should never be squandered in uncertain wars and actions. There will come a day, after all, when our nation will truly need such men for its own survival, as it has in the past, and it would be a shame to discover at that point that we have used them up senselessly in wars fought for dubious reasons. That said, one can take nothing away from those men who stood and fought at their country's request. They did the jobs required of them selflessly and often heroically. If there is fault in their story it is solely ours who sat home safely while they went back and back and back again to war in far off hell holes. We should be careful what we ask of our best and bravest.

Very easy book to read. Good info. Keeps you entertained.

With plenty of modern combat narratives to read these days, it’s just a matter of finding the right one. I saw Nicholas Irving speak as a guest on a news show a month ago and was impressed with his no-nonsense manner of speaking. I decided to pick up THE REAPER to learn a little more about how he earned his credentials. While the book was a little slow to start, Irving’s account of his brief deployment in Afghanistan provides several gripping moments that offer another unique perspective of what the US military faces in Afghanistan. Irving is credited with 33+ kills over a four month span in Afghanistan as an Army Ranger. While his kill tally may have earned him the “Reaper” nickname, this book is not a kill-by-kill record. Instead, Irving opts to summarize seminal events that led him to become a Ranger and a sniper and focus on the moments that impacted him the most. Much of the book centers on the bond and mutual dependency experienced on a sniper team. Irving was paired with two individuals during the course his tour that were quite different. Irving does a good job illustrating his thoughts and actions throughout, giving readers a simplified, but comprehensive view of his experience in Afghanistan. We get a vivid depiction of the harrowing uncertainty facing those serving in such a desolate place. Irving tells his story matter-of-factly … there are no chest-thumping moments. Despite his prowess with a rifle, Irving presents himself as quite humble, even to the point of relaxing his rank around lower-ranked team-members with longer service records. Rather than detailing every mission, Irving opts to focus on those that he obviously felt were the most challenging and dangerous. His encounter with an enemy sniper known as “the Chechen” is one such mission; one that the author was fortunate enough to live through. Another close call that was particularly interesting was his being hunted by a roaming truck-mounted “Dushka” (heavy machine gun) that had him pinned down in a ditch of raw sewage with no avenue of escape. He details the elimination of some targets, but doesn’t dwell on tallies. In fact, one of the more memorable moments in the book didn’t even involve eliminating a target, but centered on his spotter falling into a “hole” while they were heading to an assigned location at night. This seemingly innocent event proved to be much more involved because the “hole” was estimated to be up to 80 ft. deep and required a difficult/dangerous helicopter extraction. Irving’s last mission proved to be one of the most bizarre combat encounters I’ve ever read about. THE REAPER is a solid combat memoir; it is certainly worth reading. I found Irving’s account providing a unique viewpoint of the war in Afghanistan. It illustrates that the danger being faced doesn’t simply come from the Taliban, but the environment itself. The book also re-affirms the competence, leadership and fortitude that the American Special Operations soldier is known for.

Kid loves this book. A good read for sure!

Wow what an incredible story of deployment. If you like action or military this is a great book for you. Firsthand look into a military sniper right after the 911 boom of military action. Very raw and thrilling!

The badass sniper he is unmatched

Fabulous narrative! One read a first hand account of the ongoing American effort in Afghanistan from a sniper's point of view. The story mingles sniper's life with his time in the war. Must read!

This is a great read and puts you right in the action and gives you a real idea of what combat is like. Nick writes in a style that everyone can understand and is very good at keeping you engaged and wanting to read more.

Found this to be a fantastic read, worth the hype.

Good bookThat kept me reading and interested