The remarkable story of the Finnish marksman nicknamed “White Death” by the Red Army for his record number of confirmed kills. Simo Häyhä is the most famous sniper in the world. During the Winter War fought between Russia and Finland from 1939 to 1940, he had 542 confirmed kills with iron sights, a record that still stands today. A man of action who spoke very little, Simo Häyhä was hugely … little, Simo Häyhä was hugely respected by his men and his superiors and given many difficult missions, including taking out specific targets. Able to move silently and swiftly through the landscape, melting into the snowbound surroundings in his white camouflage fatigues, his aim was deadly and his quarry rarely escaped. The Russians learned of his reputation as a marksman and tried several times to kill him by indirect fire. He was promoted from corporal to second lieutenant, and he was awarded the Cross of Kollaa. For sniping, Simo Häyhä only ever used his own M/28-30 rifle. Eventually, his luck ran out, and Simo received a serious head wound on March 6,1940, though he subsequently recovered.
The White Sniper fully explores Simo Häyhä’s life, his exploits in the Winter War, the secrets behind his success, including character and technique, and also includes a detailed look at his rifle itself. There are appendices on the basics of shooting, the impact of fire on the battlefield, battles on the Kollaa Front during the Winter War, and a list of ranked snipers of the world.
“No matter how many books on sniping you have read, this must be added to your list if you are serious about shooting.” —GunMart
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Hard to read but definitely a gem for military historians and weapons gurus.
Just an admirer of the White Sniper gushing on about his hero. Poorly written. Couldn’t finish it.
Very interesting non-fiction book about one man who gave 110%. The story jumps around a little but is still a good read.
I enjoyed this book, even though it’s rather dry. If you are interested in the story and details behind the exploits of Mr. Hayha, this will garner your attention.
Unbelievable events that caused unbelievable actions. The key to this unbelievable man is that he had a very high moral code and a great love of live family and country. I only wish that I could show the same courage as he did in facing almost impossible situations in combat
A good book but a lot of hard English translation of the story.
Boring list of the battles and their locations. No real action or details about Simo.
Too much detail and hardly anything on his actual missions. The writer wrote like a 7th grader…used the full name of the sniper in so many sentences like he was trying to fill space. Hard to get though. Yes, sorry but a disappointment. I wanted to hear about the missions.
Great story of an intrepid soldier
Would appeal to those who are interested in history of Finland and in the role of a sniper in warfare.
This book would probably be of interest to only a few people. It highlights parts of the ‘winter war” between Finland and the USSR just before WW II, and gives the personal history of a significant individual in that conflict. There is a lot of technical information related to military sniping, but awareness of the history of this conflict is probably much more valuable to the general reader. The writing, though, does become tedious with frequent repetition of the same facts and background, and the quality of the translation to English is not always good.
I like the aspect of a simple man doing extraordinary things through patience and learning from ordinary experience. That inspires.
The requirements of being an effective sniper are well laid out covering more than you want to know.
Interesting but a little disjointed. Mostly history not much on how he made his shots.
I recommend this book for readers who are interested in the details of what it takes to be a sniper or details of the Finnish Winter War. Otherwise, it isn’t the best for entertaining reading.
Interesting but not well written.
Simo was a remarkable man. I wish I could say the same for this book. The author, a Finn, evidently thought he could do the English version himself. It was a bridge too far for him and the book is consequently “obviously” written by a non-English speaker who has only a middling understanding of the written language. He is constantly using English that just doesn’t quite make the grade. For instance, for “center mass” (the target area on a human opponent) he uses “center of gravity.” He should have hired a competent interpreter. Facts and details about Simo and the Winter War are repeated over and over, throughout the book until they become monotonous. Maps are sometimes mislabeled or are simply unintelligible. SImo really, really deserves a better book. Nevertheless, because of him, this book is worthy of a read— even as frustrating as it sometimes is.