American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History

Product Information

I'm very conflicted on reviewing this book. I almost just threw up my rating and walked away but I tend to forget the books I've read and I try and review for myself so that I can remember the book later. After moving to the US I always wondered what drives Americans to stand when the national anthem is played before each game. What unseen force tells them to fly their flag, high on a mast, for the world to see it, for the wind to dance with it. What drives them to enroll in the military, leaving all they love and their family and make the ultimate sacrifice. These men were warriors. The word ‘warrior’ applies to any combat soldier, Marine, SEAL or any other military personnel whose primary career is to engage an enemy by direct action. A warrior’s job is to kill the enemy, and do it efficiently. An effective warrior achieves no benefit from recognizing the humanity of the enemy. Doing so only hinders his ability to accept and live with the life he has chosen. He is neither a psycho killer nor a hero. He’s just doing his job.

As a kid Chris had always dreamt to join the military. A dream he'd fulfilled, lived and finally shared memories of it by writing this biography. It's written from Chris’ point of view, concise and detailed, a progressive narration of war seen through a soldier's eyes. From time to time his wife Taya pitched in, giving us an insight of what a family goes through while their loved ones is at war, the constant fear, the anguish, the frustrations. The biography tells untold stories of unknown heroes. It doesn't sugarcoat, doesn't use fancy words and artistic scenes. There's nothing artistic about the war.

Bosman, Julie (18 March 2012). "A Wave of Military Memoirs With You-Are-There Appeal". The New York Times . Retrieved September 24, 2014. Some critics have said that Kyle was an egotist. While I have never known a SEAL who wasn’t, the book does little to dissuade that opinion. In the section on equipment he says that his headgear of choice was a baseball cap because ‘you look so much cooler wearing a ball cap.’ He also wasn’t above expressing the typical enlisted man’s tongue-in-cheek scorn of officers with such remarks as ‘but then I’m just a SEAL and obviously don’t understand those sorts of complicated issues’. Report: Chris Kyle overstated his military medal record, documents show". Fox 5 San Diego . Retrieved May 26, 2016.

Another thing about Kyle was that even though he did not want to come off as bragging he couldn't help but repeatedly mention the fact that he has the highest number of confirmed kills of any sniper. That contradicted himself over and over and got to the point where when it was mentioned I cringed from it. Most of all, I've walked away from this book with a sense of gratefulness that I can be sitting here behind my computer with my dog writing a commentary on a warrior's story while my family is safely at work and school. Thank you Mr. Kyle and military personnel. With all this good stuff going on, You'd think I was living a fairy tale or a perfect life. And maybe I should be. But real life doesn't travel in a perfect straight line; it doesn't necessarily have that "all lived happily ever after" bit. You have to work on where you are going. Tons of people have brought up the scandal of him being very... enthusiastic in his colorful and (perhaps not always 100% true) storytelling, and the fact that he got in a fistfight with Jesse Ventura (who sued him for defamation and won).

How to Vote

Andy Lewis (February 6, 2015). " 'American Sniper' Book Sales See Continued Bump From Movie's Success". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 7, 2015. Chris Kyle’s autobiography answers to all these questions and more. As Chris explains it, it's God, country and family. It's being selfless and the need to protect all that you inherit from your forefathers, believe in, all that you have, and all that you are.

I read Marcus Luttrell’s Lone Soldier and it was a completely different experience. If that book is Saving Private Ryan then this is Captain America. Edit: If you read this book then please read http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/us/... Chris had started a foundation to help troubled vets and was working with one, a young man of 25, when the man fatally shot Chris and and his companion. Chris was a wonderful man, a family man, a good author, one who had served his country to the best of his ability. RIP Chris. This book was, without a doubt, one of the worst pieces of literature I have ever wasted my time with.Andy Lewis (February 6, 2015). " 'American Sniper' Book Sales See Continued Bump From Movie's Success". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved December 4, 2015. So all in all. I'm still conflicted with this man and his story. I'm proud that he served his country so valiantly, but I don't think I could have been a close friend of his. Unfortunately. Chris never makes any mention of why he felt that he was doing the right thing by being in Iraq, besides an off-hand comment here and there about how he wanted to kill Saddam Hussein for planning 9/11. The abhorrent ignorances only continue throughout the book, and he adds to the loveliness by constantly reminding the reader how much he enjoys killing. In fact, he discusses his love for the marines, because they are a group of people who "just really love to kill." The irony in that statement is self explanatory. All in all, a great book and one I'm very happy to have read. It was fun, informative, and fed my hunger for psychoanalysis. :) :) :) LOL