Following on from the success of Out of Nowhere: A History of the Military Sniper, Martin Pegler gives us an in-depth study of the emergence of American rifleman, sharpshooter and sniper, examining the evolution of the rifle in America from the earliest firearms of the 15th century, to the highly accurate sniping rifles of the 21st century. Pegler analyses the technological development of the rifle, sighting systems and ammunition and uses contemporary accounts to describe how the use of the rifle during the Revolutionary War, Civil War and the conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries have impacted on US military history. This detailed account concludes with a study of the American sniper in modern warfare, including Afghanistan and the ongoing conflict in Iraq, providing an overview of the march of weapons technology, as well as an unusual insight into the lives and the motives of the men who used them.

About the Author
Martin Pegler has a BA Hons in Medieval and Modern History and an MA in Museum Studies, both from University College, London, and was for many years the Senior Curator of Firearms at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds. He now lives in the Somme, France, where he and his wife run a small bed and breakfast, which is situated on top of the old German front line! Martin has established The Somme Historical Centre (www.martinpegler.com), where visitors can see the technology used in the 1914-18 trench warfare. Martin enjoys shooting historic firearms, and has participated in many shooting competitions. He is currently an author and firearms consultant and he also lectures at local Great War museums. In his spare time Martin runs motorcycle tours of the battlefield. He is the author of a number of books including The Military Sniper since 1914 (Osprey, 2001), Firearms in the American West 1700-1900 (The Crowood Press, 2002), and the highly acclaimed Out of Nowhere: A History of the Military Sniper (Osprey, 2004), and he has also contributed to a number of magazines. In the 1980s he had the privilege of interviewing many World War I veterans about their wartime experiences, and the recordings are now part of the sound archives of the Imperial War Museum, London The author lives in France.