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

Kyle's War

With all of the recent politically-related conversation about the book, it's important to remember that this is not a political examination of the war in Iraq. This is one man's -- one family's -- account of his experience as a soldier, a SEAL sniper, in that war. I found it a captivating look into the real life of a man at war. Others can parse whatever meaning they will, but I'd recommend taking the account at face value and reserving judgment unless the reader has also experienced that particular war.

Riveting, Emotional, Gut-Wrenching

Chris Kyle was in every major battle of the Iraq war and was wounded twice. He has 160 confirmed kills out of 255 claimed kills as a sniper. You may have seen him on TV recently on Stars Earn Stripes and Sons of Guns.

I listened to this book as I traveled across Texas a couple of weeks ago. I took the ensuing time to analyze my emotional response to the book and to figure out what I really thought about this rather unusual story of a deadly SEAL's military career.

The Narrator

The very talented John Pruden is the narrator for American Sniper. He did an amazing job and offered a credible West Texas twang. He sounds very much like Chris Kyle who was born and reared in the Odessa, Texas, area. My husband, who also has that kind of Texas drawl, wasn't offended at all by the faux Texas voice.

About The Book

Amazing long distance shots and close quarters combat are presented matter-of-factly and honestly without Kyle trying to pretty-up his actions. He tells it all, dispassionately until he talks about his fellow soldiers. That's when his emotion comes across. He makes the point in the book that he didn't fight to free Iraq. He fought for his country because that's what he was ordered to do, and he fought for the lives of his fellow soldiers. These men don't get to pick and choose their battles or the way they're even used. Often politics and higher-ups create as many challenges and dangers to these warriors as the enemy.

The insurgents, the ones he called the bad guys, or savages, were the ones Kyle sought in his sniper scope. The more bad guys he could pick off; the more Americans he might save. That was the bottom line for him, and it's a bottom line I'm forced to respect.

This book awed me, and it made me cry. War is hell, and that fact is never so evident as when Kyle talks about his friends who died so tragically.

I am not a person who thinks deadly force and violence are never called for. I'm a realist -- maybe because I've lived in and visited enough third world countries to know how truly idealistic and naive most Americans are. At the end of Kyle's book, he quotes something that a friend of his, another SEAL sniper who didn't make it, said: "Despite what your momma told you... Violence does solve problems."

Unfortunately, I agree with that assessment. Why unfortunately? Because I'd prefer to live in a world where diplomacy and common sense ruled, but that's not the case. Force of action and violence are what pulled the world back from Hitler's quest for world domination.

Soldiers like Kyle perform like super heroes on the battlefield, but the post-war is often not easily won. To do what Kyle did, a man has to compartmentalize the softer emotions. In fact, I think it's safe to say that a man must become a different person -- someone who can use violence to solve problems and use it damned fast and expertly.

In the end, what happens to that changed person when war is over is the bigger moral question.That question is unflinchingly presented by Kyle and by his wife Taya, whose viewpoint is also given in the book. Taya Kyle speaks openly about the challenges of being the wife of a SEAL, and, often, the only parent that the children may know, and about how hard it is to find the man she loves inside the returned warrior.

This book is riveting, gut-wrenching, and unforgettable. It's not just an extraordinary war memoir that gives readers a glimpse of what the whole Iraqui situation is really like. It's also an emotional and moving story -- warts and all -- about a hero's journey from ordinary citizen to warrior and back to ordinary citizen -- if one could ever call an ex-Navy SEAL sniper ordinary.

Really loved this book

The narrator rushed too quickly through Taya Kyle's narration the the story
it sounded awkward.
otherwise the book and narration would have been perfect.

great listen

What did you love best about American Sniper?

Down to earth as he sees it

Who was your favorite character and why?

Chris he is not perfect and tells his story as he sees it it is not al glory

What does John Pruden bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

keeps you listening and gives the character a voice putting your deeper into the storey

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

KILL OR BE KILLED

Excellent read!

A great account of one of our nations heroes. Highly recommended to those who are curious about military life particularly that of a US Navy SEAL.

Wow

I had a decent idea oh Mr. Kyles service and life but I am blown away at the person that he was "RIP". truly a great person patriot and I am proud to have had him been a american.

Fantastic war reality story!

If you could sum up American Sniper in three words, what would they be?

Excellent Reality Story

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

Relationship with the troops and the training required.

What about John Pruden’s performance did you like?

Read the story well

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both laughed and felt sorrow for the men and his wife

Excellent book, highly recommended for everyone.

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

No, the narration by John Pruden was distracting from the book.

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

The detailed accounts of his actions throughout his enlistment really pull you into the book. I finished the book quicker than any other I can remember.

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

The narrator's terrible attempt at a Texas accent was somewhat distracting from the book. As a native Texan myself, I can assure you that we do pronounce most of the g's at the end of our words. The narration should be redone by someone else as this is an amazing book that deserves better.

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

The emotional aspects of war and loosing friends during and after battle.

Any additional comments?

Chris Kyle led an amazing and heroic life. After reading, I highly recommend this book to anyone, not just military. The American people deserve to hear a soldier's account of the war, not just what was shown in the media.

inspirational

inspires me to be a better man, better dad, and most of all a better husband.

Excellent book, well done

A insider prospective of a very exclusive group of men. Give so much of themselves to do the bidding of our political system