American Sniper

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

By: Chris Kyle, Scott McEwan, Jim DeFelice

Narrated by: John Pruden

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

He is the deadliest American sniper ever, called "the devil" by the enemies he hunted and "the legend" by his Navy SEAL brothers.

From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book. Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan ("the devil") and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.

A native Texan who learned to shoot on childhood hunting trips with his father, Kyle was a champion saddle-bronc rider prior to joining the Navy. After 9/11, he was thrust onto the front lines of the War on Terror, and soon found his calling as a world-class sniper who performed best under fire. He recorded a personal-record 2,100-yard kill shot outside Baghdad; in Fallujah, Kyle braved heavy fire to rescue a group of Marines trapped on a street; in Ramadi, he stared down insurgents with his pistol in close combat. Kyle talks honestly about the pain of war - of twice being shot and experiencing the tragic deaths of two close friends.

American Sniper also honors Kyle's fellow warriors, who raised hell on and off the battlefield. And in moving first-person accounts throughout, Kyle's wife, Taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their marriage and children, as well as on Chris.

Adrenaline-charged and deeply personal, American Sniper is a thrilling eyewitness account of war that only one man could tell.

©2012 Chris Kyle (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

A required read

For all that talk about war. Watch the movie and read the book. It's not just about Chris, it's all our guys. Great book.

Thank you American Sniper

Not an intellectual expose on war. A fantastic listen. It is so amazing we have people this committed to defending fellow soldiers and the American people. I love that he is unapologetic and has put his money where his mouth is. I recommended this book.

Performance was good to OK. Southern accent was a bit odd sounding but maybe it was authentic.

loved this book

if you don't listen to it you're not American it's just that simple
thank you to all veterans

awesome

A real American Hero crazy stories of what he went through as a Navy Seal

Solid

Great book by a Solid dude. Funny hearing the story after living portions of it. For all the nay Sayers out there, Hell holds a special place for those of you who call a dead man a liar without ever having walked a mile in his shoes.

Great book! Too bad it will be his only one.

Not my usual style of book. Loved the humor of Chris Kyle. He is sorely missed. He didn't pull any punches. The narrator brought it to life.

An interesting look into the life of a SEAL

I enjoyed listening to this book. Right from the very beginning, you get a sense of Chris Kyle; the type of man he is. He loved going to war, killing bad guys and fighting for his country. He makes no apologies for being who he is. He's honest. This is brought out well in the narrator's telling. The narration is great.

I find some of the reviews of this story a little overly dramatic. Was Kyle a hero? I suppose he was in the sense that any soldier fighting for his country is a hero. But he was certainly not a god like so many reviewers make him out to be. He is exactly what he says he is: a soldier who was there to get the job done.

I was a little disappointed to find that this book didn't go into much depth on the sniping. Kyle has the most confirmed kills of any American military sniper in history. But even he says he was not a great sniper by any means. Most of his kills were opportunistic. He was simply the guy that had more chances to kill, and did. I was hoping to hear more detailed accounts of sniping missions. But most of it is all glossed over. Usually it comes down to "We were providing overwatch for a unit. I saw three targets that day and killed them." Quite disappointing. I have previously listened to "Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills" and found it to be far more detailed and interesting. Kyle even mentions the sniper that book is based on (a man named Hathcock), stating he is the greatest sniper in American military history.

Although Kyle is a sniper and has the record for most kills, this book is more of a general account of his life as a SEAL. Not that that is a bad thing. I liked it. But the title implied we would get a lot more detail of his sniping. I also found that there was so much that he did in his career, that we never get a full detail of any of his missions. Just general details before quickly moving onto the next thing.

If you want a detailed look at sniping and detailed missions, listen to "Marine Sniper". It's solid.

Honest and well-written autobiography

What did you love best about American Sniper?

The Navy Seals are absolutely the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. Chris Kyle tells the story behind the media facade of the American servicemen in the Special Teams in a frank, unapologetic way; This is not a book for the squeamish.

His comments around his legendary service record are a tough read as he includes the uncomfortable details that most autobiographies leave out. He is not a perfect soldier, but he is clearly smart and effective. Kyle's respect and commitment to his brothers-in-arms is inspiring and comes out very strong in every chapter.

Sections written by his wife add important detail to how his long deployments in dangerous places affected their young family and how they adapted and supported each other.

Any additional comments?

I got tired of the narrator's "John Wayne" accent. It was a bit cliche.

A hero

This was an amazing production. Chris Kyle's storytelling ability reminds me of my dad talking about his military service. Chris is truly an American hero.

Amazingly Inspiring!

Excellent audio book!! I couldn't put it down! Chris's testimony was incredible, selfless, and resonating!