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

Must Read

great book...made me more grateful for the soldiers who are keeping us free. Thank You.

More aware and appreciative of our soldiers

The book was well written and gave me an understanding of what it's like fighting for our country and what a soldiers family goes through when they are away and when they return

Fabulous book and narration!

I couldn't wait to get back into my car to hear more Chris's story. It's a heart warming story of one of Americans heroes and what he went through to serve his country. I highly recommend it.

Narator Poor Choice, heavy country accent

Where does American Sniper rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the middle

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Author, it is a story that is best told by the man who experienced it

What didn’t you like about John Pruden’s performance?

It made him sound like a simple country bumpkin, not what he sounds like in TV interviews on Connan and O'Rielly

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Open scene when he has to kill his first human to protect others.

Hero, Leader, Courage

This book excelled my expectations in performance and story-line. This personal account of military duty, succeeds politics and anyone's opinion of the book, because this is a hero's story ti live and die with...

The narrator calm tone, inflections and real-world sounding accuracy is to be applauded. The author makes notable statements regarding war and the engagement, thereof; such as, "You sent us to kill people (or to war), while congressmen sit behind desk...who have never seen war or ever been to war." Yet, those are the guys who are making it impossible to do our job with their ever-changing ROEs."

Thought provoking but lacks meaning

As we all do, I compared this book to other similar reads... most notably Lone Survivor. I had a hard time relating to Chris Kyle, I didn't really see his faith shine or carry him through his struggles (unlike Marcus L) even though he professed to be a strong Christian. Chris Kyle's personality was quite harsh and someone I'd be afraid to meet before his death. His wife and kids were never very high on his list of priorities and it showed in his actions. He was however very very good at what our country asked him to do and he should be commended for it. The book was simply a collection of his battles abroad and at home, no real story line or message. God speed Chris Kyle.

Awesome book

Would you consider the audio edition of American Sniper to be better than the print version?

N/a

What was one of the most memorable moments of American Sniper?

When Chris was trying to help a fellow soldier who was not going to make it.

Which character – as performed by John Pruden – was your favorite?

Chris

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

An American legend.

Any additional comments?

It's very sad that Chris died on American soil, trying to help a fellow soldier. It's just not fair to his family or friends.

Good Understanding of the war.

You inderstand what our troops were put thru and ahat it takes to become a navy seal.

Be prepared to overdose on Patriotism!

There is no doubt in my mind that American listeners would have a different perspective on the "in your face" style of American Patriotism on show in this reading.
At first, I found the combination of that, coupled with the Southern twang, somewhat hard to deal with.
I'm glad that I stuck with it because the Author is obviously completely genuine and the action that he describes is interesting.
The view that he has of Insurgents as "evil' & as ''savages" is the kind of subjective viewpoint that you would expect from the American Military.
I wouldn't say that I enjoyed the Book but I did find it interesting & insightful.
I have rated it quite highly because I appreciate that my viewpoint is also subjective.
The Narrator needed to have the accent because that is a representation of the Author's origins.

good story, not so good narration

I work in a loud factory environment, normally my raycon earbuds are good enough to block out the sounds while also letting me listen to a book, however, the narrator's voice in this book was so bass heavy, especially when he tried to speak softer for effect, that it would blend into the background sound despite the volume being high enough that I would feel the vibration from him speaking, even though the words could be unintelligible. good book though.