Book Review: American Sniper by Chris Kyle

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History is the true story of United States Navy SEAL (SEAL Team 3 Chief) Chris Kyle and the account of his time during the war in Iraq, written by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, and Jim DeFelice. Having a page count of 400 pages, this book was published in January 2012 by William Morrow and Company and made an appearance on elite bestsellers lists such as The New York Times Bestseller List and Publishers Weekly .

Growing up in small towns all over Texas, Kyle's early life revolves around riding horses and hunting game with his family. At sixteen, he develops a passion for doing rodeos, and is still doing it by the time he is in college. His rodeo career ends at a competition when the horse he's riding on falls down, drags and kicks him until he loses consciousness, and leaves him with multiple injuries. But he recovers soon and takes on a ranching job for monetary needs while attending college. On the ranch he finally decides to quit college, his job at the ranch, and join the military.

But this proves to be a bumpy ride for Kyle at first when he tries to enlist one day in 1996. Having little knowledge about Navy SEALs at the time, one of the Navy personnel at the recruiting station successfully sells Kyle the idea of becoming a SEAL. "It was all bad-ass stuff, and when I left there, I wanted to be a SEAL in the worst way." With his physical revealing that he has pins in his arm (a result of the rodeo incident) his hopes are cut short when the Navy disqualifies him. Two years later, working on a ranch in Colorado, he finally receives an acceptance call from the Navy.

Kyle served four tours in Iraq, during which he accumulated the highest number of "confirmed kills" in the history of the U.S. Military. This is a story of war, friendship, family, and patriotism. Containing numerous contributions from Chris's wife, Taya, this novel aims to not only give readers an idea of what American soldiers had to deal with in Iraq, but also the impact of what their deployments had on their loved ones. While Taya takes care of Kyle's two children at home, Kyle is in Iraq risking his life fighting against enemy insurgents every day, and Taya often wonders what is more important to her husband--country or family?

Despite what you may think, this book is not only about SEAL snipers, and that is what I love about this book. Sure, you learn some interesting things as you flip from page to page, but it is so much more than that. You get an in-depth look at some of the missions Kyle went on, some of the kills he got, and impossible sniper shots that he pulled off. There are some funny moments as well as sad ones. Kyle is straightforward and holds nothing back on his thoughts on Iraq, and people who spoke bad about what American soldiers were doing in Iraq. Informative, thought-provoking, and absolutely real.

This is something everyone should read, especially people considering joining the military, no matter what their nationalities. If you've never read a war story before, this would make a wonderful first. Don't like non-fiction? Don't worry, this book contains enough action to make you forget what you're reading isn't made up. Parents, this would make a wonderful birthday present for an eighteen-year-old thinking of enlisting. I'm definitely rating this novel 4 out of 4.

[lcsanjuan]

I read this book on April this year and I liked a lot the fact that Taya's perspective was shown. One can never tell one version of a story. Also, I enjoyed learning about weapons, the US military and it's missions after 9/11. When I finished reading that autobiography, I talked to my parents about war, 9/11, types of guns and the branches of the US Armed Forces. I am not interested in enlisting, but I saw it inspiring.

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

Learning about the weapons was really cool, wasn't it? I watched the movie as well, which is kinda different from the book. Feel kinda sad about what happened to Chris Kyle though.

[lcsanjuan]

Learning about the weapons was really cool, wasn't it? I watched the movie as well, which is kinda different from the book. Feel kinda sad about what happened to Chris Kyle though.

I loved learning about weapons. I hope I get a chance to watch the movie someday. Yeah, it was sad what happened to Kyle. I actually didn't know that he was dead until I finished reading the book and searched Chris Kyle on Wikipedia.

[bookowlie]

Nice review! I saw the movie a few months ago, but haven't read the book yet. I have read a few articles that indicate that Chris Kyle may have fabricated some of his stories and was prejudiced against Muslims. I wonder if his actions as a sniper were in any way affected by his beliefs. I still would like to read the book.

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

*Icsanjuan

Lol. It was exactly the same with me.

* Bookowlie

Yeah. I got the exact same prejudice vibe. But I think Kyle was just being real about what he thought about Iraq and what he had to deal with. I don't know about the fabrications though. I'll have to look into that.

[gonzwild10]

The American Sniper is a great book and very detailed. I could imagine myself at the rodeo watching him, to being by Chris' side throughout his Navy Seal years to the last day of his life and the feeling like we had went to his funeral. Chris gave his all and continued to work hard trying to gain back his life he missed out on to his final day. This is a great book that should be read first, then watch the movien

[Levi]

I too thought it was a good book, although I would rate it lower only due to it being disjointed like only a book being co-authored by a non-author can be. However it was, as you said, a great look into the lifestyle and what it does to the family as well. I have read all of the conflicting stories, and unless you take internet articles as truth, there is no way to tell either way. It is all opinion and speculation on either side as far as I can tell or care to delve. Good job on the review, Leon. I would read it based off of your recommendation had I not read it already.

[KNewton]

I really enjoyed this book! It was so interesting to learn both family and soldiers view points. Plus, I love learning about all the different weapons and tactics. If you enjoyed this, Lone Survivor and Blackhawk Down are both good reads as well.

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

Thanks for your comments gonzwild10, escapeartist, knewton. To knewton: I enjoyed learning about the weapons, gear, and every other aspect of military jargon as well. It's so easy to read and understand; not what I expected at all. I thought it was going to be difficult like a Tom Clancy novel. It wasn't. As for the movie, I didn't like it all that much, but I thought the ending of the movie was brilliant.